Thanks to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Charles Cumming really is THE master of the 21st century espionage thriller. No longer is Cumming the pretender to the throne of John LeCarre, but a much vaunted peer increasingly held in the same esteem. Deservedly so, too. If the distorted reality of Cold War politics was LeCarre’s forte, Cumming straddles the old and new of the espionage world with uncanny dexterity. If 21st century spying is increasingly akin to a technocracy, Cumming reminds us of its rather more basic, yet complex, human element: the spy as the ultimate human dissembler. As this book straddles the 1980s to the present day, we are treated to good old fashioned dead drops, Moscow rules and the long entrenched traditions of classic spy craft, as well as it’s more contemporary, more impersonal equivalents - the spawn of the technological revolution. Cumming, in this book, transforms the history of espionage - It’s change and continuity, into a tour de force of thrilling, literal and rapidly page-turning intensity. In a melting pot that throws into the mix the concept of a ‘deep state’ the very real events of the Lockerbie tragedy, and the rival factions of a melee of security services, ‘Box 88’ is the espionage thriller to end all espionage thrillers. One Laughlin ‘Lockie’ Kite is our leading man in this twisty tale. An unlikely public schoolboy, plunged prematurely into the murky world of international espionage, Lockie is tasked with uncovering any potential Iranian links to the Lockerbie terrorist atrocity. Typically, not everything is as it seems in the classic smoke and mirrors narrative that unfolds with pitch-perfect pace. Heroes can be unlikely villains and likely villains can be unlikely heroes. in the increasingly intimate world of Laughlan Kite. What marks this book out as special - as well as the obvious authenticity of Cumming’s account of the spy world, are the very human faces of its impeccably drawn protagonists. How the personal elides with the professional is an aspect of espionage largely forgotten in the zeitgeist of the modern spy thriller - not in Cumming’s books. As an espionage thriller, ‘Box 88’ is in a class of its own, but this is a human tale, too. One told with great poignancy, pathos and tenderness by the author, but tragic nonetheless. More than an espionage thriller, no less than a masterpiece of literature. A sublime read.

I simply couldn't put it down! Lachlan Kite works for a deeply secret intelligence agency that MI6 is dying to investigate so they set a tail on him. He realises immediately but in the end they could save his life, or at least one of them. The story starts in 2020 but soon goes back to 1988 when Lachlan is just leaving school and he is recruited by Box 88 to gather whatever information he can about an Iranian businessman who is friends with his best friend's father. In 2020 the consequences of what happened then threaten the life of Lachlan and his pregnant wife. All the characters are very real and I really cared for Lachlan and his team, that they would reach him in time. Loved it.

Box 88, not exactly a catchy title or a clue as to the contents. However, we quickly learn that Box 88 is the name of a top secret subset of MI6 and the CIA in joint collaboration. The books spans the grooming of Lachlan Kite from his school to become an 18 year old asset, to over three decades later when Kite finds himself captured by prior events.
The ease with which Box 88 tested the young Lochlan Kite prior to him being approached to become a spy was rather fanciful and almost impossible to pull off in real life, witnessed by the lack of explanation of the ticket inspector.
Lochlan realises his USP when Box 88 mentions his forthcoming holiday in the South of France and just as quickly understands the implications on his friendship with Xavier and his family.
The main body of the book fleshes out what happened on his holiday, something which I found quite fascinating. I was most pleased to read of the actualité when it came to bugging devices, especially ones which need to transmit over a mile. However, having been the lucky owner of an Olympus Trip 35, I was bemused by the allusion to motor drive noise. The Trip 35 had a silent, manual advance. I do believe though that the Trip name was hijacked a few years later by a plastic userper which may have had a motor.
Other than a brief mention of plant varieties, cicadas, snails and Absinthe (the author should know that Absinthe could not be sold as such in France in 1989) there was little that reminded me of the South of France from my youth there. The most striking thing I recall was the heavenly smell of the place.
Nit-picking aside, I thought that Box 88 was a really good spy thriller and if you think so too, you'll be pleased to learn that the ending left the possibility of further books featuring Lachlan Kite.

Fast paced and twisty page turner. The timeline jumps back and forth but I found that really worked for me. What I want from a spy fic novel is cleverness and Cumming delivered that in spades, while managing not to fall too much into boys’ own adventure territory. A good read.

As espionage novels go Box 88 is up there with the best. Past and present colliding make for a tense and compelling page turner. Characters which all have depth and layers which are peeled back as the story progresses. Fantastic read.

