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[FOX MULDER]

Hello, I'd like to recommend a book I just finished tonight - "An Agent of Deceit" by Chris Morgan Jones.

The protagonist is an investigator called Ben Webster, who works for a private intelligence company. He is being paid by a Greek businessman to investigate - and 'bring down' - a sinister Russian oligarch called Konstantin Malin, who heads a massive money-laundering scheme which has its source in the Kremlin.

During the course of the investigation Webster realises that Malin has a 'frontman' called Richard Lock whom he uses as the honest face of his business, but who is really just his puppet. Webster focusses his investigation on Lock, who, as it happens, wants out anyway. The problem is: "getting out" is not easy, especially with someone like Malin as your boss.

I really enjoyed this book. It's more Le Carre than Fleming, in both style and substance, and it's very well written. Each chapter alternates between Webster and Lock as they slowly become part of each other's lives, which means you get to see the whole story from the perspective of both sides, good and bad. There's only one gadget, which is used at the end, but it is a very clever, ingenious one (I won't mention it as it might be a spoiler).

It's the author's debut novel. The sequel, The Jackal's Share, is coming out in February. I think this could be the beginning of a great new spy series.

[007jamesbond]

It is also called "The Silent Oilgarch" in US/Canada

Edited by 007jamesbond, 05 November 2012 - 01:20 AM.

[FOX MULDER]

It is also called "The Silent Oilgarch" in US/Canada

Thanks, I should have mentioned that.

Through a friend of a friend who works at Morgan Jones's publisher I've managed to get myself an advance copy of "The Jackal's Share", which I'm going to begin reading tomorrow. I'm so excited!