The spy who came for Christmas, by David Morrell

 

This is a short (233 pages) spy novel about a man who's on the run from his Russian-mafia kidnapping partners. It turns out he is deep undercover but has reached the limit of what he's willing to do to stay that way. He's on the run, shot in the arm, with a baby under his coat, as he tries to evade his fellow kidnappers in Santa Fe on Christmas Eve. He takes refuge in a home with a woman and her young son and has to defend the home from the mobsters while keeping everyone alive. This is a fast, propulsive read from the author of First blood, the book that launched the Rambo character and films. Well-written, this is a real page-turner.