Sophisticated, layered, and character-driven, Nina’s Friends is a fast-moving international suspense thriller of betrayal, secrets, and greed, for fans of Daniel Silva and John Sandford. “Sometimes the friends of your friend are your enemies.” Married Russian undercover agents are brutally murdered in their Philadelphia townhouse during the early months of the Ukraine invasion. Was it a botched robbery? Or something far darker connected to the war? Dragan Markov, a disgraced former agent and the dead woman’s lover, refuses to buy either explanation; he believes the killings are connected to the couple’s illegal side-hustles. He follows the trail to Denmark, where he contends with a money launderer seeking an exit strategy, a fledgling domestic terrorist, a pansexual outlaw biker, and a beautiful colleague who wants nothing to do with him or his mission. Time is not on Dragan's side. He'll soon become the scapegoat for the murders... unless whoever is tracking him through the side streets and shadows of Copenhagen kills him first. This explosive murder mystery is book one of the Tajna Circle series. "A spy thriller with several twists that kept me coming back. I had trouble putting this book down. Well written with some great character descriptions. I really enjoyed this read from a new author. I can't wait for a sequel." ~ Anthony Tracey, Goodreads "An intelligent and entertaining whodunit-murder mystery." ~ Kobzar, LibraryThing "The tale begins with the brutal murder of a married couple (who happen to be Russian undercover agents) in their Philly townhome during the early months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But was this part of a robbery gone wrong, or perhaps something deeper connected to the war?" ~ Michelle Rotuno-Johnson, Patch "A page-turning murder mystery thriller with a lot of twists and turns to keep you in suspense till the end." ~ Wilanasmidt, LibraryThing Before turning full time to writing, James Irwin was a college professor, a widely-exhibited media artist, and held leadership roles in national and international marketing communication.  He is an associate editor of the Atlantic Journal of Communication and co-founded the film journal Cinematograph. Awards and fellowships include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, National Endowment for the Humanities, Gotham Writers Workshop, Ziff-Davis Publishing, Rockefeller Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, USA Today, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.Originally from southeastern Pennsylvania, he now lives in northern New Jersey.