Of Claire Berlinski’s marvelous debut novel, Loose Lips - a perfect blend of satire, romance, and suspense featuring a young female CIA operative - book critic Frank Bascombe observed: “It’s more than a little obvious that [protagonist] Selena Keller is Claire Berlinski.” Despite her assertions to the contrary, Berlinski isn’t above poking fun at that notion. In Lion Eyes, a fictional Claire - the author of a novel about love among young CIA trainees - is unsuccessfully dodging a deadly Paris heat wave and her even deadlier ex-boyfriend. When she receives an e-mail from an Iranian admirer who wonders how to obtain a copy of Loose Lips in his native city of Esfahan, Claire wastes no time in replying. Her correspondence with the mysterious stranger, Arsalan - whose name means “the Lion” in Persian - quickly becomes personal, then intimate…then obsessive. As Claire heads to Istanbul to find relief from the heat, her electronic flirtation with Arsalan begins, inevitably, to consume her. The boundary between reality and imagination blurs and then disappears. The Lion, meanwhile, is nurturing his own powerful fantasies about the author. To satisfy their growing passion, they agree to meet, back in Paris, but Claire soon learns that someone is secretly intercepting their communications. Suddenly, Claire’s romantic dreams start to dissolve. As events take an unimagined, even dangerous turn, and as life begins menacingly to imitate art, Claire discovers that the Lion is not who she thinks he is.
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"The author wrote a non-fiction book about spies (Loose Lips). Then she writes a novel in which the main character is an author of a book about spies and who is approached by someone who believes she has spy connections. A very good read." — Marysue (5 out of 5 stars)
"The author wrote a non-fiction book about spies (Loose Lips). Then she writes a novel in which the main character is an author of a book about spies and who is approached by someone who believes she has spy connections. A very good read."
" hilarious, kookie, surprising, zany, madcap. "
" really easy reading, but makes me want to fall in love with an iranian man.. or atleast live in istanbul for a couple months. "
" Berlinski is doing interesting things with the novel, and it's a fun, funny read. "
" Liked it but also not sure I understood the ending. I hate that. "
" I liked the story line but hated the ending. It had some language and weird stuff. Not one I will be reading again. "
" Listened on CD on my AZ/NM roadtrip. Entertaining, colorful locations (Paris and Istanbul) but not great writing or plot. Did not like the ending. "
" Humorous spy novel located in Europe. "
" Claire Berlinski, the author, is main character in her own novel "
" What a cool book - a spy novel, from a chick-lit POV. A quick read, a satisfying ending. Loved it. "
" One of those rare books that made me laugh out loud. "
" Very light read, nice book for the summer! "
" Some nicely done humor, but the constant doublespeak and high meta loses its charm quickly. "
" Fun quick read- well written and really entertaining! "
Susan Ericksen is an actor and voice-over artist. She has been awarded numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. As an actor and director, she has worked in theaters throughout the country.
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