The Widow Spy cover art

The Widow Spy

My CIA Journey from the Jungles of Laos to Prison in Moscow

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

The Widow Spy is the firsthand account of a true Cold War spy operation in Moscow told exclusively by the CIA case officer who lived this experience. Martha D. Peterson was one of the first women to be assigned to Moscow, a very difficult operational environment.

Her story begins in Laos during the Vietnam War where she accompanied her husband, a CIA officer. She describes their life in a small city in Laos, ending with the tragic death of her husband. Then her own 30-year career begins in Moscow, where she walks the dark streets alone, placing dead-drops and escaping the relentless eye of the KGB.

Experience her arrest and detention in Lyubianka Prison, as only she can relate it. What she reveals in The Widow Spy has never been told.

©2012 Martha D Peterson (P)2018 Tantor Political Science Politics & Government Women Espionage Marriage Russia
All stars
Most relevant
Really interesting account which conveyed a vivid sense of place and time. My only quibble is the narrator's habit of pronouncing CIA as C [pause] I [pause] A. Since 'CIA' is used constantly, this drove me slightly nuts. But I finished the book and I learned a lot.

Revealing account

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a brilliant story, I was so impressed with her story. I really enjoyed the book and I recommend it to anyone

Interesting story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very interesting story, but just a little long-winded at times. I really liked the details and the story overall, but certain passages were repeated multiple times, which I’m not a fan of.
The performance was good overall, but slightly monotonous. After the first half hour I got used to it and didn’t mind it as much, although I did put the audio to play at 1.2x speed. This made it much better!

4/5

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Had to stop listening half way through. I have read laundry lists which are more interesting. Long winded, self absorbed rubbish and the narrator is just as annoying.

Badly written dross

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.