This was an interesting story of a man outside of his comfort zone. Kit, a writer, gets himself further and further entwined into a series of events way outside his experience. He is trying to be a spy, but doesn't quite know how to be.
I enjoyed this author's writing and look forward to reading more.

A tale of intrigue and espionage. Good plot great characters. Well written and keeps you hooked right till the end. A very well written spy thriller.

This is a thoughtful and well planned book encompassing spies, their behaviour, attitudes and activities. The author has taken a low key approach to terrorism today and has demonstrated, through the eyes of a ring-in, the author of spy novels, Carradine, just how lay members might be co-opted to work for the secret service; albeit that this scenario rarely occurs, if ever.
This was a very entertaining expose of life at the edge and the nuances of spying. Great fun to read. The female character remains intriguing to the end.

I must confess that I love Charles Cumming's books so i am biased to start with. An author with one successful novel under his belt is struggling to compete with it with a second one. One day when wasting time from writing he meets or is met by someone who purports to be a agent of his own government who has an assignment for our author. But is he who he says he is? Kit, our author, is then thrown head first into a treacherous world but it is exciting and even though he can drop it all he forges on and his instincts prove him right, in the end. As usual a fantastic read and worth every moment spent deep in the pages of the book!

I always seek out Cumming's novels even from earliest days - and I was not disappointed with this one either- although for about the first quarter, I was finding things stretching credulity - our man relies on his imaginative capacities as criteria for believing that a govt spying organisation is suddenly recruiting him for a rather sensitive job - his head is sort of in the clouds, he's dreaming he is in a spy novel (and he should know better since the character writesthem!) but as I went on I began to see Cumming's purposes with such a character. He gets involved over his head in derring do ... and is it legit? I won;t give it away but there is always that extra dimension to Cumming's books I have always liked - also a kind of querulous underlying attitude ... another good one to add to the oeuvre,

This is a modern day spy thriller in the vein of Len Deighton or John Le Carre. It concerns an innocent thrust into the secret world who is forced to improvise in order to survive.
Kit Carradine is a spy writer who has never worked in the profession although his father once worked as a spy for a short time and left the service after a betrayal. Kit looks up to his father and feels annoyance that Will has been rejected in this way through no fault of his own.
Kit leads a somewhat aimless existence, alone in his flat writing his next novel whilst yearning for something more. When he meets the mysterious Robert Mantis who makes him an exciting offer, Kit jumps at the chance to serve his country.
Whilst in Morocco for an author event he is tasked with carrying out some supposedly easy assignments whilst keeping an eye out for a missing female agent.
However things do not work out as expected and Kit ends up in a dangerous situation living on his wits and having to use his knowledge of spying gleaned from his research for his novels!
This is an exciting read with many twists and turns. Kit is truly the innocent abroad and I really liked his character and even the humour he injected into certain situations.
I enjoy a good spy thriller and I raced through this one as it was a compelling read. I expect it will be a great success and much sought after as a Summer beach read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is a tale of intrigue, where a writer gets swot into the life of a spy. The characters are likeable and we'llwritten and the story keeps you gripped. The plot thickens and I was unsure who were the good guys and who were the bad as is the world of espionage.

This spy story is a gripping read. It intrigues from page one and goes on from strength to strength. The characters are well drawn and the story is full of surprises. The use of a spy novelist becoming a professional spy is a nice touch. The context is well created too with the reader feeling drawn in to the atmosphere of the countries visited. I strongly recommend this book.

Charles Cumming's spy thrillers are getting better and better.

It is hard to say very much about this well-paced, well-crafted novel without spoiling the fun for a potential reader. It is very good. It is extremely difficult to put down. It would be a great holiday read and would make an excellent film. Read it!

This is an excellent addition to Charles Cumming's collection of spy novels. It's a standalone novel rather than part of a series, and begins when a writer of spy thrillers, Kit Carradine, encounters a stranger who draws him into the murky world of international espionage. Using his cover as a author, Carradine is soon on his way to Morocco to complete the relatively straightforward tasks of making a delivery and meeting with a contact as well as keeping his eye open for a mysterious woman who has disappeared. However, things don't quite go according to plan, and Carradine is soon drawn into a complex web of events, about which I won't say more, but it does feel very topical for the current political climate.
It's a really gripping story that is told well; the suspense builds gradually, and there are several genuinely surprising moments which make you pause to catch your breath before turning the next page. There is a good sense of place too with both London and Morocco (the main scenes for the action) being evoked in a realistic way.
This is thoroughly recommended if you enjoy a high class spy thriller. A really good read.

We seem to be living in a golden age of spy thrillers. Mick Herron’s bunch of cynical misfits, Adam Brookes’ superb Mangan trilogy and now a new book from Charles Cumming. These authors have all been compared to John Le Carre which is both unfair and unjustified as they have each developed their own style which is very different from Le Carre.

