Grove Press
Atlantic Monthly Press
Atlantic Monthly Press
From British journalist and bestselling author, Tom Bradby, Yesterday’s Spy is a brilliantly plotted historical espionage novel about a father searching for his disappeared son against the backdrop of the 1953 coup in Tehran
London, 1953. Harry Tower is a recently retired, and even more recently widowed, British intelligence officer. After a night spent drinking away his sorrows, he is awakened by a phone call with chilling news. His estranged son Sean has gone missing in Tehran after writing a damning article about the involvement of government officials in the opium trade. Harry springs to action, eager to reunite with his son and atone for past wrongs.
When he arrives in Tehran, a city roiling with political dissatisfaction and on the brink of a historic coup, Harry joins forces with Sean’s Iranian girlfriend Shahnaz—seemingly the only other person interested in finding the disappeared journalist. Harry’s career as a spy soon proves perfect training for this much more personal mission as American, British, Iranian, and French players flit in and out of the scene. But as the first attempt at a coup in the city fails and foreign powers jockey for oil, money, and influence, Sean’s disappearance takes on a more sinister tone. Was he really taken in retribution for his reporting, or is this an attempt to silence a globally significant revelation he was preparing to make?
Or, most terrifying of all, does Sean’s disappearance have nothing to do with him at all? Has Harry’s past caught up to them all?
“Crisp… [Bradby’s] story gathers momentum and becomes hard to put down.”—Library Journal, on Yesterday’s Spy
“An enjoyably labyrinthine tale with a light touch and the odd naughty satirical echo.”—Sunday Express (UK), on Double Agent
“Bradby’s portrayal of squabbling Whitehall folk continues to be intriguing and distinctive (and piquantly naughty, coming as it does from ITV’s chief anchorman).”—Sunday Times (UK), on Double Agent
“In Bradby’s engrossing sequel to 2019’s Secret Service, MI6 agent Kate Henderson rides point on a career-jeopardizing investigation of Prime Minister James Ryan… The tantalizingly ambiguous ending will leave the reader wondering what’s in store for Kate. Bradby does a fine job balancing the professional with the personal.”—Publishers Weekly, on Double Agent
“Bradby masterfully combines textured psychological drama with a rip-roaring plot that boasts several dizzying switchbacks along the way to a genuinely shocking conclusion.”—Booklist (starred review), on Double Agent
“The character of Kate is just terrific. She’s honest, brave and whip smart. First and foremost, Kate wants to do the right thing, but in the murky world of 21st century espionage it is not always clear what that is. If any of you are missing the Cold War espionage novels of the 1970s and 1980s, this series is for you.”—Deadly Pleasures, on Double Agent
“Kate Henderson returns, still on the trail of a high-level traitor in British government…Bradby’s fans will welcome his heroine’s return.”—Kirkus Reviews, on Double Agent
“A high-paced thriller.”—Radio Times (UK), on Double Agent
“A gripping thriller.”—Sunday Times (UK), on Secret Service
“There are resonant echoes of le Carré here—in the way the betrayals reach from marriage beds to the seats of governments—but there is also a distinctly contemporary feeling in the idea that truth, even when it’s discoverable, may no longer matter.”—Booklist (starred review), on Secret Service
“Cracking, uber-topical spy thriller… Bradby deftly works in current fears of Moscow infiltrating our institutions amid a plot full of twists and turns.”—Financial Times, on Secret Service
“The author reveals a rarely seen facet of secret agents: the domestic side. Not a clichéd Jane Bond, Kate is a mother to two teenagers, daughter to a spiteful mother sliding into dementia, and wife to a civil servant who may be working for a traitor. Ops go sideways, betrayals abound, and good people die. Bradby keeps the reader guessing to the last. Fans of cerebral spycraft in the vein of le Carré will enjoy this outing.”—Publishers Weekly, on Secret Service
“Enthralling and fast-moving… Packed with details of modern tradecraft in the twilight world of spooks, against a background of politics at its most Machiavellian, it is the stuff headlines are made of.”—Daily Mail, on Secret Service
“Teems with twists and the denouement is imaginative and unexpected.”—Times (UK), on Secret Service
“A strong dose of international politics with an all-too-plausible premise.”—Observer, on Secret Service
“An excellent thriller straight out of today’s headlines… A fast, riveting yarn.”—Sun, on Secret Service
“A cunning story of love, death and betrayal.”—Chicago Tribune, on The White Russian
“Atmospheric and richly entertaining… Political intrigue of the highest order.”—Washington Post, on The White Russian
“Bradby has the talent of a reporter but the heart of a storyteller.”— Daily Mail, on The God of Chaos
“A race-against-the-clock thriller and a complex psychological drama.”—Irish Independent, on The Sleep of the Dead
“This feisty, pacey thriller by Tom Bradby has it all—nervy gangsters, crooked politicians, gutsy cops and a sexy moll. It is also blessed with excellent timing… A top-notch piece of crime writing.”—Press Association (UK), on Blood Money
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