The second book in Charles Cumming’s gripping new thriller series surrounding BOX 88 – a covert intelligence organization that operates below the radar.
A spy in one of the most dangerous places on Earth…
1993: Student Lachlan Kite is sent to post-Soviet Russia in the guise of a language teacher. In reality, he is there as a spy. Top secret intelligence agency BOX 88 has ordered Kite to extract a chemical weapons scientist before his groundbreaking research falls into the wrong hands. But Kite’s mission soon goes wrong and he is left stranded in a hostile city with a former KGB officer on his trail.
An old enemy looking for revenge…
2020: Now the director of BOX 88 operations in the UK, Kite discovers he has been placed on the ‘JUDAS’ list – a record of enemies of Russia who have been targeted for assassination. Kite’s fight for survival takes him to Dubai, where he must confront the Russian secret state head on…
Who will come out on top in this deadly game of cat and mouse?
‘The storytelling is first-rate, with all the minutiae of spycraft, sense of place and memorable supporting characters you could wish for’ Sunday Times
‘The first Kite novel was excellent, but this is even better…evokes the world of espionage in a way the late John le Carre would have much admired’ Daily Mail
‘The gold standard in espionage fiction’ Kirkus
‘Some of the best writing around on the intricacies of spycraft and the high price agents pay for doing their job’ Sun
An organisation that doesn’t exist.
A spy that can’t be caught.
Years ago, a spy was born…
1989: The Cold War will soon be over, but for BOX 88, a top secret spying agency, the espionage game is heating up. Lachlan Kite, recruited from an elite boarding school, is sent to France, tasked with gathering intelligence on an enigmatic Iranian businessman implicated in the Lockerbie bombing. But what Kite uncovers is more terrifying than anyone expected…
Now he faces the deadliest decision of his life…
2020: MI5 hear rumours of BOX 88’s existence and go after Kite – but Iranian intelligence have got to him first. Taken captive and brutally tortured, Kite has a choice: reveal the truth about what happened in France thirty years earlier – or watch his family die.
In a battle unlike anything he has faced before, Kite must use all his skills to stay alive.
‘Charles Cumming is up there with the very best espionage writers’ Ian Rankin, bestselling author of the Rebus novels
‘BOX 88 is a wonderful spy novel; Charles Cumming’s most ambitious – and his best – yet’ Mick Herron, bestselling author of the Jackson Lamb series
‘Great work from Charles Cumming with a multi-layered plotline and an engaging hero’ James Swallow, bestselling author of Nomad
‘A layered and seamlessly constructed story with all the hallmarks of the finest spy thriller’ Charlotte Philby, acclaimed author of A Double Life
‘An enviably sharp-eyed and satisfying read. Great!’ Henry Porter, author of Firefly
‘A fast-paced story that moves seamlessly between the glamour of the South of France in the late eighties and present day London’ Holly Watt, award-winning author of To the Lions
‘Utterly gripping. A great new spy hero is born’ Amanda Craig, author of The Golden Rule
‘Charles Cumming has breathed new life into the spy novel’ Ben Macintyre, bestselling author of The Spy and the Traitor
'Recommended. I read it one breathless sitting' Ian Rankin
He risked it all to become a spy. Now he must pay the price.
A gripping new standalone spy thriller from the winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year and 'the master of the modern spy thriller' (Mail on Sunday).
One simple task for British Intelligence takes him into a world of danger.
Successful novelist Kit Carradine has grown restless. So when British Intelligence invites him to enter the secret world of espionage, he willingly takes a leap into the unknown.
But the glamour of being a spy is soon tainted by fear and betrayal, as Carradine finds himself in Morocco on the trail of Lara Bartok - a mysterious fugitive with links to international terrorism.
Bartok is a leading figure in Resurrection, a violent revolutionary movement whose brutal attacks on prominent right-wing politicians have spread hatred and violence throughout the West.
As the coils of a ruthless plot tighten around him, Carradine finds himself drawn to Lara. Caught between competing intelligence services who want her dead, he soon faces an awful choice: to abandon Lara to her fate or to risk everything trying to save her.
'An instant classic of the genre' Mick Herron
'The Man Between is up there with the best - full of thrills, wit and fine writing' Peter Robinson
A vivid and gripping novel from 'the master of the modern spy thriller' (Mail on Sunday) which sees Alec Milius coaxed back into the secret world to face the uncontainable danger of 21st century terrorism...
For six years, Alec Milius has escaped the past. In Madrid, he has rebuilt his life, but remains in exile and in danger.
Slightly older, and much wiser, than the young spy who first impressed MI6, he has kept his fatal attraction to secrets. So when a prominent politician mysteriously disappears, Alec is lured back into the spying game.
Only this time he operates without the protection of any official agency - isolated and expendable, with nobody to turn to if things go wrong. And they soon do.
But when Alec is confronted with the nightmare of modern terrorism, he is given one last chance for redemption...
For all fans of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY comes this masterclass in suspense about a spy caught up in his own web of deception...
Alec Milius is young, smart and ambitious - with a talent for deception. When a chance encounter opens the door to a career with MI6, he is desperate to make his mark.
But life as a spy begins to take a terrible toll on himself and those around him, and soon Alec is chasing not just success but survival. Forced to work alone, he spins a web of deceit that traps him centre stage in a game of global espionage.
In this new job, the difference between truth and a lie can be a matter of life and death. And for Alec, it's getting harder to tell them apart...
A Spy By Nature is the bestselling novel with which Charles Cumming announced his arrival as heir apparent to masters like John le Carré and Len Deighton; compellingly told, utterly authentic and heart-racingly intense, it will grip you till the very last page.
A Spy by Nature is the bestselling novel with which Charles Cumming announced his arrival as heir apparent to masters like John le Carré and Len Deighton; compellingly told, utterly authentic and heart-racingly intense, it will grip you till the very last page.
"Astonishingly masterful . . . riveting." Valerie Plame, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Game
A convincing and gripping spy thriller with a clever, twisty plot, believable characters and an abundance of credible spy lore. Highly recommended. The Age
Thomas Kell thought he was done with spying. A former MI6 officer, he devoted his life to the Service, but it has left him with nothing but grief and a simmering anger against the Kremlin.
Then Kell is offered an unexpected chance at revenge. Taking the law into his own hands, he embarks on a mission to recruit a top Russian spy who is in possession of a terrifying secret. As Kell tracks his man from Moscow to London, he finds himself in a high stakes game of cat and mouse in which it becomes increasingly difficult to know who is playing whom.
As the mission reaches boiling point, the threat of a catastrophic terrorist attack looms over Britain. Kell is faced with an impossible choice. Loyalty to MI6or to his own conscience?
A Sunday Times top ten bestseller, perfect for fans of THE NIGHT MANAGER, from the winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year and 'the master of the modern spy thriller' (Mail on Sunday).
Thomas Kell thought he was done with spying. A former MI6 officer, he devoted his life to the Service, but all it has left him with is grief and a simmering anger against the Kremlin.
Then Kell is offered an unexpected chance at revenge. Taking the law into his own hands, he embarks on a mission to recruit the Russian spy he blames for the murder of his girlfriend.
Kell tracks his nemesis from Kiev to London, but soon finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in which it becomes increasingly difficult to know who is playing whom.
Christopher Keen, once a master spy, is murdered in cold blood. His sons Mark and Benjamin, though they hadn't seen their father for over twenty years, are now drawn into the legacy of his life as a spy as they set out to discover the truth and avenge their father's death.
But as their search proceeds, more questions arise—is Christopher's death connected to his past life in MI6? Was his eldest son involved in a conspiracy that links him to Moscow, Afghanistan, and the Russian mafia? Bestselling author Charles Cumming delivers a thriller that delves into the complicated double lives of spies, and what happens when their half-told secrets die with them.
Internationally acclaimed as "a premier writer of espionage thrillers (USA Today), Charles Cumming is "among the most skillful spy novelists (Washington Post) and "a worthy successor to the masters...like John le Carre and Len Deighton (Chicago Sun-Times). Now, with A COLDER WAR, Cumming returns with MI6 agent Tom Kell (A Foreign Country), in a tour de force that will dazzle readers and critics alike.
A top-ranking Iranian military official is blown up while trying to defect to the West. An investigative journalist is arrested and imprisoned for writing an article critical of the Turkish government. An Iranian nuclear scientist is assassinated on the streets of Tehran. These three incidents, seemingly unrelated, have one crucial link. Each of the three had been recently recruited by Western intelligence, before being removed or killed.
Then Paul Wallinger, MI6's most senior agent in Turkey, dies in a puzzling plane crash. Fearing the worst, MI6 bypasses the usual protocol and brings disgraced agent Tom Kell in from the cold to investigate. Kell soon discovers what Wallinger had already begun to suspect-that there's a mole somewhere in the Western intelligence, a traitor who has been systematically sabotaging scores of joint intelligence operations in the Middle East.
Perfect for fans of John le Carré, a gripping and suspenseful spy novel from 'the master of the modern spy thriller' (Mail on Sunday)
MI6's Head of Station in Turkey is killed in a mysterious plane crash. Amelia Levene, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, wants the incident investigated - quickly and quietly.
The only man she can trust is Thomas Kell, a disgraced spy searching for redemption.
Arriving in Istanbul, Kell discovers that MI6 operations in the region have been fatally compromised: a traitor inside Western Intelligence threatens not just the Special Relationship, but the security of the entire Middle East.
Kell's search for the mole takes him from London, to Greece, and into Eastern Europe. But when Kell is betrayed by those closest to him, the stakes become personal. He will do anything to see this operation through - including putting himself, and others, in the line of fire...
From the internationally acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of The Trinity Six, comes a compelling tale of deceit and betrayal, conspiracy and redemption
On the vacation of a lifetime in Egypt, an elderly French couple are brutally murdered. Days later, a meticulously-planned kidnapping takes place on the streets of Paris. Amelia Levene, the first female Chief of MI6, has disappeared without a trace, six weeks before she is due to take over as the most influential spy in Europe. It is the gravest crisis MI6 has faced in more than a decade. Desperate not only to find her, but to keep her disappearance a secret, Britain's top intelligence agents turn to one of their own: disgraced MI6 officer Thomas Kell. Tossed out of the Service only months before, Kell is given one final chance to redeem himself - find Amelia Levene at any cost. The trail leads Kell to France and Tunisia, where he uncovers a shocking secret and a conspiracy that could have unimaginable repercussions for Britain and its allies. Only Kell stands in the way of personal and political catastrophe.
Winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2012 for Best Thriller of the Year. Selected by Sunday Times Books of the Year and The Guardian as Best Thriller of the Year. Perfect for fans of John le Carré, a gripping and suspenseful spy thriller from 'the master of the modern spy thriller' (Mail on Sunday)
Six weeks before she is due to take up her position as the first female head of MI6, Amelia Levene vanishes without a trace.
Her disappearance is the gravest crisis MI6 has faced for more than a decade. There has been no ransom demand, no word from foreign intelligence services, no hint of a defection.
Should news of Levene's disappearance leak out, the consequences would be catastrophic. But for disgraced MI6 officer Thomas Kell, the crisis offers a chance for redemption. He is approached by his former employers and ordered to find her.
Kell's search takes him first to France, then North Africa, where he discovers an extraordinary secret hidden deep in Levene's past. it is a secret that could fatally compromise Britain's national security - and for which Kell could pay with his life.
This is another first-rate intelligent thriller which will cement Cumming's reputation as one of the most engaging British novelists writing today.
