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

‘Some of the best writing around on the intricacies of spycraft and the high price agents pay for doing their job’ Sun

Reviews

‘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 — 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

‘Some of the best writing around on the intricacies of spycraft and the high price agents pay for doing their job’ Sun

Praise for the BOX 88 series:

’The talented Cumming comes up with a spy for the 21st century in Lachlan Kite’ Daily Mail, Books of the Year

‘A wonderfully taut, exciting and up-to-date spy thriller’ Spectator, Books of the Year

‘An ambitious fusion of coming-of-age novel and gripping espionage thriller’ Financial Times, Books of the Year

‘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

‘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’ Holly Watt, author of To the Lions

‘Utterly gripping.  A great new spy hero is born’ Amanda Craig, author of The Golden Rule