Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of Cumming's third Thomas Kell novel, the disillusioned, disgraced ex-British spy is still mourning the death of his paramour, Rachel Wallinger, when a former associate provides him with a way to avenge her murder. Kell convinces his former boss, MI6 chief Amelia Levene, to assist him in a plan to blackmail Russian SVR officer Alexander Minasian, whom Kell holds personally responsible for Rachel's death. Cumming's tale-in which Kell's story is interrupted by chapters focusing on Minasian's romantic partner, Bernhard Riedle, or marking the progress of ISIS-inspired terrorist Shahid Kahn-is meticulously constructed. And the players are fully developed, underlined by British actor Davies's nuanced portrayal. His Kell may exhibit grief, anger, and disenchantment with spy life, but never at the cost of his morality or heroism. The other characters sound genuine, but each with a unique hint of mendacity. Davies's rendition captures all that without closing out the possibility that one or all may be setting Kell up for the kill. A St. Martin's hardcover. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Spies have been coming in from the cold for decades, of course, most notably in le Carré but also in the work of many other espionage novelists of the last 50 years. In fact, one could say that disenchantment with the secret world and the toll it takes on the individual human life is the quintessential theme of the modern spy novel. Add Cumming's Thomas Kell to the growing list of chilled-to-the-bone spies craving warmth. After appearing to have made his break from MI6 following the death of his lover, Rachel, killed by the Russians in A Colder War (2014), Kell can't resist the opportunity to extract some sweet revenge. Learning that Russian spymaster Alexander Minasian, who may have green-lighted Rachel's murder, has been observed having a lover's quarrel with another man, Kell, working on his own, sets up a honey trap to ensnare his prey. It all goes according to plan until it doesn't. Gradually, Kell finds himself sympathizing with Minasian, who, like Kell himself, is just another victim of the whole sorry dance of sex and yearning, of love and betrayal. Eventually, with both MI6 and Minasian's Soviet masters in the game and tasting blood, Kell sets out to carve a separate peace for two spies on opposite sides who have realized that the profession they had chosen has left both of them broken and compromised and alone. Cumming not only tells a moving human story here, he also constructs an airtight espionage plot full of unanticipated twists and leading up to a perfectly orchestrated finale. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Cumming's previous seven novels have all been successes, but this could be his breakthrough book. A large first printing and major marketing campaign will help.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2017 Booklist
