BOX 88

A secret agent comes of age―and reckons with the legacy of his first mission―in this thriller by New York Times-bestseller Charles Cumming, “the best of the new generation of British spy writers” (The Observer)

Lachlan Kite is a member of BOX 88, an elite transatlantic black ops outfit so covert that not even MI6 and the CIA are certain of its existence ― but even the best spy can’t anticipate every potential threat in a world where dangerous actors lurk around every corner. At the funeral of his childhood best friend, Lachlan falls into a trap that drops him into the hands of a potentially deadly interrogation, with his pregnant wife, also abducted, being held as collateral for the information he’s sworn on his own life to protect.

Thirty years earlier Lachlan, then just out of the upper class boarding school where he was reared, was BOX 88’s newest recruit. In the haze of a gap year summer, in which the study of spycraft was intertwined with a journey of self-discovery, he cut his teeth on a special assignment on the coast of France, where a friendship allowed him special access to one of Iran’s most dangerous men. Today, Lachlan’s nostalgia for the trip is corrupted by recollection of the deceit that accompanied it but, in order to save his family, he’ll be forced to revisit those painful memories one last time.

A pulse-pounding narrative that straddles two eras ― 1989 and 2020 ― BOX 88 is a “wonderfully taut, exciting and up-to-date spy thriller” that introduces a compelling new character and a captivating international storyline (Spectator, Books of the Year).

BOX 88 is so good. Charles Cumming is up there with the very best espionage writers.”
―Ian Rankin

BOX 88 is a masterpiece of plotting and character, Cumming’s best novel to date. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading him, then do so immediately.”
―Dan Fesperman

BOX 88 is a wonderful spy novel; Charles Cumming’s most ambitious―and his best―yet.”
―Mick Herron

Charles Cumming writes with intelligence, grace, and stunning verisimilitude.”
―Gregg Hurwitz

The talented Cumming comes up with a spy for the 21st century in Lachlan Kite.”
―Daily Mail, Books of the Year

A wonderfully taut, exciting and up-to-date spy thriller.”
―Spectator, Books of the Year

An ambitious fusion of coming-of-age novel and gripping espionage thriller.”
―Financial Times, Books of the Year

Charles Cumming is a British writer of spy fiction. He was educated at Eton College (1985-1989) and the University of Edinburgh (1990-1994), where he graduated with First Class Honours in English Literature. The Observer has described him as “the best of the new generation of British spy writers who are taking over where John le Carré and Len Deighton left off”.

See more titles by Charles Cumming