The Oxford Spy Ring A Spy Alone: A compelling modern espionage novel from a former MI6 operative - Charles Beaumont (Paperback) 26-10-2023

'A marvellously confident debut, sharply observed and exceptionally well written' Charles Cumming, author of Box 88 Everyone knows about the Cambridge Spies from the Fifties, identified and broken up after passing national secrets to the Soviets for years. But no spy ring was ever unearthed at Oxford. Because one never existed? Or because it was never found...? 2022: Former spy Simon Sharman is eking out a living in the private sector. When a commission to delve into the financial dealings of a mysterious Russian oligarch comes across his desk, he jumps at the chance. But as Simon investigates, worrying patterns begin to emerge. His subject made regular trips to Oxford, but for no apparent reason. There are payments from offshore accounts that suddenly just... stop. Has he found what none of his former colleagues believed possible, a Russian spy ring now nestled at the heart of the British Establishment? Or is he just another paranoid ex-spook left out in the cold, obsessed with redemption? From Oxford's hallowed quadrangles to brush contacts on Hampstead Heath, agent-running in Vienna and mysterious meetings in Prague, A Spy Alone is a gripping international thriller and a searing portrait of modern Britain in the age of cynical populism. Perfect for readers of Charles Cumming, Mick Herron and John le Carre. Praise for A Spy Alone 'A Spy Alone is as intricate as it is absorbing, as fantastically entertaining as it is disturbingly plausible, and is delivered with the confidence of a writer who knows how to handle the highest stakes' Tim Glister, author of Red Corona 'Beaumont's debut novel has such a ring of authenticity about it that it reads like an inside job. But there's much more to A Spy Alone than being well-informed and highly credible: the plot is clever and tight, the story is gripping and the characters are all well drawn. A highly recommended espionage thriller' Alex Gerlis, author of the Wolf Pack series 'Propulsive, authentic and eye-opening, A