Product Description

As the Great Fog of 1952 descends on London, MI5 outcast Herbert Smith stumbles upon a secret that will change the world - if he can stay alive long enough to tell it. A page-turner in the vein of "Enigma" from the bestselling author of "Messiah". At first, it seems the Great Fog has claimed another victim. A drunk, perhaps, wandering unsighted through Hyde Park and stumbling into the icy shallows of Long Water. But Max Stensness was stone-cold sober when he died. And in the hours before his death, the young biochemist had claimed to be in possession of a secret that could change the world. Having traded MI5 for New Scotland Yard, Detective Inspector Herbert Smith thinks he's left the murky world of espionage behind him - until he begins retracing the final footsteps of Max Stensness. Suddenly he's being tailed, thinly veiled threats are issued, danger lurks at every turn in the investigation. The CIA, KGB and MI5 are all vying to get their hands on the dead man's secret, and as the body count climbs, it's clear someone will stop at nothing to claim it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #440956 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
Praise for Messiah: 'A real cliffhanger' Sunday Express 'Fast-paced, gritty! deserves nothing but praise' Esquire 'You'll be pinned helplessly to every chilling page' Company Praise for Storm: 'A furious, compelling and enjoyable read' Maxim 'I've been pinned helplessly to every chilling page' Loaded Praise for Vodka: 'Enthusiasm and a quick eye achieve a Dickensian combination of sentiment and cruelty' Guardian 'A pulsating and imaginative tale of murder and mafia' Mirror

Guardian
'Oozes authenticity... the plot plumbs fascinating depths...some wonderfully unpredictable twists. Mystery at its best.'

About the Author
Boris Starling has worked as a reporter on the Sun and the Daily Telegraph and most recently for a company which specialises in kidnap negotiation, clandestine investigations and political risk analysis. He was one of the youngest-ever contestants on Mastermind in 1996 and went to the semi-finals with his subject: the novels of Dick Francis. Boris studied at Cambridge and currently lives in London.

Customer Reviews

The best thriller of 2006 (and certainly one of the most enjoyable)
Once in a while, a book comes along that renews one's faith in British thriller writing. Beautifully written, meticulously researched (Starling has been able to stitch a seemingly endless amount of historical information seamlessly into the narrative without detracting in any way from the thrills and spills of his fast and furious plot lines); this is a detective story that hooks you from page one: A murder mystery that conjures up more timeless imagery than anything Hollwood has come up with in the last 20 years; a classic political thriller to be placed alongside Graham Greene, and an authentic and moving love story about one man's emergence from loneliness and isolation in post war London - a city teeming with spies, tarts and villains, and enveloped by corruption, recession and the murderous smog. If Raymond Chandler had been British, he would almost certainly have created the iconic character of Herbert Smith. As it is, he's no doubt looking down on Boris Starling with both great admiration and utter jealousy. With luck, this is just the first of many Herbert Smith adventures in the 'underworld'.

Dense
With the vast majority of novels set in London published lately being set in Victorian London (and the author of this one just happens to be the brother of the author of The Journal of Dora Damage - a superb case in point) refreshing it is to read one set in the 1950s. So instead of a London of steam and squalor and secret sexuality, we here have a London covered in a noxious blanket of lung-coating fog and still recovering from the physical and social impacts of the Second World War. The picture of the period is well painted and the author covers all points from the Burgess and Maclean spy scandal to the Derek Bentley case, from the Queen's coronation to the start of the cold war. In fact the only criticism I'd make is that sometimes Mr S seems to be trying to fit too much in, and then having to do lots of explaining. But this is carping - this is an impressive and compulsive thriller staring ex-MI5 Murder Squad Detective Inspector Herbert Smith, as he investigates a murder that takes him back to his spying past, and reveals copious murky connections. Our hero is a believable and grumpily solitary figure, so that this book at times seems to be as much about loneliness as it is about intrigue and murder. A treat for readers who like their thrillers dense and involving, rather than flashy and nasty.

fearsome pace ... a gripping thriller ... so perspicacious - you simply must read!
I am a massive fan of Messiah, Storm & Vodka so I gulped down the latest Starling thriller in a weekend. Maybe his best yet though Messiah still takes some beating. With a final twist that made Zinadine Zidane look boring and predictable .... can't wait for the TV series.