When White House correspondent Sofie Morse quits her job, she gets a surprise call from the office of First Lady Lara Caine asking Sofie to write her biography. But when Sofie discovers that the Soviet-born First Lady's father and other family members had been spies for the KGB during the Cold War, she finds herself in the middle of a game of cat and mouse that could have explosive ramifications.
Pitoniak doles out Lara’s back story in elegant, gulpable chapters ... Pitoniak braids timelines to create a portrait of a woman torn between two countries, two belief systems, two selves. And she confidently gallops through the turbulent Russian-U.S. chronology ... The result is an elegant and well-paced 'thriller' — I put this in quotes, because even the tensest moments put you down gently — that doesn’t wrestle much with its own provocative premise ... could be a wry bit of satire or a cautionary tale. It could be read as an examination of the unspoken treaties between politicians and their profilers. It could even comment on how first ladies (especially those born outside of the United States, of which Melania Trump was only the second in history) are treated by the press. But ultimately, it’s more like Emily in Paris meets Scandal — fantastic fun if a bit frivolous.
... twisty ... this fast-paced combination of thriller, Cold War history and sharp commentary on making one's way in the world as a woman stands on its own ... Pitoniak expertly evokes the tense atmosphere of Cold War-era Europe ... With sharp observations on everything from D.C. insider politics to the mundane details of family life, Our American Friend is both an engaging feminist thriller and a meditation on the ways history often surprises even the people who make it.
Readers will gasp at revelations that resound with the truth of recent headlines ... Pitoniak, whose earlier novels deftly depicted the conflicted lives of young professionals, portrays Sofie’s challenges in bold yet sympathetic colors ... Viewers who followed the TV series The Americans will recognize and enjoy its thrilling hallmarks in this exciting novel about the erstwhile first couple.
