A Reluctant Spy
the award-winning spy thriller 'perfect for fans of Mick Herron' (THE SUN)
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4.0 • 31 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
RIGHT PLACE. RIGHT TIME. WRONG MAN.
'Engrossing...ingenious...nods to Buchan, Fleming and le Carré' SUNDAY TIMES, THRILLERS OF THE MONTH
'If you think you've read every twist in every area of the genre, think again. Don't start it last thing at night or you might miss breakfast!' VAL MCDERMID
'A propulsive, intelligent, ripped-from-the-headlines spy novel that's guaranteed to cost you hours of sleep. Highly recommended' DAVID McCLOSKEY
'A twisty storyline and convincing action scenes make this a very promising debut' FINANCIAL TIMES
'A gripping debut, perfect for fans of Mick Herron and David McCloskey' THE SUN
Jamie Tulloch is a successful exec at a top tech company, a long way from the tough upbringing that drove him to rise so far and so quickly.
But he has a secret...since the age of 23, he's had a helping hand from the Legend Programme, a secret intelligence effort to prepare impenetrable backstories for undercover agents. Real people, living real lives, willing to hand over their identities for a few weeks in return for a helping hand with plum jobs, influence and access.
When his tap on the shoulder finally comes, it's swiftly followed by the thud of a body. Arriving at a French airport ready to hand over his identity, Jamie finds his primary contact dead, the agent who's supposed to step into his life AWOL and his options for escape non-existent.
Pitched into a deadly mission on hostile territory, Jamie must contend with a rogue Russian general, arms dealers, elite hackers, CIA tac-ops and the discovery of a brewing plan for war. Dangerously out of his depth, he must convince his sceptical mission handler he can do the job of a trained field agent while using his own life story as convincing cover.
Can Jamie play himself well enough to avoid being killed - and to avert a lethal global conflict?
***WINNER OF THE OLD PECULIER MCDERMID DEBUT AWARD***WINNER OF THE BLOODY SCOTLAND DEBUT PRIZE***
'In the very top tier of espionage fiction' M. W. CRAVEN
'An excellent debut with terrific pace...will grip you to the end' JAMES SWALLOW
'A twisting, edge-of-your-seat tale of mercenaries, greed, corruption, and espionage' I.S. BERRY
'I was on the edge of my seat the whole time' ANTONY JOHNSTON
'A rip-roaring page-turning keep-you-up-all-night thriller' NICHOLAS BINGE, author of ASCENSION
'Smart, riveting, and eerily prescient' SUNYI DEAN, Sunday Times Bestselling author of THE BOOK EATERS
'A pulse-pounding, twisting thrill-a-minute read that Slow Horses fans are going to absolutely love' ADAM SIMCOX
Customer Reviews
A Reluctant Reader
I don’t know if Mr. Goodman has ADD or thinks his readers do. This book is split between the perspectives of 3 characters, and it switches between them sometimes too quickly or far too slowly, which plays havoc with the pacing from end to end. It’s also hampered by the fact 2 of those characters aren’t particularly interesting. Have you ever wondered how a character chews food or drinks from a glass? You’ll know that here. How about where the first drop of sweat appears on a character? You’ll find that out here. Ever pondered what a dozen nameless characters are wearing? Good news, he’ll tell you. According to his official site, Goodman has held many jobs in his career that have very little tether to one another, and author just happens to be the latest. Between extraneous descriptions that serve no purpose to the overall story and that poor pacing due to what feels like watching three TikTok channels on a loop, it’s hard for me to recommend this spy fiction to others. I know it won an award, and I hope I don’t buy whatever the runners up were. There are better examples of this genre, and I encourage you to seek them out if this is your favorite to read.