A strange one this for me. I read it quickly and it is a genuine page-turner, but somehow it lacks depth. Depth to the characters, depth to the events, depth to the background. It is one of the very few books where I think it could have benefitted from being longer!

If I could, I would have given this a 3.75, it's better than a 3.5, but not a 4 ( )

This is a well-plotted espionage thriller set in the not too distant past, tracking down a 'genocidaire' from Rwanda by an older and wiser spy.

To start the story we go back to 1994 with Lachlan Kite working in Rwanda as a dropping off point. Kite has carried money out there to fund the 'snatch' but of course, things go wrong and instead of catching Bagaza, he is killed and his girlfriend, Grace Mavinga escapes, travelling over the border and becoming someone else.

Years later, she reappears alongside Duval, a french spy gone rogue, and together they money launder. Box 88, the spy group that Kite works for, hears of her reappearance and sets up a plan to catch her, which they do. It sounds so simple but of course it is anything but.

The story is intricately woven with politics and personal views about America and the UK which does the job of setting the context historically and provides the space for people such as Mavinga and Duval to operate.

Successive British governments have actively encouraged anyone with a large enough cheque book to get it out in London and start spending. Dirty money washes through the construction sector, the hospitality industry, car dealerships, football clubs, you name it. Without it, the British economy would probably go into freefall.
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Ouch!

The dual timeline of 'then and now' allows Cummings to show how things have changed, characters included, but also spy tools and methodology. Kite in the present day is 50 years old and spends time with his wife and daughter. Not something he did in 1995, when as a young spy he was involved in the failed plot but this is a device that shows us how failure early on in a career can be stored away and rectified later on.

The book didn't have me sitting on the edge of my seat, chewing my fingers but it does have a page-turning quality where the 'chase' takes place over decades and where patience pays off. ( )

Following the death of John le Carré, I have heard several writers’ names put forward as successor to the title, ‘King of Spy Fiction’. Charles Cumming would certainly be my nominee.

This is the third novel in his series focusing on Lachlan ‘Lockie’ Kite, following on from Box 88 and Judas 62. Like its predecessors, this novel deftly combines a plot unfolding in the present day with Lockie’s recollections of his involvement in an operation managed by Box 88, the secret transatlantic intelligence service, back in the past. The novel starts shortly after the close of Judas 62, with Lockie residing in Sweden with his wife and daughter, trying to put behind them the devastating consequences of recent events. Out of the blue, Lockie learns that Eric Appiah, with whom he had been at school, and with whom he had subsequently had professional engagement, has been sending out feelers, evidently wishing to make contact.

This pitches Kite back into recollections of one of his earliest operations for Box 88, which occurred shortly after his graduation in the mid-1990s. A Parisian journalist is convinced that he has identified Augustine Bagaza, one of the principal figures responsible for the genocide in Rwanda, living in hiding in Senegal under an assumed identity. The journalist’s further investigations suggest that Bagaza is about to be relocated with the aide of the French intelligence service. Box 88 decides to intervene, with a view to snatching Bagaza and ensuring he faces trial at the International Court of justice in The Hague.

As always, Cumming deftly blends the two narrative threads. One of the aspects that I particularly enjoy is the deep patina of plausibility about Lockie Kite. In the earlier story, the young Kite is well-intentioned, yet also susceptible to human frailties such as lust, envy and even rampant indignation. The older, current day Kite is wiser, but also conscious of his own flaws.

Cumming is a master of building up suspense, and also of engaging, and retaining, the reader’s empathy. I hope that this series has many more instalments to come. ( )

Eric Appiah, a Box 88 asset, has reached out to his old friend, Kite. There is trouble brewing and Eric knows Kite is the only one to handle a criminal network with links to an international error group.

Boy! I loved Kite! He is tough and has a sentimental side! I have never read a book in this series. But, I probably would have liked this book more if I had. It is a good read, I just wanted to know more of Kite’s backstory.

This is told in two different time periods, 1995 and present day. This can cause some issues with a novel, but the author did a great job with the time line switches. I also loved the vivid setting of Senegal. I love traveling to a place I have never been and this author took me on a fabulous ride!

Need a fast-paced, spy thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. ( )