BOX 88 – serie

FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR CHARLES CUMMINGTHE NEW THRILLER FOLLOWING CAREER SPY, LACHLAN KITE 'Nobody writes more enjoyable spy thrillers’ ANTHONY HOROWITZ ‘Charles Cumming has breathed new life into the spy novel’ BEN MACINTYRE 'The rightful inheritor of John le Carré's crown' OBSERVER 'A gripping contemporary thriller' RORY STEWART Lachlan Kite should have left fieldwork behind by now. As director of covert intelligence agency Box 88, he’s at the apex of his espionage career. But when Martha Raine – a woman he hasn’t seen in twenty years – begs for his help, Kite finds himself back in the game, racing to avert disaster.Kite must find Martha’s son, Max, who vanished in Athens with his girlfriend, Yasmine. But the couple aren’t just missing, they’re running for their lives. Two rival agencies are hunting them, both with orders to kill on sight.Max and Yasmine are carrying a dizzying secret, one which could pull apart the foundations of the Middle East for a generation. If Kite fails to save them, the costs – both personal and professional – will be catastrophic. ‘Charles Cumming takes the genre to a new level’ Financial Times ‘A fast-moving, believable spy thriller, which benefits from Cumming’s insider knowledge' Sun 'If there was any question as to who is the rightful inheritor of John le Carré’s crown as the king of elegant spy fiction, this proves that it’s Cumming beyond any doubt' Observer 'Icarus 17 demonstrates Cumming’s inimitable combination of human insight, geopolitical acumen and sheer excitement’ Christopher de Bellaigue 'The perfect thriller to read on holiday' Fani Papageorgiou, The Economist 'Hugely satisfying' Jay Rayner

FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR CHARLES CUMMINGTHE NEW THRILLER FOLLOWING CAREER SPY, LACHLAN KITE 'Nobody writes more enjoyable spy thrillers’ ANTHONY HOROWITZ ‘Charles Cumming has breathed new life into the spy novel’ BEN MACINTYRE 'The rightful inheritor of John le Carré's crown' OBSERVER 'A gripping contemporary thriller' RORY STEWART Lachlan Kite should have left fieldwork behind by now. As director of covert intelligence agency Box 88, he’s at the apex of his espionage career. But when Martha Raine – a woman he hasn’t seen in twenty years – begs for his help, Kite finds himself back in the game, racing to avert disaster.Kite must find Martha’s son, Max, who vanished in Athens with his girlfriend, Yasmine. But the couple aren’t just missing, they’re running for their lives. Two rival agencies are hunting them, both with orders to kill on sight.Max and Yasmine are carrying a dizzying secret, one which could pull apart the foundations of the Middle East for a generation. If Kite fails to save them, the costs – both personal and professional – will be catastrophic. ‘Charles Cumming takes the genre to a new level’ Financial Times ‘A fast-moving, believable spy thriller, which benefits from Cumming’s insider knowledge' Sun 'If there was any question as to who is the rightful inheritor of John le Carré’s crown as the king of elegant spy fiction, this proves that it’s Cumming beyond any doubt' Observer 'Icarus 17 demonstrates Cumming’s inimitable combination of human insight, geopolitical acumen and sheer excitement’ Christopher de Bellaigue 'The perfect thriller to read on holiday' Fani Papageorgiou, The Economist 'Hugely satisfying' Jay Rayner

