The Collaborators
Published on 29. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-6680-5558-8 (ISBN)
Description
Named a Best Book of the Year by Vogue
Slow Horses meets Red Sparrow in this “sharp, freshly conceived, [and] thoroughly entertaining” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) spy thriller featuring a brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress who stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA.
Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time: how, exactly, did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path?
Crisscrossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset; and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiraling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales—from Berlin, to Latvia, Belarus, and an abandoned technopark outside Moscow.
Dynamic, fast-paced, and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller “with a propulsive plot and fantastic twists” (Chris Pavone, author of The Expats) that pays homage to both meanings of “intelligence.”
Slow Horses meets Red Sparrow in this “sharp, freshly conceived, [and] thoroughly entertaining” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) spy thriller featuring a brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress who stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA.
Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time: how, exactly, did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path?
Crisscrossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset; and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiraling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales—from Berlin, to Latvia, Belarus, and an abandoned technopark outside Moscow.
Dynamic, fast-paced, and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller “with a propulsive plot and fantastic twists” (Chris Pavone, author of The Expats) that pays homage to both meanings of “intelligence.”
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Simon & Schuster
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 201 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
227 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6680-5558-8 (9781668055588)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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Other editions
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Person
Michael Idov is a novelist, director, and screenwriter. A Latvian-born American raised in Riga under Soviet occupation, he moved to New York after graduating from the University of Michigan. Michael’s writing career began at New York magazine, where his features won three National Magazine Awards, and he has served as the editor-in-chief of GQ Russia. He is also the author of The Collaborators, Ground Up, and Dressed Up for a Riot. Michael has worked on numerous film and TV projects, including Londongrad, Deutschland 83, Leto, and The Humorist. He and his wife and screenwriting partner, Lily, divide their time between Los Angeles, Berlin, and Portugal.