Code Name Blue Wren

The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed

By: Jim Popkin

Narrated by: Jim Popkin

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The incredible true story of Ana Montes, the most damaging female spy in US history, drawing upon never-before-seen material and to be published upon her release from prison, for readers of Agent Sonya and A Woman of No Importance.

Just days after the 9-11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst eased her red Toyota Echo into traffic and headed to work. She never saw the undercover cars tracking her every turn. As she settled into her cubicle on the 6th floor of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, FBI Agents and twitchy DIA officers were hiding in nearby offices. For this was the day that Ana Montes--the US Intelligence Community superstar who had just won a prestigious fellowship at the CIA--was to be arrested and publicly exposed as a secret agent for Cuba.

Like spies Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen before her, Ana Montes blindsided her colleagues with brazen acts of treason. For nearly 17 years, Montes succeeded in two high-stress jobs. By day, she was one of the government’s top Cuba experts, a buttoned-down GS-14 with shockingly easy access to classified documents. By night, she was on the clock for Fidel Castro, listening to coded messages over shortwave radio, passing US secrets to handlers in local restaurants, and slipping into Havana wearing a wig.

Montes didn’t just deceive her country. Her betrayal was intensely personal. Her mercurial father was a former US Army Colonel. Her brother and sister-in-law were FBI Special Agents. And her only sister, Lucy, also worked her entire career for the Bureau. The highlight of her distinguished 31 years as a Miami-based language specialist: Helping the FBI flush Cuban spies out of the United States. Little did Lucy or her family know that the greatest Cuban spy of all was sitting right next to them at Thanksgivings, baptisms, and weddings.

In Code Name Blue Wren, investigative journalist Jim Popkin weaves the tale of two sisters who chose two very different paths, plus the unsung heroes who had to fight to bring Ana to justice. With exclusive access to a “Secret” CIA behavioral profile of Ana, family memoirs, and Ana’s incriminating letters from prison, Popkin reveals the making of a traitor—a woman labelled “one of the most damaging spies in U.S. history” by America’s top counter-intelligence official.

After more than two decades in federal prison, Montes will be freed in January 2023. Code Name Blue Wren is a thrilling detective tale, an insider’s look at the clandestine world of espionage, and an intimate exploration of the dark side of betrayal.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Jim Popkin (P)2023 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Riveting!

I can’t believe I didn’t know about this. Crazy to think someone could slide in like this - hiding her true feelings.

Interesting true story

A very good book. Very interesting and it’s amazing she got away with it for so long.
I did get tired of hearing “quote” throughout. It was distracting from the story.

could not finish

I got a few hours into this. It's a truly fascinating story, especially given how little press it got compared to Bob Hanssen. I wanted to keep going - I really did. But the narrator - in a nonfiction book HEAVILY reliant on interviews and government documents - said "quote" before every. single. quotation. This means that in a single one minute span, you could hear the word "quote" ten or fifteen times. It started to get on my nerves early and just kept grating. I think I will probably read the book rather than listen to it, because the subject is really fascinating and the book is very well researched.

Amazing story!

Riveting. Reads like a fast paced spy novel but it is a true and remarkable story!

I would have preferred another narrator - it took me a while to get used to the author and I almost put it down a couple of times early on, but I stuck with it, even though the listening wasn’t quite enjoyable.

Great read

Popkin is the clear specialist on this subject and her close contacts.
Can’t wait for the movie!!

The making of a double agent

I like how this story was put together. There's always a story behind the story and this author started with the family of the two sisters handling adverse situations in opposite ways. The historic weight of the entire story is invaluable. The destructiveness of having a mole near our most sensitive information, rivalry between agencies, the ball drops and many people suffer. Not just this country but all alliances.
I loved how the writer handled all aspects, and the reader is pretty good. As a bonus, there's a bit about Robert Hanssen who sold thousands of classified documents to the KGB that detailed U.S. strategies in the event of nuclear war, developments in military weapons technologies, and aspects of the U.S. counterintelligence program. He was spying at the same time as Aldrich Ames, both in the Central Intelligence Agency. Both compromised the names of KGB agents working secretly for the U.S., some of whom were executed for their betrayal. But this story is about a trusted Woman who outdid them both, undetected among the egos of men. This is an up close and personal account of her story with the documented POV of her family and friends, a great touch. Excellent.

Great non-fiction Spy Story

Excellent authorship using diligent analytical sources to deep-dive into one of the most interesting and dangerous spy-catching stories of this generation.

Interesting book about the evolution of Blue Wren

I enjoyed the book, except for a couple of items. Mr. Popkin, you need a different narrator. You gave a fantastic interview, but as for reading the book, not so much.

Mr. Popkin has a pleasant voice, however, his delivery is rather unexceptional, kind of dry. The book needs a new narrator. But it was worth the credit, despite that.

My other problem, is I had a problem learning which person belonged to what family, who worked where, who else was actually a spy, like that. Could have just been my befuddled brain.

My personal opinion is that there are some things in the beginning that could have safely been left out. I would have liked to have seen more about her life as a spy, and how they ultimately caught her, but I think this was just meant to be an overview, not the 30-40 hour book I'd really like lol lol lol

Detailed and updated information on the case

This book gave an inside look at how this female spy tore through not just the United States and USIC, but through her family and friends. The new details give insight to her childhood and family personalities and how growing up a certain way did not negatively impact her siblings but her narcissism and arrogance all but ruined her life. This story is less about the investigation and case details and more about the people involved in the entire event.

Have we learned our lesson?

SO interesting….. how did someone get away with the spying for so many years right under the nose of her colleagues & friends? Better than fiction!!