Charles Cumming’s gripping new thriller series surrounding Lachlan Kite's intelligence agency BOX 88 *Icarus 17, the fourth book in the gripping Lachlan Kite thriller series is available to pre-order now!* Waterstones Best Espionage Thriller of the Year Sunday Times Thriller of the Month Financial Times Thriller of the Year The location: West AfricaThe player: 24-year-old spy Lachlan KiteThe target: A war criminal on the runThe objective: Kill or captureKite’s mission should be straightforward, but it soon turns into a terrifying game of cat and mouse along the beaches and backstreets of Senegal.Now, nearly thirty years later, it seems the game isn’t over.And unless Kite can turn the tables on his pursuers, the inner workings of the secret state could be exposed…Praise for KENNEDY 35'A bold choice of setting, which adds skilful dabs of colour to a tightly wrought tale' The Times‘A compelling exploration of the consequences of realpolitik and the intermingling of the personal with the political’ Guardian‘Cumming marshals his twin time frames expertly and illuminates an awful chapter in recent history. A first-rate spy thriller’ Mail on Sunday‘Atmospheric and packed with threat, it thrills on every single page’ Daily Mail‘An enthralling, haunting work…taking the spy thriller to a new level of storytelling’ Financial Times‘A compelling depiction of the various layers of infamy involved in an appalling blot on the history of humanity’ Literary ReviewWhat Readers are saying about KENNEDY 35'I couldn't put this down… a cracking read!' ★★★★★'Fast-paced and tightly plotted. If you love Ian Fleming you will adore this series' ★★★★★'Charles Cumming has a fantastic way of bringing espionage thrillers to life' ★★★★★'Gripping, intricate, smart and suspenseful story' ★★★★★'Plenty of action and a terrific plot, well told' ★★★★★

*Icarus 17, the fourth book in the gripping Lachlan Kite thriller series is available to pre-order now!*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 Russia by secret intelligence agency BOX 88. To the outside world, he is there as a language teacher. In reality, he is there as a spy. But Kite’s mission soon goes wrong and he is left stranded with a former KGB officer on his trail.An old enemy looking for revenge…2020: Kite discovers he has been placed on the ‘JUDAS’ list –enemies of Russia who have been targeted for assassination. His only hope of survival is to confront the Russian secret state head on… Who will come out on top in this deadly game of cat and mouse? ‘Judas 62 has all you could want from a tense, topical and intelligent spy thriller’ The Times Books of the Year

An organisation that doesn’t exist.A spy that can’t be caught. Years ago, a spy was born… 1989: The Cold War will soon be over, but for BOX 88, a top secret spying agency, the espionage game is heating up. Lachlan Kite is sent to France to gather intelligence on the Lockerbie bombing. What he uncovers is terrifying… Now he faces the deadliest decision of his life… 2020: Kite has been taken captive and brutally tortured. He now has a choice: reveal the truth about what happened in France thirty years earlier – or watch his family die. In a battle unlike anything he has faced before, Kite must use all his skills to stay alive. What people are saying about BOX 88‘A spy for the 21st century’Daily Mail, Books of the Year‘Wonderfully taut, exciting and up-to-date’Spectator, Books of the Year‘An ambitious fusion of coming-of-age novel and gripping espionage thriller’Financial Times, Books of the Year‘BOX 88 is so good. 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‘Charles Cumming has breathed new life into the spy novel’ Ben Macintyre ‘Atmospheric and full of sharply realised characters’Sunday Times ‘A clever thriller’Sun ‘Intelligence, grace, and stunning verisimilitude’ Gregg Hurwitz‘An engaging hero’ James Swallow‘All the hallmarks of the finest spy thriller’ Charlotte Philby‘Sharp-eyed and satisfying’ Henry Porter‘A great new spy hero is born’ Amanda Craig ‘Ideal for anyone nostalgic for their first love and the whiff of Marlboro Lights’The Times

An organisation that doesn’t exist.A spy that can’t be caught. Years ago, a spy was born… 1989: The Cold War will soon be over, but for BOX 88, a top secret spying agency, the espionage game is heating up. Lachlan Kite is sent to France to gather intelligence on the Lockerbie bombing. What he uncovers is terrifying… Now he faces the deadliest decision of his life… 2020: Kite has been taken captive and brutally tortured. He now has a choice: reveal the truth about what happened in France thirty years earlier – or watch his family die. In a battle unlike anything he has faced before, Kite must use all his skills to stay alive. What people are saying about BOX 88‘A spy for the 21st century’Daily Mail, Books of the Year‘Wonderfully taut, exciting and up-to-date’Spectator, Books of the Year‘An ambitious fusion of coming-of-age novel and gripping espionage thriller’Financial Times, Books of the Year‘BOX 88 is so good. 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‘Charles Cumming has breathed new life into the spy novel’ Ben Macintyre ‘Atmospheric and full of sharply realised characters’Sunday Times ‘A clever thriller’Sun ‘Intelligence, grace, and stunning verisimilitude’ Gregg Hurwitz‘An engaging hero’ James Swallow‘All the hallmarks of the finest spy thriller’ Charlotte Philby‘Sharp-eyed and satisfying’ Henry Porter‘A great new spy hero is born’ Amanda Craig ‘Ideal for anyone nostalgic for their first love and the whiff of Marlboro Lights’The Times

