Author Description

A riveting and unconventional British Cold War spy mystery. “The characters spring embodied from the page, even those with bit parts … and the turns of plot are satisfyingly unexpected.” A.B., a former book editor and previously of the Financial Times. This book was in the Best Reviews Guide's and MSN's Ten Best Spy Novels of January, February, May, July, September 2022 and February, May, June 2023. An assassin is randomly targeting spies in London during the mid-1950s. With no easily discernible motive and contradictory evidence as to who might be controlling him, MI5 call in Gus Benedict, one of their most experienced former intelligence officers, to help unravel the puzzle. What he uncovers is a web of intrigue that seems to point to London’s criminal underworld, with the strings being pulled by a foreign power. Maverick CIA agent Jennifer Marquis joins in the hunt and things head in a direction that no-one could have anticipated. This is Book One in the Augustus Benedict spy series.