Trade publications and fellow thriller-writers are raving about the debut novel from Jeremy Duns, 'Free Agent' (Simon & Schuster UK, Viking Penguin US).
William Boyd, author of 'Restless,' describes it as “a wholly engrossing and sophisticated spy novel… fascinating and compelling,” and Jeff Abbott, author of 'Panic,' raves “Jeremy Duns offers an entirely original and fascinating take on the classic spy novel in this provocative, fast-paced thriller,” calling him a “compelling new voice in suspense fiction.”
About 'Free Agent' by Jeremy Duns: Meet Paul Dark. In 1945, the British agent took part in a top-secret mission to hunt down and execute Nazi war criminals. But all is not as it seems. Almost 25 years later, a KGB officer turns up in Nigeria, where the Biafran war is underway, wanting to defect. His credentials as a defector are good: he has highly suggestive information indicating that there is a double agent within MI6, which would be a crippling blow to an organization still coming to terms with previous betrayals.
Dark has been largely above suspicion during MI6’s years of self-recrimination, but this time he’s in the frame. Desperate to save himself, the morally complex and unforgettable Dark heads to Nigeria to confront the KGB officer—with fellow agent Henry Pritchard in hot pursuit. All too quickly it becomes apparent that everything he has believed about the events of 1945—which has formed the basis of his life’s work—has been a lie.
This is especially devastating because the bulk of these lies center around a tangled web involving the only woman he has ever loved, and the death of his father.
'Free Agent' is a gripping spy thriller that combines the adrenalin-pumping suspense of a Jason Bourne film with a deeply researched Cold War background. It’s a novel of innumerable cliffhangers, all set within a constantly evolving moral universe, and the twists and turns will keep readers guessing—and sweating—until the last page. It is the first in a trilogy featuring Paul Dark.
Free Agent was published in the UK in May and will be published in the US, Canada, Australia and elsewhere next month.
Author Jeremy Duns was a journalist for several years, but this is his first novel. He is a great fan of the spy novel genre: favourites include John le Carre, Len Deighton, Eric Ambler, Graham Greene and Elleston Trevor, as well as Lawrence Durrell.
He's working on his third novel, the final part of his Cold War spy trilogy featuring British agent Paul Dark.
The Book Marquee is part of Book Marquee Promotions, a service promoting the best and newest books. For information, contact jackielarsonwrites (at) gmail (dot) com. J. Louise Larson's work has been published in a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Dallas Morning News and Entrepreneur Magazine. She has received the top award for series writing in Texas, the Texas APME, as well as a silver from the Parenting Publications of America. She co-authored a nonfiction career guide for FabJob Publishing in 2006. Larson is in revisions on her upcoming novel, 'At High Tide.'