*Icarus 17, the fourth book in the gripping Lachlan Kite thriller series is available to pre-order now!*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? ‘Judas 62 has all you could want from a tense, topical and intelligent spy thriller’ The Times Books of the Year

Charles Cumming’s gripping new thriller series surrounding Lachlan Kite's intelligence agency BOX 88 *Icarus 17, the fourth book in the gripping Lachlan Kite thriller series is available to pre-order now!* Waterstones Best Espionage Thriller of the Year Sunday Times Thriller of the Month Financial Times Thriller of the Year The location: West AfricaThe player: 24-year-old spy Lachlan KiteThe target: A war criminal on the runThe objective: Kill or captureKite’s mission should be straightforward, but it soon turns into a terrifying game of cat and mouse along the beaches and backstreets of Senegal.Now, nearly thirty years later, it seems the game isn’t over.And unless Kite can turn the tables on his pursuers, the inner workings of the secret state could be exposed…Praise for KENNEDY 35'A bold choice of setting, which adds skilful dabs of colour to a tightly wrought tale' The Times‘A compelling exploration of the consequences of realpolitik and the intermingling of the personal with the political’ Guardian‘Cumming marshals his twin time frames expertly and illuminates an awful chapter in recent history. A first-rate spy thriller’ Mail on Sunday‘Atmospheric and packed with threat, it thrills on every single page’ Daily Mail‘An enthralling, haunting work…taking the spy thriller to a new level of storytelling’ Financial Times‘A compelling depiction of the various layers of infamy involved in an appalling blot on the history of humanity’ Literary ReviewWhat Readers are saying about KENNEDY 35'I couldn't put this down… a cracking read!' ★★★★★'Fast-paced and tightly plotted. If you love Ian Fleming you will adore this series' ★★★★★'Charles Cumming has a fantastic way of bringing espionage thrillers to life' ★★★★★'Gripping, intricate, smart and suspenseful story' ★★★★★'Plenty of action and a terrific plot, well told' ★★★★★

FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR CHARLES CUMMINGTHE NEW THRILLER FOLLOWING CAREER SPY, LACHLAN KITE 'Nobody writes more enjoyable spy thrillers’ ANTHONY HOROWITZ ‘Charles Cumming has breathed new life into the spy novel’ BEN MACINTYRE 'The rightful inheritor of John le Carré's crown' OBSERVER 'A gripping contemporary thriller' RORY STEWART Lachlan Kite should have left fieldwork behind by now. As director of covert intelligence agency Box 88, he’s at the apex of his espionage career. But when Martha Raine – a woman he hasn’t seen in twenty years – begs for his help, Kite finds himself back in the game, racing to avert disaster.Kite must find Martha’s son, Max, who vanished in Athens with his girlfriend, Yasmine. But the couple aren’t just missing, they’re running for their lives. Two rival agencies are hunting them, both with orders to kill on sight.Max and Yasmine are carrying a dizzying secret, one which could pull apart the foundations of the Middle East for a generation. If Kite fails to save them, the costs – both personal and professional – will be catastrophic. ‘Charles Cumming takes the genre to a new level’ Financial Times ‘A fast-moving, believable spy thriller, which benefits from Cumming’s insider knowledge' Sun 'If there was any question as to who is the rightful inheritor of John le Carré’s crown as the king of elegant spy fiction, this proves that it’s Cumming beyond any doubt' Observer 'Icarus 17 demonstrates Cumming’s inimitable combination of human insight, geopolitical acumen and sheer excitement’ Christopher de Bellaigue 'The perfect thriller to read on holiday' Fani Papageorgiou, The Economist 'Hugely satisfying' Jay Rayner

FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR CHARLES CUMMINGTHE NEW THRILLER FOLLOWING CAREER SPY, LACHLAN KITE 'Nobody writes more enjoyable spy thrillers’ ANTHONY HOROWITZ ‘Charles Cumming has breathed new life into the spy novel’ BEN MACINTYRE 'The rightful inheritor of John le Carré's crown' OBSERVER 'A gripping contemporary thriller' RORY STEWART Lachlan Kite should have left fieldwork behind by now. As director of covert intelligence agency Box 88, he’s at the apex of his espionage career. But when Martha Raine – a woman he hasn’t seen in twenty years – begs for his help, Kite finds himself back in the game, racing to avert disaster.Kite must find Martha’s son, Max, who vanished in Athens with his girlfriend, Yasmine. But the couple aren’t just missing, they’re running for their lives. Two rival agencies are hunting them, both with orders to kill on sight.Max and Yasmine are carrying a dizzying secret, one which could pull apart the foundations of the Middle East for a generation. If Kite fails to save them, the costs – both personal and professional – will be catastrophic. ‘Charles Cumming takes the genre to a new level’ Financial Times ‘A fast-moving, believable spy thriller, which benefits from Cumming’s insider knowledge' Sun 'If there was any question as to who is the rightful inheritor of John le Carré’s crown as the king of elegant spy fiction, this proves that it’s Cumming beyond any doubt' Observer 'Icarus 17 demonstrates Cumming’s inimitable combination of human insight, geopolitical acumen and sheer excitement’ Christopher de Bellaigue 'The perfect thriller to read on holiday' Fani Papageorgiou, The Economist 'Hugely satisfying' Jay Rayner

One of Parade's Most Anticipated Books of 2022!A secret agent comes of ageand reckons with the legacy of his first missionin this thriller by New York Times-bestseller Charles Cumming, "the best of the new generation of British spy writers" (The Observer)Lachlan Kite is a member of BOX 88, an elite transatlantic black ops outfit so covert that not even MI6 and the CIA are certain of its existence but even the best spy can't anticipate every potential threat in a world where dangerous actors lurk around every corner. At the funeral of his childhood best friend, Lachlan falls into a trap that drops him into the hands of a potentially deadly interrogation, with his pregnant wife, also abducted, being held as collateral for the information he's sworn on his own life to protect.Thirty years earlier Lachlan, then just out of the upper class boarding school where he was reared, was BOX 88's newest recruit. In the haze of a gap year summer, in which the study of spycraft was intertwined with a journey of self-discovery, he cut his teeth on a special assignment on the coast of France, where a friendship allowed him special access to one of Iran's most dangerous men. Today, Lachlan's nostalgia for the trip is corrupted by recollection of the deceit that accompanied it but, in order to save his family, he'll be forced to revisit those painful memories one last time.A pulse-pounding narrative that straddles two eras 1989 and 2020 BOX 88 is a "wonderfully taut, exciting and up-to-date spy thriller" that introduces a compelling new character and a captivating international storyline (Spectator, Books of the Year).

A Financial Times Best Thriller of 2023Veteran agent Lachlan Kite"a spy for the 21st century" (Daily Mail)reckons with the fallout from a mission in Senegal carried out early in his career.1995: In the wake of the Rwandan genocide, 24-year-old spy Lachlan Kite and his girlfriend, Martha Raine, are sent to Senegal on the trail of a hunted war criminal. The mission threatens to spiral out of control, forcing Kite to make choices which will have devastating consequences not only for his career at top-secret intelligence agency BOX 88, but also for his relationship with Martha. 2023: Eric Appiah, an old friend from Kite's days at school and an off-the-record BOX 88 asset, makes contact with explosive information about what happened all those years ago in West Africa. When tragedy strikes, Kite must use all the resources at his disposal to protect Martha from a criminal network with links to international terror.Charles Cumming once again straddles two timelines to create a high-tension thriller in this latest Lachlan Kite novel.