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 Carre and Len Deighton left off . In the summer of 1995, Charles was approached for recruitment by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). 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.
'The storytelling is first-rate, with all the minutiae of spycraft, sense of place and memorable supporting characters you could wish for' Sunday Times 'Tense and topical, this has all you could want from an intelligent contemporary spy thriller' The Times 'The first Kite novel was excellent, but this is even better - an elegant exposition of what being a spy in the field actually feels like and the fear it can instil in even the most hardened operator. Superbly constructed, it never hurries, but evokes the world of espionage in a way the late John le Carre would have much admired' Daily Mail 'Some of the best writing around on the intricacies of spycraft and the high price agents pay for doing their job' Sun 'Judas 62 has all you could want from a tense, topical and intelligent spy thriller' The Times 'Intelligent, relevant and engrossing' NB Magazine 'Cumming adroitly portrays Kite's inner life...nail-biting' Financial Times ' Cumming knows his stuff and has done his research, giving the novel an admirably authoritative air' The Literary Review 'Charles Cumming knows how to write a good spy novel' The Herald 'The gold standard in espionage fiction' Kirkus Praise for Charles Cumming: '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 'Atmospheric and full of sharply realised characters' Sunday Times 'Excellent' Anthony Horowitz 'With a lavish sprinkling of Bond and more than a teaspoonful of the Circus, this is a high-quality spy story' Daily Mail 'All the hallmarks of the finest spy thriller' Charlotte Philby, acclaimed author of A Double Life 'An enviably sharp-eyed and satisfying read. Great!' Henry Porter, author of Firefly