When Lockie a suspected spy involved in Box 88 is kidnapped by an Iranian it's a race against time to find him and his wife before they are killed, MI5 are following him so see the kidnapping and set things in motion before Box 88 step in to take over. Meanwhile the information the Iranians want are from a time when Lockie was at his friends summer house in France at the end of his A levels, can he convince them he's never been involved in the secret services and why do they want this information so many years later. All becomes clear as Lockie nears the end of his story.
I enjoyed large parts of this but it sometimes dragged and I skim read hence not 5 stars but was an interesting read

At a funeral for his old friend Xavier, Lachlan Kite is approached by someone who explains they were a friend of Xavier’s and whats to talk business to Lachlan. He arranges for them to travel to a nearby hotel but instead, Lachlan is kidnapped.

MI5 was already watching Lachlan but lost him during the move from the church. When they find the car that Lachlan was initially in messed up inside they know that someone has taken him.

For Lachlan, this whole event started back in the 80s when he was recruited as a secret agent with the task of finding out who caused the Lockerbie bombing but what he found out was far more sinister and people are wanting answers to Box 88.

Box 88 is a political thriller with a difference, it moves back and forth in time between the 80s and Lachlan at university and being recruited to become a spy and the present day and his kidnapping. The kidnappers are ruthless and are willing to go to any lengths to get Lachlan to talk, even putting his wife and unborn child in danger.

The present-day and there are a lot of interrogation scenes in which Lachlan tries to play it cool and to make his captors understand they have the wrong person, but they have been watching him for a while. MI5 is also on his tail. They have been watching him for some time wanting to know what he knows about Box 88, hoping that he would slip up at some point or talk to someone but they never imagined he’d be kidnapped. Now they must find him before it is too late.

The book does jump around a lot between timelines, something I’m not very keen on. I like to know which time period I’m in from the off and sometimes this wasn’t made clear. Apart from that, the book had me invested and intrigued to know what Box 88 is and what Lachlan had discovered. Let’s just say I felt like an MI5 agent waiting to find out the information.

The pace is fast and the action keeps on coming. It is exciting and there are certainly adrenaline rushes at times. It had me on the edge of my seat more than once. It was a quick read that I enjoyed immensely. It also had an air of nostalgia with it which took me back to my childhood.

Charles Cumming is rapidly becoming my favourite writer of espionage novels and this is surely one of his best.

It grabs the reader's attention from the first page and tells a fascinating story a secret intelligence unit, Box 88 and how Lachlan Kite, an impressionable public schoolboy was recruited 30 years ago to help find the perpetrators of the Lockerbie disaster. The action swings from then to now and is relentlessly exciting and packed full of tradecraft.

Hopefully this will be the first of a series after the successful Thomas Kell books and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It is too often suggested that anyone writing in the spy genre is the new Le Carre. However, it’s a mantle that Charles Cummings could grasp with both hands.

Box 88 is a superb, twisty and clever page turner. Split across several timelines, we follow Lockie but, because of the situation he finds himself in, we are never wholly convinced of the reliability of his narration. It kept me up until very late!

I’ve read all of Charles Cummings other books and this is perhaps his best. It nicely sets up a new series, which will be one to look out for.

Many thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for an ARC

Past and present collide in this excellent spy thriller. In 2020 the mysterious Lachlan Kite is kidnapped after attending the funeral of his old school friend and threatened with torture if he des not reveal certain information.
As Lockie tries to save his life and that of his wife and unborn child who are also in danger, he reveals information about a Summer long ago when, as an 18 year old 6th form student, he was recruited by a top secret spy ring to find information about the Lockerbie bombing and those responsible.
The story slips backwards and forwards effortlessly between a Summer in the South of France after Lachlan’s A levels, when it seems Lockie began his espionage career and the present day where he has to use all his acquired knowledge to try and escape his enemy whilst protectIng his family and colleagues.
This is a great spy thriller- I loved reading about the innocent Lachlan in the 1980s, how he was recruited and how he managed to carry out his mission and then the current day Lockie who obviously stayed in the espionage business.
The characters were well described and the settings evocative, particularly the villa near Mougins where they are all staying. The old fashioned methods of planting bugs in a game boy and the use of a Walkman as a spying listening device reminded me how far technology has moved on in the space of a few years.
I enjoyed this well paced thriller and would certainly like to read more about Lachlan Kite and his organisation: a clue on the last page of the novel led me to believe there is indeed another book on the way.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.