The Head of British Intelligence is having a bad day. Only six months off retirement and Sir William Rentoul is wondering if he’ll make it that far, what with the sudden descent of a brain fog dense enough to turn every day into a series of small humiliations.

To make matters worse, when parliamentary researcher Aphra McQueen is brought in to investigate an internal complaint, she discovers something horrifying: the murder of nine Iranian dissidents. The elusive assassin, nicknamed CASPIAN, kills across borders, forcing intelligence services throughout Europe into an alliance. Their only lead? An unsuspecting dentist in the UK.

Aphra McQueen seems to know more about the operation than she is letting on. What will she uncover? What is she really up to? And can she survive the unexpected events that will bounce her from London to Birmingham to Paris to Lausanne?

In the exhilarating chase that follows, Spies and Other Gods offers a vibrant, fresh and darkly funny take on the spy thriller that lays bare the human cost of secrecy.

Praise for Spies and Other Gods:

“A quirky and captivating espionage thriller . . .  Sly asides and metacommentary from a cynical narrator who’s identified only as the ‘spirit of spying’ complement the verisimilitude Wolff brings to the proceedings. Fans of Mick Herron’s Slough House series will appreciate this.”—Publishers Weekly

“As a former British Intelligence Officer, Wolff is the perfect candidate to write this alluring tale about the inner workings of spy culture. He writes the narrator as a sort of all-seeing essence of espionage, adding a welcome and unique tone. The narrator’s godlike connotation removes the fourth wall, placing readers into the scene and posing questions that serve to enhance the experience. Mysterious and at times existential, this book will cleanse the palate of seasoned spycraft readers in the best way.”—Kristen Shaw, Booklist

“At once dark, haunting, witty, and bitingly funny, Spies and Other Gods conveys exactly what an intelligence organization and the business of spying are all about. Wolff makes polar ends meet: cynicism and compassion, humor and pathos. The narrator is intriguing and brilliant, winking at the reader on every page. Read it for the humor, the insight, or the gut-wrenching twist at the end—but, above all, read it.”—I.S. Berry, bestselling author of The Peacock and the Sparrow

“Through careful character development, [Wolff] explores themes of family connection, loyalty, accountability and conflicting personal and professional responsibilities . . . a worthy addition to the genre.”—Crime Fiction Lover

“There is an economy and effortlessness to Wolff’s prose . . . a thought-provoking glimpse of a belief system under threat from outside and how it copes or adapts.”—David Jarvis, Aspects of Crime

“In the smoke-and-mirrors world of spy fiction, James Wolff shines as a steady bright light. Spies and Other Gods is intricately made, slyly humorous and wonderfully entertaining.”—John Banville

“There’s an acute, almost intense intelligence at work in James Wolff’s fiction . . . I was hooked on plot and prose, a prose so compelling that it makes you re-read whole paragraphs to savour them again. Wolff is not in this simply to deliver spills and thrills — he’s a superb, spare, almost minimal stylist and . . . an original.”—John Lawton

“Wonderful, gripping, intelligent and original. Great fun and incredibly insightful regarding the real nature of intelligence work.”—Oliver Harris