Description

Discover the page-turning true story of the most iconic Cold War spy killing of all time, perfect for fans of Ben Macintyre, Henry Hemming and the novels of John Le Carre.

London, 1978: exiled Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is murdered on Waterloo Bridge with what appears to be a poison-tipped umbrella. It would become the most infamous unsolved killing of the Cold War.

Many years later, young journalist Ulrik Skotte is approached with explosive new information about a man alleged to be responsible for Markov’s death – a spy code-named Piccadilly who worked for the Bulgarian secret service. This meeting launched Skotte into a hunt for the killer lasting more than a quarter of a century, bringing him face to face with eccentric conspiracy theorists, a washed-up former dictator, ageing Danish spooks – and, ultimately, with Agent Piccadilly himself.

Drawing on an incredible cache of original documents, interviews and archive material, The Umbrella Murder provides jaw-dropping answers to questions that have persisted for nearly five decades: who killed Georgi Markov? And who has been protecting the assassin ever since?

Publisher Review

‘This masterly investigation, spanning 30 years, into the assassination of a cold war dissident, Georgi Markov, in London in 1978 exposes an assassin worthy of James Bond’ * Observer, Book of the Week * The value of The Umbrella Murder lies in Skotte having known many of those caught up in the killing, its fascination in his psychologically astute portraits of them… Sebastian Faulks once lamented that the failing of biography is that the author never quite gets in the room with their subject. Skotte’s great coup is that, undeterred by official silence, he does do that, tracking down Gullino in 2021 to a squalid flat in Austria… A month later, he was dead. * The Times * An engaging account… a description of the author’s 30-year search for Markov’s killer, culminating in a confession on camera. It is a model for every would-be investigative journalist, a triumph of teamwork, persistence and essential record-keeping. * Spectator *