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How a former CIA analyst and working mom used her experience to write her debut spy novel

Cleveland's debut thriller Need to Know is already set for a movie adaptation starring Charlize Theron.
Karen Cleveland wrote Need to Know in 2016 during an extended yearlong unpaid maternity leave from the CIA after giving birth to her second son. (Jessica Scharpf, Penguin Random House)

Karen Cleveland is a former CIA analyst and working mom whose debut thriller Need to Know has a ripped-from-the-headlines storyline about Russian meddling. Early reviews have raved about the book's balance of domestic drama and suspenseful action, and the novel is already set to be made into a film with Charlize Theron pegged to star and produce the project.

Produced by Chris Trowbridge