Description

“A compelling slice of mid-century espionage that expertly blends history with possibility. All comparisons that will inevitably be made with le Carre are entirely apt” Tim Glister

‘Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carre’ Irish Independent

1949: William Catesby returns to London in disgrace, accused of murdering a ‘double-dipper’ the Americans believed to be one of their own. His left-wing sympathies have him singled out as a traitor.

Henry Bone throws him a lifeline, sending him to Marseille, ostensibly to report on dockers’ strikes and keep tabs on the errant wife of a British diplomat. But there’s a catch. For his cover story, he’s demobbed from the service and tricked out as a writer researching a book on the Resistance.

In Marseille, Catesby is caught in a deadly vice between the CIA and the mafia, who are colluding to fuel the war in Indochina. Swept eastwards to Laos himself, he remains uncertain of the true purpose behind his mission, though he has his suspicions: Bone has murder on his mind, and the target is a former comrade from Catesby’s SOE days. The question is, which one.

Publisher Review

I’ve long been a fan of Edward Wilson, whose elegiac novels should be better known . . . This finely written, intelligent work should give you a taste for the Catesby series — Adam LeBor * Financial Times * A real cut above the usual derring-do James Bond-like spy thrillers, this latest chapter in William Catesby’s MI6 career manages the tricky task of being both literate, complex and pulsatingly exciting all at the same time, as well as being chock-a-block with memorably drawn characters. Readers are unlikely to come across a more arresting first chapter in any other book this year * Irish Independent * Brilliantly combines cool irony with genuine thrills, and features the most ingeniously gruesome opening of the year * Telegraph Books of the Year *