Book description
For all fans of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY comes this masterclass in
suspense about a spy caught up in his own web of deception…
Alec Milius is young, smart and ambitious - with a talent for deception.
When a chance encounter opens the door to a career with MI6, he is
desperate to make his mark.
But life as a spy begins to take a terrible toll on himself and those
around him, and soon Alec is chasing not just success but survival.
Forced to work alone, he spins a web of deceit that traps him centre
stage in a game of global espionage.
In this new job, the difference between truth and a lie can be a matter
of life and death. And for Alec, it's getting harder to tell them apart…
A Spy By Nature is the bestselling novel with which Charles Cumming
announced his arrival as heir apparent to masters like John le Carré and
Len Deighton; compellingly told, utterly authentic and heart-racingly
intense, it will grip you till the very last page. Praise for A SPY BY NATURE:
'Gripping, exciting and deftly plotted…A book one would be seriously
annoyed to have put down' Sunday Telegraph
'Tautly written and believable… a complex tale of code words, betrayal
of friendship, bluff and counterbluff… Cumming writes it like it is.
Mail on Sunday
'Eerily good… a strong and serious entertainment. Don't miss' Literary Review
Praise for Charles Cumming:
'From the first page to the last it has the ring of absolute
authenticity. Tautly written, cleverly plotted…it reminded me strongly
of the early books of John le Carré' Robert Harris, author of Fatherland
and The Ghost
'The master of the modern spy thriller' The Mail On Sunday
'A wholly compelling and sophisticated spy novel - vivid and disturbing
- immaculately researched and full of harrowing contemporary relevance'
William Boyd, author of Restless
'Terrific…vividly realised…as strong on emotional literacy as it is on
spycraft' New Statesman Charles Cumming was born in Scotland in 1971.
He was educated at Eton and graduated from the University of Edinburgh
in 1994 with First Class Honours in English Literature. The Observer has
described him as "the best of the new generation of British spy
writers who are taking over where John le Carré and Len Deighton left
off". In the summer of 1995, Charles was approached for recruitment
by the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). A year later he moved to
Montreal where he began working on a novel based on his experiences with
MI6. A Spy By Nature was published in the UK in 2001. This is his fifth
novel.
