Agent Running in the Field

A fine piece of storytelling. It is a neat, compact, slow-burning tale with just the right amount of twisting and turning and misdirection. Divided loyalties, uncertain motives, Russian agents, bureaucratic infighting, jaded spies, tatty offices - all of the things you want and expect from a high-quality le Carre thriller are here * The Times * A very classy entertainment about political ideals and deception . . . laced with fury at the senseless vandalism of Brexit and of Trump. Le Carre is the master of the spy genre. * Guardian * Le Carre delivers a tale for our times, replete with the classic seasoning of betrayal, secret state shenanigans and sad-eyed human frailty, all baked into an oven-hot contemporary thriller . . . Agent Running in the Field is right on the money, in psychology as much as politics, a demonstration of the British spy thriller at its unputdownable best * Robert McCrum, Observer * As ingeniously structured as any of le Carre's fiction, skilfully misdirecting the reader for much of the time * Evening Standard * A masterpiece * Mick Herron, TLS * Master of the game * Sunday Times * Le Carre's troubled new protagonist is developed with the author's customary skill . . . an impeccable piece of writing * i * No other writer has charted - pitilessly for politicians but thrillingly for readers - the public and secret histories of his times * Guardian * The master is back on form in this tale of Russian subterfuge and a middle-aged spy 's suspicious badminton partner * The Times * A rich, beautifully written book studded with surprises. Narrative is a black art, and Le Carre is its grandmaster * Andrew Taylor, Spectator * The master espionage novelist takes on Brexit and Trump in this tense and chilling portrait of today * Evening Standard * Wonderful . . . sophisticated entertainment from an author who, at 88, remains sharper than most of us * Church Times * John le Carre is as recognisable a writer as Dickens or Austen * Financial Times * A bang-up-to-date investigation of some of the big issues of our time * Sunday Express * Le Carre demonstrates once again his sublime elegance as a writer, and his delicate touch when portraying human failings in the shadowy world of espionage . . . subtle, wry and seamless, it's an utter joy, from first page to last * Daily Mail * A literary master for a generation * Observer * Blisteringly contemporary . . . Each new book from le Carre is refreshingly different and uniquely compelling * Economist * One of those writers who will be read a century from now * Robert Harris * Astute state-of-the-nation commentary * The Guardian Books of the Year * Classic, unmistakeable le Carre . . . it has the added bonus of some wonderfully vitriolic rants * Shots magazine: Book of the Month * The master of the espionage novel returns with a perfectly nuanced story of a spy on the scrapheap at the age of 47 and uncertain who to trust in the world of Brexit and divided loyalties * Daily Mail, Books of the Year *