The Mysterious Press
The Mysterious Press
The Mysterious Press
In this blistering sequel to bestselling author Henry Porter’s “timely and terrific” Firefly, former MI6 agent Paul Samson is dispatched to rescue a Greek aid worker who is being held hostage by a Mafia group with terrorist ties. (Mick Herron)
On a deserted road in Calabria, Greek aid worker Anastasia Cristakos is driving alone to visit one of the new refugee centers funded by billionaire Denis Hisami whom she has recently married. She slows down to greet two African migrants she recognizes. Too late she realizes they are not her friends. This is an ambush.
She manages a desperate phone call to Hisami before her Mafia kidnappers silence her with a powerful drug. Hours later she wakes up in the pitch dark on a container ship, powering eastwards across the Mediterranean.
Anastasia has been abducted and held hostage because Hisami has explosive information that his enemies have killed for and will kill for again. But Hisami can do nothing to save his wife. His time as a commander with the Kurdish Peshmerga has caught up with him. The US authorities have seized his passport and jailed him for possible terrorist activities in the past. For all his wealth, he is powerless.
Only one man can help him. Paul Samson, former MI6 agent and a genius at tracking missing persons. He’s the obvious choice. There’s only one snag. Samson was, and probably still is, in love with Anastasia. If he manages to locate and save her, will it be for Hisami — or himself?
“A sequel to last year’s ripped-from-the-headlines Firefly… This frighteningly realistic political thriller will draw readers comfortable with the darker side of the genre.”—Booklist
“[An] intricate tale of international financial skullduggery… Porter handles every aspect of the complicated plot, including the labyrinthine financial and political developments and the romantic triangle involving Anastasia, Denis, and Paul, with keen intelligence and compassion. Thriller readers looking for plenty of action, excellent writing, and credible, convincing characters will be rewarded.”—Publishers Weekly
“Henry Porter is one of our most accomplished thriller writers. As a Fleet Street veteran with an eye for news, he mixes current affairs with precisely engineered storytelling and complex, rounded characters. Firefly, his previous novel, set in the refugee crisis, was highly praised and set a high bar. White Hot Silence meets it… The climax of the book, on the bridge at Narva, the border between Russia and Estonia is nail-biting, with a poignant, Casablanca-style twist at the end. Anastasia is no passive victim, but also drives the story forward. Thriller writing at its best.”—Financial Times
“Compelling… The appeal and force of White Hot Silence springs from its convincing depiction of settings and characters, its palpable tension, and the enduring bond between Samson and Anastasia.”—Wall Street Journal
“White Hot Silence by Henry Porter reunites the characters from his excellent comeback novel Firefly in another mad chase across Europe.”—Sunday Times (UK)
“Nine out of ten journalists who write thrillers on the side should stick to their day job, but among the few who do it superbly is Henry Porter… Porter, who for many years served as the London editor of Vanity Fair, is a whiz at both character and plot, and White Hot Silence can enthrall even those who have not yet read its predecessor.”—Air Mail
“[Porter’s] best book yet … Firefly is its own magnificent hybrid: partly a young adult adventure in the tradition of Huckleberry Finn and Harry Potter; partly a le Carré-esque study of an outsider spy ambivalent about the messy business of espionage; and partly fictionalised journalism, and an impressive rendition of the mass flight from the Middle East that was clearly heavily researched and observed on the ground … it’s possible to imagine it challenging for the Orwell prize for political writing, such is the power of its depiction of the migrant exodus. Full of poignant scenes and mesmeric action sequences, it may be the first novel to do justice to the phenomenon’s epic scale.” –The Times (UK), on Firefly
“With its vivid portrait of the flood of refugees moving west from Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey, the book could not be more timely, and Porter’s sympathy for the dispossessed is as cogent here as his skill at sustaining narrative tension.”—Barry Forshaw, The Guardian, on Firefly
“Splendid … tension is high throughout. Precocious 13-year-old Syrian Naji is an appealing, intelligent hero.” –The Times (UK), on Firefly
“Porter can be trusted to know exactly how much sentimentality, how much action and how much inside information will make the perfect mixture. He is also a wizard with words. A very good thriller.” –Literary Review, on Firefly
“A welcome return . . . Firefly seems ripped from the headlines and is both timely and terrific.”—Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning author of Dead Lions, on Firefly
“A classic chase thriller with an on-the-scenes look at the Syrian refugee crisis—it doesn’t get more contemporary than this.” —Joseph Kanon, Edgar-winning author of Los Alamos and Defectors, on Firefly
“Firefly proves once again that Porter is both his own man and the proud carrier of the flag first unfurled by John le Carre more than fifty years ago. British espionage fiction is the best in the world, and Porter is part of the reason why.” —Lee Child, on Firefly
“Firefly accomplishes what too few novels today even try to do: this engrossing chase story of terrorism, spies and refugees takes the reader through the realities of our current war-torn world’s innocents even as the novel entertains. This is an important thriller about the real world we all must survive.” —James Grady, author of Six Days of the Condor and Last Days of the Condor
“The eagerly awaited return of an espionage master.” —Charles Cumming, author of A Divided Spy, on Firefly
“A sophisticated, engrossing, and important political thriller.”—Washington Post, on The Bell Ringers
“Superb.”—Boston Globe, on The Bell Ringers
“Read it and you’ll be hooked.”—Dallas Morning News, on The Bell Ringers
“A first-rate thriller . . . Porter sustains an elaborate plot skillfully and portrays memorable, multi-faceted characters.”—Sunday Times (UK), on Brandenburg Gate
“A powerful, propulsive piece of thriller writing.”—Observer (UK), on Empire State
“Henry Porter has fast become one of the masters of the genre.”—Sunday Telegraph (UK), on Brandenburg Gate
“Clever, gripping.”—Philip Kerr, on Brandenburg Gate
“A wonderful novel. I read it addictively and was sorry the minute it was over. It’s way too good to be called a thriller.”—Richard Ford, on The Bell Ringers
“For those who like political thrillers, this is one of the season’s best: scary, informative and, alas, eminently believable.”—Economist, on The Bell Ringers
“Henry Porter writes fabulous novels . . . A spy novel for everyone who loves le Carré and Deighton, but with a crisp modern woman in charge. You won’t put this novel down until the final paragraph.”—Globe & Mail (Canada), on The Bell Ringers
“A topnotch Cold War thriller . . . [a] tour de force on a par with John le Carré.”—Library Journal (starred review), on Brandenburg Gate
An Independent Literary Publisher Since 1917
