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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?
Report
'The storytelling is first-rate, with all the minutiae of spycraft, sense of place and memorable supporting characters you could wish for' Sunday Times
'Tense and topical, this has all you could want from an intelligent contemporary spy thriller' The Times, Books of the Year
'The first Kite novel was excellent, but this is even better - an elegant exposition of what being a spy in the field actually feels like and the fear it can instil in even the most hardened operator. Superbly constructed, it never hurries, but evokes the world of espionage in a way the late John le Carre would have much admired' Daily Mail
'This sequel to Cumming's stunning Box 88 is further proof that the author is one of the most adroit practitioners of the espionage art; the spycraft involving a covert intelligence group operating below the radar is nonpareil' i
'Some of the best writing around on the intricacies of spycraft and the high price agents pay for doing their job' Sun
'Intelligent, relevant and engrossing' NB Magazine
'Cumming adroitly portrays Kite's inner life...nail-biting' Financial Times
' Cumming knows his stuff and has done his research, giving the novel an admirably authoritative air' The Literary Review
'Charles Cumming knows how to write a good spy novel' The Herald
'The gold standard in espionage fiction' Kirkus
Praise for Charles Cumming:
'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
'Atmospheric and full of sharply realised characters' Sunday Times
'Excellent' Anthony Horowitz
'With a lavish sprinkling of Bond and more than a teaspoonful of the Circus, this is a high-quality spy story' Daily Mail
'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
