The Foreign Service Journal, November 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2015 43 sachusetts to a career as an American diplomat that took her across all seven continents. Writing in a question-and-answer format, Akahloun describes leaving her small hometown to pursue her passion. Readers follow her colorful adventures and progression through the Foreign Service, including what it was like breaking the mold at the Department of State before the changes of 1972 brought more equal opportunities for women. She also com- ments on the political and economic situations and U.S. foreign policy goals in each of the countries to which she was posted. In addition to chronicling her own story, Akahloun docu- ments the trials, tribulations and accomplishments of Cape Verdeans—an ethnic and racial minority of Portuguese African origin. Throughout, Akahloun intersperses lessons learned and the affirmation that dreams are magical, even though chasing them can sometimes be extremely challenging. She proves that resolve, fortitude and persistence can propel one to rise above and do incredible things. Eleanor Lopes Akahloun is a retired FSO with 43 years of service. She has visited more than 50 countries, with postings in the Philippines, Morocco, Kenya, Tunisia, Canada, Uruguay, China, Venezuela and Washington, D.C. She resides outside of Washington, D.C., and actively writes, travels, practices yoga and engages in volunteer work. My Life and Thoughts: The Formative Years Raymond Malley, Xlibris, 2014, $29.99/hardcover; $19.99/paperback; $3.99/Kindle, 188 pages. The first in a series, Raymond Malley’s memoir begins with the years leading up to his distinguished career as a U.S. diplo- mat with USAID. The first section of the book, “My Family Background,” con- tains Malley’s discovery of his family history and the travels of his ancestors from 16th-century France to the United States. He describes the backgrounds of his father and mother, uncover- ing lineage linking him to pioneers Francois Mallet and Andre Devautour. In “Growing Up,” Malley details his struggles to achieve his dreams of higher education and pursuit of an international life of serious purpose and service. Readers follow him from birth through primary school and his first job, delivering and selling newspapers. Finally, in “Higher Education and Military,” Malley begins his time at Boston University and the ROTC program. Seeking to expand his horizons, he attended graduate school at the Institute of Higher International Studies in Switzerland under the GI Bill and then the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. All these things paved the way for his eventual career in the Foreign Service. Raymond Malley is a former FSO who spent 23 years in operational and management positions with USAID. After retiring in 1983, he undertook consulting assignments for the agency for the next 20 years. He is the author of My Global Life: A Conversation with Raymond Malley , a volume in the ADST Oral History Series. FICTION Ghost Image: A Sophie Medina Mystery Ellen Crosby, Scribner, 2015, $25/hardcover; $12.99/Kindle; $20.95/audiobook, 320 pages. The second installment in the Sophie Medina Mystery series, Ghost Image follows photo- journalist Sophie as she races to find an inter- national treasure before a murderer finds her. When her friend Kevin—a friar and controversial environmentalist—is mysteri- ously found dead in a Washington, D.C., monastery garden, Sophie embarks on a search for the killer. After learning that Kevin was being stalked for uncovering a groundbreaking, 200-year-old botanic discovery, Sophie leaps into an international treasure hunt following a trail that begins in the U.S. Capitol and eventually leads to London and the English countryside. As her suspect list grows to include politicians, diplomats, European royalty and botanical experts, Sophie must also avoid being targeted by Kevin’s killer. “Ellen Crosby leads us on a deadly chase, showcasing power- ful and corrupt personalities against a landscape where nothing is as it seems. A page-turner to the last, Ghost Image is a compel- ling read that kept me guessing late into the night,” says award- winning author G.M. Malliet of Crosby’s newest thriller. Ellen Crosby, the wife of FSO André de Nesnera of the Voice of America, began writing mysteries under her maiden name when her husband was posted to Geneva. She has written six books in the Virginia wine country mystery series, as well as Moscow Nights , a standalone based loosely on her time as Mos- cow correspondent for ABC Radio News in the late 1980s. Crosby