The Sava Series Series by Dan Mayland
The Sava Series #1
The Colonel's Mistake
Dan Mayland
Mark Sava, former CIA station chief of Azerbaijan, lives a quiet life as a professor at Western University in the city of Baku. But his peace is shattered by both the assassination of a high-level American during an international oil conference and the arrest of CIA operations officer Daria Buckingham for the crime.Sava knows the Iranian American Buckingham well—he personally trained her—and doesn’t believe she had anything to do with the murder, so he visits a CIA control center to discuss the situation with the new station chief. When no one answers the outside intercom, Sava overrides the security code and stumbles upon the grisliest scene of his career. Now, he can’t help but wonder if he really knows Buckingham as well as he thought… Determined to find out, Sava soon finds himself and a partner caught in the middle of the new Great Game—a deadly intelligence war over oil that has Iran, China, and the United States clawing at each other’s throats. Meanwhile, Colonel Henry Amato, assistant to the US national security advisor, is keeping a close watch on the situation from Washington. His stake in the Great Game is high—and personal. From the shadows of the world’s most volatile region to the highest levels of Washington politics, The Colonel’s Mistake takes readers on an unforgettable ride where the good, the bad, and the brutal play a deadly chess game of global espionage.From BooklistMark Sava is teaching international relations in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the former CIA station chief for Azerbaijan doesn’t miss his old life at all. But when Daria Buckingham, one of his former field operatives, is arrested, and almost all the station’s operational staff are murdered, he rejoins the Agency as a contractor. The machinations he uncovers reach the highest levels of the U.S. and Iranian governments, and Sava finds himself on the run in Iran, Iraq, Dubai, and Paris. Author Mayland handles this debut novel (and first of a series) with the aplomb of a veteran. He makes oil-rich, little-known Azerbaijan a fascinating locale for the “latest incarnation of the Great Game.” Sava’s transformation from complacent professor to hard-edged, combative spook is skillfully handled, and the explication of Azerbaijan’s importance in the geopolitics of oil recalls the knowing thrillers of David Ignatius. There’s also plenty of action, and a violent denouement. Espionage-thriller fans won’t want to miss this one. — Thomas Gaughan ReviewMayland beautifully captures the high stakes games played in an increasingly complex world. The Colonel's Mistake is a terrific ride. --Kyle Mills, New York Times Bestselling author of The Immortalists "Dan Mayland has an excellent understanding of modern Iran." --Gene Garthwaite, author of The Persians "Dan Mayland tells a riveting spy story from the Caspian oil city of Baku. He vividly captures the mysterious, dangerous place that swarms with agents like Cold War Berlin in the 1960s." Lutz Kleveman, author of The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia "An outstanding debut...The Colonel's Mistake has a fresh setting well off the beaten path of the run of the mill intelligence novel, and you'll definitely be rewarded for making the trip..." –William Christie, author of The Warriors of God
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The Sava Series #2
The Leveling
Dan Mayland
These days, Mark Sava spends more time in tutoring sessions than in cloak-and-dagger rendezvous. The former CIA station chief of Azerbaijan has settled into the modest life of a professor in Baku…until an assassin makes a brazen attempt on his life in the hallowed halls of the national library.The Azeri government deems Sava, with his complex past, a security threat and orders him out of the country immediately. At the same time, the CIA orders Sava back to the US. But when he receives cryptic photos that lead him to believe his friend John Decker has been kidnapped—Sava knows he has no option but to find Decker.He teams up with ex–CIA spy and former girlfriend Daria Buckingham, and the two soon find themselves being chased by Chinese intelligence agents through the underworlds of Turkmenistan and Iran, caught in the middle of a secret conflict over oil that has the US and Iran tumbling headlong into war.Filled with the espionage intrigue and pulse-pounding action that made The Colonel’s Mistake a runaway hit, The Leveling brings to life in electrifying detail one of the most dangerous regions of the globe.ReviewPraise for Dan Mayland:"Mayland beautifully captures the high stakes games played in an increasingly complex world.” —Kyle Mills, New York Times Bestselling author of The Immortalists "Dan Mayland has an excellent understanding of modern Iran." —Gene Garthwaite, author of The Persians “Mayland’s insight into Central Asian espionage and his ability to craft a breathless thriller are exceeded only by his understanding of the human heart. Think you can guess what The Leveling refers to? Think again.”-Orest Stelmach – bestselling author of The Boy from Reactor 4About the AuthorDan Mayland has been detained by soldiers in Soviet Czechoslovakia, lived in France, explored Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and gone mountaineering in Colombia and Bolivia. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and has written articles for the Iranian.com. Mayland’s first book, The Colonel’s Mistake, was the inaugural novel of the Mark Sava series.
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The Sava Series #3
Spy for Hire
Dan Mayland
A kidnapped orphan triggers an intelligence war in the Middle East, catapulting top-spy Mark Sava into a desperate race against friend and foe alike.Azerbaijan didn’t want him. And now Kyrgyzstan may not be able to handle Mark Sava either. The ex–CIA station chief has settled into a new, easy life as a spy for hire. But then his girlfriend, Daria, discovers the private intelligence agency employing Sava is connected to a strange plot involving a mysterious orphan.As Saudi intelligence agents and the CIA seek out the boy for their own ends, Sava and Daria call on old friend and ex–Navy SEAL John Decker to protect the child while they dig for the truth. Soon Sava has a front-row seat to a black ops war between the CIA, US Naval Intelligence, and foreign forces—and the boy is somehow the key to victory. Sava just wants to find the child a good home, but can he do so before his own broken past proves his undoing?ReviewPraise for Dan Mayland: "Mayland beautifully captures the high stakes games played in an increasingly complex world." —Kyle Mills, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists"Dan Mayland has an excellent understanding of modern Iran." —Gene Garthwaite, author of *The Persians *"Dan Mayland tells a riveting spy story from the Caspian oil city of Baku. He vividly captures the mysterious, dangerous place that swarms with agents like Cold War Berlin in the 1960s." —Lutz Kleveman, author of The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia“Mayland’s insight into Central Asian espionage and his ability to craft a breathless thriller are exceeded only by his understanding of the human heart.” —Orest Stelmach, author of The Boy from Reactor 4About the AuthorAuthor of the best-selling Mark Sava thriller series, including The Colonel’s Mistake and The Leveling, Dan Mayland is an international traveler who brings his adventures to life on the page. He lives in Pennsylvania with his family.
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