The Poet's Game

A Spy in Moscow

By: Paul Vidich

Narrated by: Andy Ingalls

A hall of mirrors with no exits, The Poet's Game is a sophisticated portrait of a spy working to uncover layers of deceit behind a Russian plot on the American president.

Alex Matthews thought he had left it all behind: his CIA career, the viper's den of bureaucracy at headquarters, the deceits of the cat-and-mouse game of double agents, and the sudden trips to Russia, which poisoned his marriage and made him an absentee husband and father, with tragic results.

But then the Director came asking for a favor. Something that only Alex could do because it involved the asset Byron—a Russian agent whom Alex had recruited. Byron had something of great interest to the CIA; the Director said it was a matter of grave national security that implicated the White House, and that Byron would hand over the kompromat once he was extricated from Russia.

But Alex is a different man than when he had run Moscow station: he has pieced his life back together after a tragic accident killed his wife and daughter—but the scars remain. He left the agency; started a financial firm that made him wealthy; and met a new woman, Anna, who works as an interpreter in the CIA. Anna is beautiful and supportive and helps him find love again after years of drowning in grief alongside his son. Throughout the last years, Alex has remained, in his mind, a patriot, and so he begrudgingly accepts the Director's request.

Something, though, doesn’t feel right about the whole operation from the start. The Russians seem one step ahead, and the CIA suspects there is a traitor in the agency passing along secrets to the Russians. Alex realizes that, by getting back into the game, he has risked everything he has worked for: his marriage, his family’s safety, and the trust of his closest colleagues—one of whom is betraying him. As the noose tightens around Alex, and the FSB closes in on Byron, the operation becomes a hall of mirrors with no exits. To find redemption, Alex must uncover Byron’s secrets or risk losing everything.

The Poet’s Game is a remarkably sophisticated and emotionally resonant portrait of a spy from a renowned master of the genre.

©2025 Paul Vidich (P)2025 Dreamscape Media

Too much bias

Your premise has proven false. You let your bias get in the way of a potentially good story. Too bad. I’ll not purchase another title from this author

Reminiscent of the great McCarry and of Steinhauer’s excellence

Vidich is exemplary at constructing realistic and compelling plots. He creates characters that you can actually see and relate to. He never fails to intrigue me.

PJ Harris

Realistic and well told story

This is a fine story of espionage and political corruption in the current time. The plot is tightly woven and the twists and turns of clandestine work are suspenseful and well written. As often happens in a plot driven novel, there are occasional pages of filler, the absence of which would not have been missed. Still, an enjoyable and realistic spy story.

main character is kind of dumb

main character is really stupid for a supposed expert spy who ran the cia's station in moscow. he does really dumb stuff. also, this takes place in 2018, so Vidich must have written it it 2016/2017. the politics are mostly correct for that time, but the author made a big mistake writing about the Steele dosier and related issues, since it has now been debunked, and politics has changed too much in america. the book is dated in a bad way now and a bit offensive because of being a bit tone deaf, no subtlety in the writing.

Swing and a miss

When authors who specialize in a certain time frame or era try and jump to present day, it can often be a dud, which is what this book was. There are any number of issues, from his lack of current understanding about how counterespionage works at the Agency now, to the simple way business is done. The dialogue and clothing descriptions are all circa 1960, and his descriptions of various characters are stuck in that same era. I enjoyed his previous work, and suspect he will be heading back to that era with future offerings.