ALAN JUDD

Alan Judd's special magic is to mix contemporary events as they break over our heads with the codes and crafts of the secret world on whose special traits he is always uncannily up to date' Peter Hennessy 'Plotting in the best le Carre tradition' Mail on Sunday From the author of Legacy, now a major BBC Film, and The Kaiser's Last Kiss comes a brilliant new novel for fans of John le Carre and Charles Cumming Brexit looms and Charles Thoroughgood, Chief of MI6, is forbidden for political reasons from spying on the EU. But when an EU official volunteers the EU's negotiating bottom lines to one of his officers, Charles has to report it. Whitehall is eager for more but as the case develops Charles realises that it may not be quite what it appears. At the same time, he finds he has a family connection with a possible terrorist whom MI5 want checked out. In both cases, Charles is forced to become his own agent, seeking what he really does not want to find. Authoritative and packed with in-depth knowledge, Accidental Agent is a gripping new spy thriller from a master of the genre. 'Judd infuses his writing with insider knowledge'New Statesman 'Wonderful. One of the best spy novels ever' Peter Hennessey on Legacy 'Belongs to the classic tradition of spy writing' Guardian 'Judd has an infallible grasp of

A masterful storyteller with an intricate knowledge of his subject.' The Daily Telegraph'Alan Judd knows more about the secret world than any other writer living. To have him turn his expert eye on the world of Christopher Marlowe - and on Francis Walsingham, the Elizabethan George Smiley - is a special kind of literary treat.' Mick Herron'Absolutely spellbinding. I gobbled it up in two days and could not stop' Miranda SeymourDanger and dissent stalk the streets and taverns of Elizabethan England. The Queen's chief spymaster, Francis Walsingham, and his team of agents must maintain the highest levels of vigilance to ward off Catholic plots and the ever-present threat of invasion. One operative in particular - a young Cambridge undergraduate of humble origins, controversial beliefs and literary genius who goes by the name of Kit Marlowe - is relentless in his pursuit of intelligence for the Crown. When he is killed outside an inn in Deptford, his mysterious death becomes the subject of rumours and suspicion that are never satisfactorily resolved.

After university and Sandhurst, Charles Thoroughgood has now joined the Assault Commados and is on a four-month tour of duty in Armagh and Belfast. The thankless task facing him and his men -- to patrol the tension-filled streets through weeks of boredom punctuated by bursts of horror -- takes them through times of tragedy, madness, laughter and terror. Alan Judd tells Thoroughgood's tale with verve, compassion and humour. The result is an exceptionally fine novel which blends bitter human incident with army farce.

Charles Thoroughgood, hero of Alan Judd's classic A Breed of Heroes, has left the army to be trained by MI6 in the arts of the Cold War. Nothing could prepare him, however, for the unexpected inheritance left him by his late father, which leads him back into an old school friendship with Viktor, a Russian diplomat living in London, and beyond that into the murky world of Soviet espionage at the height of the nuclear threat to the West.