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The Shadow Protocol: Zakryta Golgova
Two spies. One crossing in. One breaking out. Neither prepared for what they’ll find.
Ash Stafford moves silently through Checkpoint Charlie, tasked with tracking a missing informant. What he uncovers in East Berlin is darker than secrets — it’s a carefully buried truth that was never meant to be found.
Ivan Vasin, the defector, walks into London with a smile and a dossier that could expose a devastating flaw in Britain’s nuclear shield. But is he here to warn — or to trigger?
In the shadows, two rivals pull the
Alec Harlesden, the MI6 man who always knows more than he says.
Dimitri Orlov, the architect of a new kind of weapon — built from the mind, not machines.
As loyalty fractures and identities unravel, the game becomes
Who gets their spy back first… and at what cost?
The Shadow Protocol is a fast-paced Cold War thriller from debut author Dan Musto, plunging readers into a world of mind games, double agents, and buried truths. As timelines converge and psychological warfare deepens, a brutal twist at the heart of the story redefines everything that came before. This is espionage fiction sharpened to a knife edge — where memory can be a weapon, and trust is the most dangerous lie of all.
Ash Stafford moves silently through Checkpoint Charlie, tasked with tracking a missing informant. What he uncovers in East Berlin is darker than secrets — it’s a carefully buried truth that was never meant to be found.
Ivan Vasin, the defector, walks into London with a smile and a dossier that could expose a devastating flaw in Britain’s nuclear shield. But is he here to warn — or to trigger?
In the shadows, two rivals pull the
Alec Harlesden, the MI6 man who always knows more than he says.
Dimitri Orlov, the architect of a new kind of weapon — built from the mind, not machines.
As loyalty fractures and identities unravel, the game becomes
Who gets their spy back first… and at what cost?
The Shadow Protocol is a fast-paced Cold War thriller from debut author Dan Musto, plunging readers into a world of mind games, double agents, and buried truths. As timelines converge and psychological warfare deepens, a brutal twist at the heart of the story redefines everything that came before. This is espionage fiction sharpened to a knife edge — where memory can be a weapon, and trust is the most dangerous lie of all.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2025
5 people want to read
About the author
Dan Musto
1 book1 followerDan Musto grew up behind the Iron Curtain in the 1980s — a childhood steeped in silence, suspicion, and the Cold War’s quiet pressure. He spent countless evenings with his family, listening to his parents and grandparents share vivid, often guarded stories about life under the watchful eye of the state. These tales of whispered conversations, ration cards, and the unspoken rules of survival became a living history lesson, shaping his fascination with espionage and the human cost of political conflict.
Now based in the UK, he channels that tension into dark, fast-paced espionage fiction.
The Shadow Protocol is his debut novel, a fast-paced Cold War thriller plunging readers into a world of mind games, double agents, and buried truths. As timelines converge and psychological warfare deepens, a brutal twist at the heart of the story redefines everything that came before. This is espionage fiction sharpened to a knife edge — where memory can be a weapon, and trust is the most dangerous lie of all.
Now based in the UK, he channels that tension into dark, fast-paced espionage fiction.
The Shadow Protocol is his debut novel, a fast-paced Cold War thriller plunging readers into a world of mind games, double agents, and buried truths. As timelines converge and psychological warfare deepens, a brutal twist at the heart of the story redefines everything that came before. This is espionage fiction sharpened to a knife edge — where memory can be a weapon, and trust is the most dangerous lie of all.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 17, 2025
First and foremost, a large thank you to Dan Musto for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Always eager to discover authors who write in the genres I enjoy, I accepted this ARC thriller by Dan Musto. In a story pulled from the heart of the Cold War, Musto explores the life of espionage and double agents. He successfully paints a portrait of the secrecy and duplicity needed to keep people alive while they try to uncover truths they were never meant to know. The story builds throughout and takes the reader in quite the adventure. I suspect many will enjoy this piece by Dan Musto even more than I did.
Sneaking through Checkpoint Charlie, Ash Stafford comes upon something he could not imagine. He is there to find a missing informant, though the fringes of Berlin prove fruitful when he trips upon a truth he was never meant to reveal.
Meanwhile, Ivan Vasin has defected and waltzes into a London office with news and plans that could reveal a massive gap in the British nuclear programme, especially its defense mechanisms. While many lap this up, one man has the wherewithal to question if this is a ploy that could backfire and put the British in significant danger.
In the murky shadows, handlers for these men seek answers and pull strings that could prove very useful, while also putting their countries at dire risk for further exposure. Which side will locate their spy first and ensure the news is transmitted? A gripping story that spans a short time but packs a punch. Dan Musto keeps readers enthralled as they turn pages!
Dan Musto takes readers along a dark and intensely swift ride through the darker side of the Cold War. It is one where mind games are plentiful and each actor never knows the script from which they are reading. The narrative sets the scene and keeps the reader hooked from the start. There is little time to acclimate before chaos and action take over. Tension builds and the reader is in the middle of it all. Characters are pulled right from the headlines or the pages of a spy novel (funny, that!) and provide entertainment, as well as some education. Plot points help grease the wheels of this piece and Musta learns to surprise the reader with how it crafts it all. A well-presented piece that serves to put the reader back in those years where no one could trust anyone for any reason.
Kudos, Mr. Musto, for this strong Cold War thriller.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Always eager to discover authors who write in the genres I enjoy, I accepted this ARC thriller by Dan Musto. In a story pulled from the heart of the Cold War, Musto explores the life of espionage and double agents. He successfully paints a portrait of the secrecy and duplicity needed to keep people alive while they try to uncover truths they were never meant to know. The story builds throughout and takes the reader in quite the adventure. I suspect many will enjoy this piece by Dan Musto even more than I did.
Sneaking through Checkpoint Charlie, Ash Stafford comes upon something he could not imagine. He is there to find a missing informant, though the fringes of Berlin prove fruitful when he trips upon a truth he was never meant to reveal.
Meanwhile, Ivan Vasin has defected and waltzes into a London office with news and plans that could reveal a massive gap in the British nuclear programme, especially its defense mechanisms. While many lap this up, one man has the wherewithal to question if this is a ploy that could backfire and put the British in significant danger.
In the murky shadows, handlers for these men seek answers and pull strings that could prove very useful, while also putting their countries at dire risk for further exposure. Which side will locate their spy first and ensure the news is transmitted? A gripping story that spans a short time but packs a punch. Dan Musto keeps readers enthralled as they turn pages!
Dan Musto takes readers along a dark and intensely swift ride through the darker side of the Cold War. It is one where mind games are plentiful and each actor never knows the script from which they are reading. The narrative sets the scene and keeps the reader hooked from the start. There is little time to acclimate before chaos and action take over. Tension builds and the reader is in the middle of it all. Characters are pulled right from the headlines or the pages of a spy novel (funny, that!) and provide entertainment, as well as some education. Plot points help grease the wheels of this piece and Musta learns to surprise the reader with how it crafts it all. A well-presented piece that serves to put the reader back in those years where no one could trust anyone for any reason.
Kudos, Mr. Musto, for this strong Cold War thriller.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Displaying 1 of 1 review