A Colder War

June 16, 2014
Cumming’s intricate sequel to 2012’s A Foreign Country finds British operative Thomas Kell, who’s been indefinitely suspended from the SIS, reevaluating his life between pints of pale ale at a London pub. But when the call comes from “C”— SIS’s first female chief, Amelia Levene—Kell is back in the game, tasked with unraveling the mystery surrounding the suspicious death of Paul Wallinger, an SIS agent stationed in Turkey who happened to be C’s former lover. The death, coupled with the murders of a growing number of “assets” throughout the region and the failure of numerous joint operations between SIS and the CIA, point to a mole inside western intelligence whose existence threatens every SIS operation—and operative—in the Middle East. It’s hard not to root for a character like Kell—deeply cynical but still very much an idealist—and the bombshell plot twists toward the novel’s conclusion will have spy fiction aficionados eagerly awaiting the next installment. Agent: Luke Janklow, Janklow & Nesbit.

Set in the contemporary world of international espionage, this audiobook follows the investigations of disgraced MI6 spy Thomas Kell as he attempts to identify a mole who is leaking intelligence to the Russians. Jot Davies's measured narration conveys perfectly Kell's world-weariness and the often repetitive boredom of life in the modern intelligence community. Davies portrays both Kell and the female lead characters with professional ease. With the story moving through Turkey, Eastern Europe, and London, a variety of accents come into play, and these are handled convincingly to accentuate the authentic atmosphere that the narration creates. Despite some common, perhaps clichéd, spy novel themes, this audio production ensures that Cumming's story always feels fresh and compelling. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine