A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming

A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming

Silkily written, and more cool than hot.might make le Carre proud.--The New York Times BOK REVIEW

On the vacation of a lifetime in Egypt, an elderly French couple is brutally murdered. Then, days later, on the streets of Paris, a young French accountant is kidnapped. When Amelia Levene, who in six weeks is due to take over as the first female Chief of MI6, disappears without a trace while in the south of France, it is the gravest crisis MI6 has faced in more than a decade. Desperate not only to find her but to keep the press from learning that she has gone missing, Britain's top intelligence agents turn to one of their own: disgraced former MI6 officer Thomas Kell.

Eat your heart out, Daniel Craig.Cumming vividly showcases the undercover life of spies.--GQ

Tossed out of the Service only months before, Kell is given one final chance to redeem himself--all he has to do is find Amelia Levene: quickly, quietly, and at any cost. Following a trail that leads him to France and then Tunisia, Kell uncovers a shocking secret and a conspiracy that could have unimaginable repercussions for Britain and its allies. All that stands in the way of personal and political catastrophe is Kell himself.

Superb.--Publishers Weekly (starred review)