Code Name Blue Wren

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

De: Jim Popkin

Narrado por: Jim Popkin

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.

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.

I shouldn’t be shocked, but I am

An almost-unbelievably shocking [but shouldn’t be shocking at all] true crime story of an eventually-caught traitor to the United States. This was extremely-well researched and presented. Kudos to the author.

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.

Thorough review of the case

I enjoyed the book though it’s a slow start. Meticulous coverage of the personal background, professional career, and the operation to arrest her.