I.S. Berry spent six years as an operations officer for the CIA, serving in wartime Baghdad and elsewhere. She has lived and worked throughout Europe and the Middle East, including two years in Bahrain during the Arab Spring.

Her debut spy novel, The Peacock and the Sparrow, was named The Times’ (UK) Thriller of the Year; a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, The Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and NPR; and won the Edgar Award, Barry Award, Macavity Award, and International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. The Times calls Berry one of “the top spy novelists of the 21^st century,” and she’s been featured in The Washington Post, The Times, and WAMU.

Berry is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and Haverford College, and lives in Virginia with her husband and son. She’s a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, International Association of Crime Writers, and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers.