Search results for ""Author Charles Cumming""

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 is sent to France to gather intelligence on the Lockerbie bombing. What he uncovers is terrifying… Now he faces the deadliest decision of his life… 2020: Kite has been taken captive and brutally tortured. He now 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. ’A spy for the 21st century’Daily Mail, Books of the Year ‘Wonderfully taut, exciting and up-to-date’Spectator, Books of the Year ‘An ambitious fusion of coming-of-age novel and gripping espionage thriller’Financial Times, Books of the Year ‘BOX 88 is so good. Charles Cumming is up there with the very best espionage writers’ Ian Rankin ‘A wonderful spy novel; Charles Cumming’s most ambitious – and his best – yet’ Mick Herron ‘Charles Cumming has breathed new life into the spy novel’ Ben Macintyre ‘Atmospheric and full of sharply realised characters’ Sunday Times ‘A clever thriller’ Sun ‘Intelligence, grace, and stunning verisimilitude’ Gregg Hurwitz ‘An engaging hero’ James Swallow ‘All the hallmarks of the finest spy thriller’ Charlotte Philby ‘Sharp-eyed and satisfying’ Henry Porter ‘A great new spy hero is born’ Amanda Craig ‘Ideal for anyone nostalgic for their first love and the whiff of Marlboro Lights’ The Times

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From the Top 10 Sunday Times bestselling author and winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year. Perfect for fans of John le Carré, Charles Cumming is ‘the master of the modern spy thriller’ (Mail on Sunday) Thomas Kell is a disgraced agent who longs to come in from the cold. When MI6’s top spy in Turkey is killed in a mysterious plane crash, his chance arrives… for Kell is the only man Service Chief Amelia Levene can trust to investigate the accident. In Istanbul, Kell soon discovers that there is a traitor inside Western Intelligence. Then he meets Rachel- the dead spy’s daughter- and the stakes grow higher still. From London to Greece and into Eastern Europe, Kell tracks the mole. But a betrayal close to home transforms the operation into something more personal. Soon Kell will stop at nothing to see it through.

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A Sunday Times top ten bestseller perfect for fans of John le Carré, 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). A NEW COLD WAR IS LOOMINGFormer MI6 officer Thomas Kell thought he was done with spying. Until the Russian agent he blames for the death of his girlfriend is spotted at a Red Sea resort – in dangerous company. ONE SPY WANTS REVENGETaking the law into his own hands, Kell embarks on a mission to recruit his rival. Only to find himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in which it becomes increasingly difficult to know who is playing whom. THIS TIME IT’S PERSONALAs the mission reaches boiling point, rumours of a terrorist attack suggest a massacre on Britain soil is imminent. Kell is faced with an impossible choice. Loyalty to MI6 – or to his own conscience?

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For 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.

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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…

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The third book in Charles Cumming's gripping new thriller series surrounding BOX 88 a covert intelligence organization that operates below the radar.Waterstones Best Espionage Thriller of the YearSunday Times Thriller of the MonthFinancial Times Thriller of the YearThe location: West AfricaThe player: 24-year-old spy Lachlan KiteThe target: A war criminal on the runThe objective: Kill or captureKite's mission should be straightforward, but it soon turns into a terrifying game of cat and mouse along the beaches and backstreets of Senegal.Now, nearly thirty years later, it seems the game isn't over.And unless Kite can turn the tables on his pursuers, the inner workings of the secret state could be exposedPraise for KENNEDY 35''A bold choice of setting, which adds skilful dabs of colour to a tightly wrought tale'' The TimesA compelling exploration of the consequences of realpolitik and the intermingling of the personal with the political' GuardianCumming marshals his twin time frames exp

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Perfect for fans of John le Carré – the most explosive secret of the Cold War could be exposed: but the bigger the lie, the more ruthlessly it will be protected… Hard-up Russia expert Dr Sam Gaddis finally has a lead for the book that could solve all his career problems. But the story of a lifetime becomes an obsession that could kill him. When his source is found dead, Gaddis is alone on the trail of the Cold War’s deadliest secret: the undiscovered sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring. Suddenly threatened at every step and caught between two beautiful women, both with access to crucial evidence, Sam cannot trust anyone. To get his life back, he must chase shadows through Europe’s corridors of power. But the bigger the lie, the more ruthlessly the truth is kept buried…

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The third book in Charles Cumming’s gripping new thriller series surrounding BOX 88 – a covert intelligence organization that operates below the radar. *SUNDAY TIMES THRILLER OF THE MONTH* *FINANCIAL TIMES THRILLER OF THE YEAR* *WATERSTONES BEST ESPIONAGE THRILLERS OF 2023* 1995: In the wake of the Rwandan genocide, 24-year-old spy Lachlan Kite and his girlfriend, Martha Raine, are sent to Senegal on the trail of a hunted war criminal. The mission threatens to spiral out of control, forcing Kite to make choices that will have devastating consequences not only for his career at top-secret intelligence agency BOX 88, but also for his relationship with Martha. 2023: Eric Appiah, an old friend from Kite’s days at school and an off-the-record BOX 88 asset, makes contact with explosive information about what happened all those years ago in West Africa. When tragedy strikes, Kite must use all his resources to bring down a criminal network with links to international terror … and protect Martha from possible assassination. Praise for KENNEDY 35 'A bold choice of setting, which adds skilful dabs of colour to a tightly wrought tale' The Times ‘A compelling exploration of the consequences of realpolitik and the intermingling of the personal with the political’ Guardian ‘Cumming marshals his twin time frames expertly and illuminates an awful chapter in recent history. A first-rate spy thriller’ Mail on Sunday ‘Atmospheric and packed with threat, it thrills on every single page’ Daily Mail ‘An enthralling, haunting work…taking the spy thriller to a new level of storytelling’ Financial Times ‘A compelling depiction of the various layers of infamy involved in an appalling blot on the history of humanity’ Literary Review What Readers are saying about KENNEDY 35 'I couldn't put this down… a cracking read!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Fast-paced and tightly plotted. If you love Ian Fleming you will adore this series' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Charles Cumming has a fantastic way of bringing espionage thrillers to life' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Gripping, intricate, smart and suspenseful story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Plenty of action and a terrific plot, well told' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 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 become the first female head of MI6, Amelia Levene disappears without a trace. Disgraced ex-agent Thomas Kell is brought in from the cold with orders to find her – quickly and quietly. The mission offers Kell a way back into the secret world, the only life he’s ever known. Tracking her through France and North Africa, Kell embarks on a dangerous voyage, shadowed by foreign intelligence services. This far from home soil, the rules of the game are entirely different – and the consequences worse than anyone imagines…

