SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR.

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Photo | Claire McCormack Hogan

 

DAVID MCCLOSKEY

Ex-CIA | Author | Speaker

Co-host “The Rest is Classified”

David McCloskey is the Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Seventh Floor, Moscow X, and Damascus Station. He is co-host of the podcast “The Rest is Classified.”

David is a former CIA analyst and former consultant at McKinsey & Company. While at the CIA, he wrote regularly for the President’s Daily Brief, delivered classified testimony to Congressional oversight committees, and briefed senior White House officials, Ambassadors, military officials, and Arab royalty.

He worked in CIA field stations across the Middle East throughout the Arab Spring and conducted a rotation in the Counterterrorism Center focused on the jihad in Syria and Iraq. During his time at McKinsey, David advised national security, aerospace, and transportation clients on a range of strategic and operational issues.

David holds an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, where he specialized in energy policy and the Middle East.

He lives in Texas with his wife and three children.


COMING SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 — Pre-order now anywhere books are sold!

"Blistering, daring, and impossible to set aside. The Persian proves that David McCloskey belongs on the same shelf as le Carré, Silva, and Matthews."
― The Real Book Spy

"Masterfully constructed.… [The Persian takes] readers on a journey that starts as a slow burn before accelerating to top sped and exploding with adrenaline-fueled action and emotional fallout."
― Steve Netter, The Best Thriller Books

"With its snarky tone and its conflicted protagonist’s California dreams, McCloskey’s novel is reminiscent of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer.… In probing the deep moral and practical complexities of this shadow war, McCloskey’s novel could not be more timely or unsettling."
― Kirkus Reviews

"[The Persian] builds to high drama and twists with characters you care about.… Deep and satisfying... keeps the McCloskey traits of great tradecraft and headlong dash to the end. It proves he is a great spy writer."
― Tim Shipman, Spybrary

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Friends - the Damascus Station paperback drops tomorrow, 10/25! Available wherever you get your books. I'll also be in conversation with Don Bentley, New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Intent and Tom Clancy's Zero Hour at @interabangbooks
The Damascus Station paperback drops next Tuesday, 10/25. To mark the launch I'll be in conversation with Don Bentley, New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Intent and Tom Clancy's Zero Hour at Interabang Books here in Dallas at 6pm. Link bel
Damascus Station is out in paperback in the US on 25 October and on January 26th in the UK! Hard to believe the book is already a year old...
It’s very cool to see copies of your book translated for the international market…here’s Portugal which turned out beautifully thanks to Lua de Papel
Thrilled to be signing copies of Damascus Station for the @poisonedpenbookstore! Go visit this legendary bookseller and pick one up
It is really freaking cool and humbling to see Damascus Station nominated by @internationalthrillerwriters for Best First Novel. Honored to be in such fantastic company.
I know it’s a random milestone, but still pretty cool to see Damascus Station cross the 1,000 rating mark on Amazon (and most of them are also pretty good!) Thanks to all of the readers and supporters who made this possible. Very humbled and gr
I had a lot of fun joining the @SecretsAndSpies podcast to talk all things spy fiction, Damascus Station, and, of course, the fabled Langley hot dog machine. Give it a listen here: https://pod.fo/e/10636f