Mary Louise Kelly

What is the value of flying 6,000 miles to a country where months of anti-government protests have been largely stilled? Mary Louise’s shared her reporter’s notebook from Iran with The Atlantic.

Russia never strays far from the headlines. Here are Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mary Louise, in conversation about whether Vladimir Putin is about to invade Ukraine, again.

In his first sit-down interview as Director of the CIA, William Burns takes Mary Louise’s questions on China, Russia, Afghanistan, “Havana syndrome” — and what keeps him awake at night.

In one of the most personal pieces she’s ever done for NPR, Mary Louise writes about her father, running, and the traditions that bind us.

Mary Louise meets up with former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul on a beach in Geneva, Switzerland, to talk through what to expect from the June 2021 Biden-Putin summit.

“Do we really need a 500-plus page tome on Lady Bird Johnson? To my surprise, my answer is yes,” Mary Louise writes of a new biography of the former first lady. Her latest review for the Washington Post…

“Masks conspire to create the perfect double whammy: They both muffle your voice and prevent me from seeing and reading your lips,” Mary Louise writes in the Wall Street Journal. “For those of us with hearing loss, the coronavirus era is a nightmare.”

Covering the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd… Mary Louise and producer Fatma Tanis headed to Atlanta, to hear what’s on people’s minds in the cradle of the civil rights movement.

As the U.S. and Iran appeared on the brink of war, Mary Louise sat down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington and with Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Tehran. She wrote about why journalists ask tough questions of top officials for the New York Times.

How did Amaryllis Fox get the CIA to sign off on a memoir that reveals so many details of spy tradecraft? As it turns out, she didn’t. Mary Louise’s take for the Washington Post…

“Are you a Russian spy?” Mary Louise put the question to convicted Russian agent Maria Butina on NPR’s All Things Considered.

Why have we never heard of the woman who ran France’s biggest spy network during World War II? Mary Louise reviews “Madame Fourcade’s Secret War” for the Washington Post.

“It’s hard to imagine two jobs with goals more diametrically opposed than a North Korean government minder and an American reporter determined to ask ordinary North Koreans how they feel about their country and their lives.” Behind the scenes on Mary Louise’s reporting trip to North Korea.

“I have only one question:  are you still going to deny this?” Daria Zhuk was the first woman in Russia to publicly accuse a powerful Duma lawmaker of sexual harassment. Mary Louise sat down with her to ask how #MeToo is playing out in Russia… One of many stories from her latest reporting trip to the country.

Mary Louise takes up “Russian Roulette:  The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump” for her latest book review for the Washington Post.

NPR names Mary Louise as the newest co-host of All Things Considered, as of January 2018. Vogue picks up the story here…

“2017 has presented us with so many things to be furious about, so many fights to fight. It irks me that we’re being forced to channel precious energy and outrage in the direction of horndog creeps.” Mary Louise’s take on sexual harassment and #MeToo appeared in The Atlantic.

Mary Louise’s latest book review for the Washington Post. “King of Spies” is the story of an American intelligence officer in North Korea, a country that CIA insiders consider “the longest-running failure in the history of American espionage.”

“Writing a novel is like sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub,” Stephen King tells Mary Louise. In other words–it’s a long and lonely ride. King and his son, Owen King, stopped by NPR to chat about their new novel, “Sleeping Beauties.”

In Moscow recently on another reporting trip for NPR, Mary Louise had occasion to wonder if she was being surveilled. Her account of the man in the blacked-out Volga…

Mary Louise’s exit interview with CIA director John Brennan, retiring from the spy business after 36 years. Brennan shared some of his plans for life after the CIA (Hint:  He won’t be writing spy thrillers).

In the Washington Post, Mary Louise reviews ROGUE HEROES by Ben Macintyre, a riveting new history of the British commando unit that became the prototype for special forces around the world.

A 2016 trip to Russia for NPR turned up plenty of stories worthy of a spy thriller. Here’s Mary Louise reporting on Russia’s military build-up in the Arctic, on how Russian spy services breed paranoia, and her encounter in the bar of a Moscow hotel, with the man who once ran Russia’s foreign espionage service, the SVR…

Mary Louise was on vacation with her sons when news broke of the terror attacks in Brussels. She wrote this essay for the Wall Street Journal, on trying to reconcile her instincts as a reporter with her instincts as a mother: Why I Answered My Son’s Questions About Brussels

CIA Director John Brennan sat down with Mary Louise for a wide-ranging interview, conducted in his 7th floor offices at CIA headquarters. Here they are talking about cyber security on NPR’s Morning Edition, and about terrorism and Iran on NPR’s All Things Considered.

Homegrown jihad, told like a true-crime thriller. Mary Louise reviews Peter Bergen’s new book, “United States of Jihad,” in the Washington Post.

Simply Sylvia asks Mary Louise her views on writing, shoes, and the person she dislikes most in the world…

In January 2016, Mary Louise rejoined NPR as national security correspondent. She’ll be covering the CIA and other spy agencies, terrorism, wars, and rising nuclear powers. Plenty of inspiration for plot twists in the next book! You can track her reporting here:  NPR.org

Fun features and interviews about THE BULLET, at Book Pleasures and Jungle Red Writers…

Do book tours actually sell books? Who cares when you’re having this much fun? Mary Louise shares the ups and downs of criss-crossing the country on book tour, in an essay for the Washington Post.

The crazy, true story of the highest-ranking CIA officer ever convicted of espionage… and the son he trained to spy for Russia. Here’s Mary Louise’s Washington Post review of THE SPY’S SON.

Thanks to NPR Seattle station KUOW for a thoughtful interview on THE BULLET, ANONYMOUS SOURCES, and the moment Mary Louise decided to turn her hand to writing fiction.

“The interesting thing about going deaf is that you don’t realize it’s happening.” In a personal essay for Washingtonian Magazine, Mary Louise wrote about the moment she learned that she suffers hearing loss.

“It all started at a kids’ baseball game…” Lovely Story-Behind-The-Book write-up of THE BULLET, by Kate Tuttle in the Boston Globe.

Thanks to the wonderful Politics & Prose for hosting a great book launch — THE BULLET now number one bestseller in the nation’s capital!

The Washington Post praises THE BULLET’s “ingeniously simple premise” and concludes the book is “as much a portrait of metamorphosis as it is a thriller, and it owes less to the likes of Lee Child — or Alfred Hitchcock — than to Albert Camus.”

Thanks to Heidi Legg of The Editorial, for a long and engaging interview on everything from plot twists in THE BULLET to motherhood in America to the CIA’s Twitter account. Read it here.

Wonderful pub day press rolling in for THE BULLET! Among them, these interviews and reviews from Sundays with Writers, Words and Peace and Book Q&A with Deborah Kalb…

Mary Louise talked with Rachel Martin on NPR’s Weekend Edition, about why she picked a quiet homebody as her unlikely protagonist for THE BULLET.

“Don’t kill off the dog,” and other tips Mary Louise has picked up while writing thrillers, as told to THE BIG THRILL.

“THE BULLET marks a different tack for Kelly, whose debut novel, ANONYMOUS SOURCES, was a political thriller complete with terrorist threats and international spies. But the lack of political intrigue in THE BULLET does not mean it lacks suspense; instead, its slow psychological build is riveting, and THE BULLET is relentless in its twists and turns.” Read more from the book gurus at Shelf Awareness.

Starred review for THE BULLET from Publishers Weekly:  “Kelly pulls off the difficult feat of plotting an action-packed page-turner that remains within the bounds of believability.”

In a cover story for Politico magazine, Mary Louise weighs in on the tragic attack against schoolchildren in Peshawar, and the perils of reporting in Pakistan.

From spy fiction to spy biography:  Here’s Mary Louise on the art of writing a CIA memoir, in this book review for the Washington Post.

“And a cat that prowls the corridors of the CIA…” Lovely write-up of ANONYMOUS SOURCES, from Italy-based consultant/writer/journalist Gina London.

Paperback Exchange — the wonderful independent bookstore in Florence, Italy — now fully stocked with ANONYMOUS SOURCES. Time to give Dan Brown and INFERNO a run for their money…

Exciting news! The audiobook of ANONYMOUS SOURCES is now available for purchase. Actress Therese Plummer does a remarkable job bringing the voice of Alexandra James to life.

A nice write-up in The Harvard Crimson for ANONYMOUS SOURCES, and Mary Louise’s panel discussion at the Boston Book Festival.

The Times-News pronounces ANONYMOUS SOURCES “a twisting, fast-paced narrative of intense suspense, riveting political intrigue, and thoroughly entertaining fiction.” And adds:  “As a first-time novelist, Kelly’s journalistic experience undeniably shines.”

A wonderful review from Publishers Weekly! They write, “Kelly’s years as a political writer and intelligence correspondent covering wars, terrorism and nuclear powers have served her well, and she portrays [protagonist Alexandra] James with authority in a smart, fun voice that will stir lust and envy among readers.”

Mary Louise talks ANONYMOUS SOURCES with Kerri Miller on MPR’s The Daily Circuit.

“Did you ever see anyone murdered?” The first of several great questions posed by Diane Rehm, in a show about reporters and their ANONYMOUS SOURCES.

If you were a fugitive from the American government (yes, à la Edward Snowden), where would you go? Mary Louise debates the options in the New York Times.

Trading the Spy Beat for Spy Fiction:  Mary Louise reports for NPR’s All Things Considered.

A Georgetown mystery novel:  ANONYMOUS SOURCES reviewed in the Georgetowner.

NPR’s Morning Edition interviews Mary Louise about the book, and getting busted in the CIA parking lot.

The Big Thrill interviews Mary Louise about the adventure of getting a first novel published.

ANONYMOUS SOURCES makes the list!  2013 Great Books for the Beach

In The Atlantic,  Mary Louise pondered the recent brouhaha over reporters and their sources:  A Spy Novelist’s Take on the Justice Department’s Investigation of James Rosen.

Library Journal names ANONYMOUS SOURCES to its “Suspenseful Summer: Ten Thrillers for the Hot Months Ahead” list, adding, “Mystery and thriller readers will happily delve into this fast-paced story featuring a feisty protagonist whom one hopes will have further adventures.”

Mary Louise talked terrorism, spies and ANONYMOUS SOURCES with Richard Godwin, for his blog Chin Wag At The Slaughterhouse.

Newsweek/Daily Beast published Mary Louise’s essay about hitting the wall at NPR, and how she came to write a novel. Read the essay.