Cumming’s latest novel is just as good as its predecessors and is based on the premise that an author of spy novels is approached to work for the security services. If this seems far-fetched, it apparently happened to Cumming himself as well as a number of other well-known authors.

It’s difficult to describe the plot without giving away spoilers and I’m definitely not going to let on whether a follow-up is possible. Suffice to say that it’s a heady mix of Service agents from the USA, Britain and Russia who may or may not be working together to demolish a revolutionary movement who have been targeting far-right individuals (look out Katie Hopkins) and organisations in an increasingly violent manner. A couple of years ago, such a plot might have been seen as outlandish but with the way that global politics seem to be going, it’s frighteningly realistic.

Because he is such a good writer, Cumming builds the tension not through the use of gung-ho “bang bang, you’re dead” antics, but via great storytelling and sparse prose. When the occasional burst of violence does occur, it’s therefore genuinely shocking rather than just another gory set-piece.

I have one small caveat on what I thought was another excellent novel by this author and that is the bout of philosophising towards the end seemed unnecessary and detracted slightly from a tremendously powerful and nail-biting conclusion. However, I really enjoyed this book and thoroughly recommend it.

I am very grateful to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in return for an honest review

Very much enjoyed the book. My first book by Charles Cumming but definitely not the last.
Not really in the Le Carre mould not enough atmosphere but where is lacked in its characters it gained with the pace and excitement.
You can feel frustrated with the amateur naivety of the main character "Kit" Carrandine which appeared too much for any reality.
Overall a good read .

5*****!

I DEVOURED this book. It is a top-notch spy thriller.

".....His novels occupied a literary space equidistant between Ludlum's kiss-kiss-bang-bang and the slow-burn chess game of Le Carré."

So says Kit Carradine, Cumming's lead character, a writer, who in this book is describing his own work. The same statement couldn't be more accurate of Cumming's own work, which appears to be at least semi-autobiographical - it does feel like a truly contemporary Le Carré - less action than a Ludlum and more cerebral.

I also loved the direct mention of The Man Who Knew Too Much, as it came strongly to mind with the setting and circumstances and similarly Highsmith's thriller writing was also evoked.

I found myself muttering "No!" at Carradine when he made a poor decision (regularly) and was utterly gripped in the pursuit sequences. The characters were believable, the places felt authentic and the writing was solid. It is an incredibly fast-paced read and I flew through it, only to be disappointed that I had no more of it left to read at the finish. The exciting thing is that Cumming has written more books and I'm grateful to have been introduced to his oeuvre.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers and Charles Cumming for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a spy story, so I’m surprised I hadn’t read anything by Charles Cumming before. This is a classic story of an amateur spy, the sort of thing Joseph Kanon does so well. Kit Carradine is a successful writer of spy fiction and about to travel to Morocco to take part in a literary festival. He’s asked to do a small job for British Intelligence while he’s there and is thrilled by the prospect. His own father had been in the Service but his career was ruined when he was betrayed by Philby. Perhaps Kit can redress this? He’s a patriotic sort of chap and pleased to serve his country.

As is the way of such novels, he soon finds himself in way above his head not knowing whom to trust. At the time the story is set (pretty much the present day), an outfit called Resurrection is carrying out terrorist attacks all over the world against people and institutions perceived to be right wing. Kit has been asked to hand over a package to a missing girl, Lara, once associated with Resurrection and now believed to be on the run. He does find her and determines to rescue her. But does she need rescuing? Is she what she seems, a beautiful young woman always travelling to escape those who want to kill her? There are so many twists to this story that I can’t describe the plot for fear of spoilers. Suffice to say that I finished it in an orgy of one day reading and found it a real page turner.

Charles Cumming was himself recruited by MI6, so knows his tradecraft. No wonder he can write such a gripping tale. The Man Between will be out on 5th June and I read it thanks to NetGalley.

I love the premise of this book – what if the author of the ubiquitous spy thriller novel was offered a chance to become a spy? From there Cummings takes us on a tightly plotted, swift paced ride where Kit Carradine discovers the real difference between truth and fiction. This is in a different vein to say Le Carre for instance, but is as compulsively readable. I’ll have to check out the author’s other books. Very enjoyable and told with a certain amount of wry humour. Thoroughly recommend.

Charles Cumming has developed into one of the finest spy thriller writers around and “The Man Between”will on,y add to his burgeoning reputation.

It is a stand-alone book which has a brilliantly original premise. What if a writer of spy thrillers actually had the chance to become a spy?

Kit Carradine is given this opportunity but nothing and nobody is what it seems to be and he is floundering out of his depth but somehow come through by means of his intuition, common sense and sense of what is right.

I won’t provide any spoilers but the action is breathless and the quality of plotting and writing exceptional.

Highly recommended.