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‘Recommended. I read it one breathless sitting’ Ian Rankin A gripping new standalone spy thriller, recalling the classic film Casablanca, 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). A SIMPLE TASKSuccessful 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. A GLOBAL THREATKit finds himself in Morocco on the trail of Lara Bartok – a leading figure in Resurrection, a revolutionary movement whose brutal attacks on right-wing politicians have spread violence throughout the West. A DANGEROUS TARGETDrawn to Lara, but caught between competing intelligence services who want her dead, Kit faces an awful choice: abandon her to her fate or 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

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Perfect for fans of John le Carré, a gripping and suspenseful spy thriller from ‘the master of the modern spy thriller’ (Mail on Sunday) Mark and Benjamin Keen have not seen their father, Christopher, for more than twenty years. Hoping for a reconciliation, Christopher reappears, but he has only just begun to shed light on his life in the secret service when he is murdered in cold blood by an unidentified assassin. Was his death connected to his MI6 past? Did Christopher uncover a dangerous conspiracy involving his elder son? And what were his links to Moscow, Afghanistan and the Russian mafia in London? To discover the truth – and avenge their father’s death – the brothers are drawn into the legacy of his life as a spy. And inheritance can be deadly…

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The third book in Charles Cumming’s gripping new thriller series surrounding BOX 88 – a covert intelligence organization that operates below the radar. *SUNDAY TIMES THRILLER OF THE MONTH* *FINANCIAL TIMES THRILLER OF THE YEAR* *WATERSTONES BEST ESPIONAGE THRILLERS OF 2023* 1995: In the wake of the Rwandan genocide, 24-year-old spy Lachlan Kite and his girlfriend, Martha Raine, are sent to Senegal on the trail of a hunted war criminal. The mission threatens to spiral out of control, forcing Kite to make choices that will have devastating consequences not only for his career at top-secret intelligence agency BOX 88, but also for his relationship with Martha. 2023: Eric Appiah, an old friend from Kite’s days at school and an off-the-record BOX 88 asset, makes contact with explosive information about what happened all those years ago in West Africa. When tragedy strikes, Kite must use all his resources to bring down a criminal network with links to international terror … and protect Martha from possible assassination. Praise for KENNEDY 35 'A bold choice of setting, which adds skilful dabs of colour to a tightly wrought tale' The Times ‘A compelling exploration of the consequences of realpolitik and the intermingling of the personal with the political’ Guardian ‘Cumming marshals his twin time frames expertly and illuminates an awful chapter in recent history. A first-rate spy thriller’ Mail on Sunday ‘Atmospheric and packed with threat, it thrills on every single page’ Daily Mail ‘An enthralling, haunting work…taking the spy thriller to a new level of storytelling’ Financial Times ‘A compelling depiction of the various layers of infamy involved in an appalling blot on the history of humanity’ Literary Review What Readers are saying about KENNEDY 35 'I couldn't put this down… a cracking read!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Fast-paced and tightly plotted. If you love Ian Fleming you will adore this series' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Charles Cumming has a fantastic way of bringing espionage thrillers to life' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Gripping, intricate, smart and suspenseful story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Plenty of action and a terrific plot, well told' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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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 Russia by secret intelligence agency BOX 88. To the outside world, he is there as a language teacher. In reality, he is there as a spy. But Kite’s mission soon goes wrong and he is left stranded with a former KGB officer on his trail. An old enemy looking for revenge…2020: Kite discovers he has been placed on the ‘JUDAS’ list –enemies of Russia who have been targeted for assassination. His only hope of survival is to confront the Russian secret state head on… Who will come out on top in this deadly game of cat and mouse? ‘Judas 62 has all you could want from a tense, topical and intelligent spy thriller’ The Times Books of the Year

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From the winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2012 for Best Thriller of the Year comes a gripping and suspenseful spy novel. Perfect for fans of John le Carré, Charles Cumming is ‘the master of the modern spy thriller’ (Mail on Sunday) Hong Kong, 1997. Only a few short months of British rule remain before the territory returns to Chinese control. It’s a feverish city. And the spooks are hard at work, jostling for position and influence. So when an elderly man emerges from the sea, claiming to know secrets he will share only with the British Governor, a young MI6 officer, Joe Lennox, sees the chance to make his reputation. But when the old man, a high-profile Chinese professor, is spirited away in the middle of the night by the CIA, it’s clear that there’s a great deal more at stake here than a young spy’s career. The professor holds the key to a sinister and ambitious plan that could have catastrophic repercussions for the world in the twenty-first century…

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