Pariah: A Novel

by Dan Fesperman

Overview

An adrenaline-fueled thriller about a disgraced comedian-turned-politician who takes on the role of a lifetime: infiltrating a corrupt Eastern European country to spy on their brutal dictator

Hal Knight, a comedian and movie star-turned politician, is no stranger to controversy. But after an embarrassing and humiliating encounter on set, Knight resigns from Congress, quits social media, and disappears to the tiny Caribbean island of Vieques to drink dirty martinis and nurse his wounds. Shortly after his arrival, he is approached by a trio of CIA operatives hoping to recruit him to infiltrate the power structure of Bolrovia—a hostile, Eastern European country whose despotic president, Nikolai Horvatz, happens to be a longtime fan of Knight’s adolescent male humor. Knowing that Horvatz plans to invite the disgraced star for an official visit, the CIA coaxes Knight to accept. Skeptical, but with little to lose, Knight accepts the challenge, sensing this might be his one chance to do something worthwhile, even if no one else ever finds out.

Upon arrival as President Horvatz’s guest of honor, Knight confronts his ultimate acting challenge. What begins as an assignment to keep his eyes and ears open quickly turns into a life-or-death battle of wits, with consequences reaching all the way to Washington. With Pariah, Dan Fesperman has crafted a heart-pounding thriller about espionage, entertainment, and one man’s pursuit of redemption.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593802243
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/22/2025
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368

About the Author

DAN FESPERMAN served as a foreign correspondent for The Baltimore Sun, based in Berlin. His coverage of the siege of Sarajevo led to his debut novel, Lie in the Dark, which won Britain’s John Creasey Memorial Dagger Award for best first crime novel. Subsequent books have won the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for best thriller, the Hammett Prize from the International Association of Crime Writers, the Barry Award for best thriller, and selection by USA Today as the year’s best mystery/thriller novel. He lives near Baltimore.

Editorial Reviews

04/21/2025

Fesperman (Winter Work) delivers a sturdy spy novel that supplements its thrills with nuanced themes of personal redemption. Hal Knight—a former comedian and film star who’s recently resigned in disgrace from Congress—has fled to a Caribbean island to escape the fallout from a viral video of his drunken, misogynistic tirade on a movie set. Now a social and professional outcast, Hal has at least one remaining fan: Nikolai Horvatz, despotic president of the east European nation of Bolrovia, who learned English from Hal’s frat guy comedies and extends an invitation for him to perform in Bolrovia. CIA agent Lauren Witt seizes the opportunity to recruit Hal as a spy of convenience. Once in Europe, Hal must learn tradecraft on the fly, avoid insulting his thin-skinned host, and keep a menacing counterintelligence official from discovering his true mission. When Hal’s brash, amateurish methods scare the CIA into disavowing the operation, Lauren takes her ops team off the books to extricate her recruit. Fesperman is dexterous with plotting and character development, but less convincing when it comes to illustrating Hal’s comedic talents (unless readers really love song parodies). Still, it’s a minor quibble in an otherwise impressive effort. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Dan Fesperman’s Pariah is a masterful blend of espionage, political intrigue, and dark humor with a plot that is as entertaining as it is breathtakingly timely. Fesperman crafts a gripping narrative of a man—comedian, actor and politician—caught up in international intrigue that explores the allure of power, the sting of betrayal, and the cost of second chances too good to be true.” —Kathleen Kent, author of Black Wolf

“Pariah is a penetrating political satire . . . Thrilling and hilarious.” —Paul Vidich, author of Beirut Station

"Fesperman wins again with this well-crafted tale of modern espionage—of Russian soft influence, changing social norms, conflict both internecine and international. At times laugh-out-loud funny, at times sobering and cautionary—and filled with flawed, human characters—Pariah illuminates the thorniest geopolitical issues of our times bravely, wittily, and entertainingly." —I.S. Berry, author of The Peacock and the Sparrow

"Twisty, topical, and often darkly comedic, Pariah is Fesperman at his best, spinning a tale not just of suspense, double-dealing, and international intrigue, but a deeper story about love and redemption. This is essential spy reading for understanding the turbulence of our modern times." —David McCloskey, former CIA analyst and internationally bestselling author of The Seventh Floor

"It should come as no surprise to Fesperman’s fans that this is a first-rate spy thriller; what might come as a surprise is the relative lightness of the proceedings. Pariah is something new for the author, and it’s a rousing success." —Booklist

"An intriguing, entertaining and fast-paced plot, possibly mirroring events in the real world. Thoroughly satisfying. . . . Hal is human in every way, with improv training that often works in his favor and rashness that might carry him to the brink of disaster." —Library Journal

From the Publisher

05/01/2025

After being humiliated in a highly publicized moment, comedian and movie star turned controversial congressman Hal C. Knight resigns from Congress, quits social media, and retreats to a remote beach on the Caribbean island of Vieques to wait out the furor. There he is approached by CIA agents seeking to recruit Hal to spy on one of his biggest fans, who happens to be the authoritarian president of a fictionalized Eastern European country called Bolrovia. Wanting to do something to redeem himself and with nothing left to lose, Hal agrees. While in Bolrovia he entertains the president and his guests, uncovers a major Russian data center, and accidentally outsmarts the Bolrovian head of security. Will Hal return home to a hero's welcome? As the novel's bumbling and impulsive hero, Hal is human in every way, with improv training that often works in his favor and rashness that might carry him to the brink of disaster. VERDICT Fesperman (Winter Work) creates an intriguing, entertaining and fast-paced plot, possibly mirroring events in the real world. Thoroughly satisfying.—Joanna M. Burkhardt

Library Journal