Jack of Spies

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Jack of Spies

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ISBN-13:	9781616952686
Publisher:	Soho Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/13/2014
Series:	A Jack McColl Novel , #1
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.42(w) x 9.29(h) x 1.11(d)

From the B&N Reads Blog

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May Mystery Roundup: Convicts, Spies, and Deadly Personal Ads

Gather round, mystery lovers! It’s no secret that we at the Barnes & Noble Book Blog relish tales of suspense that set our hearts racing and our eyes darting for the door. But look over your shoulder no more! Here, in no particular order, are 7 heart-pounding must-reads released this month. Robert B. Parker will […]

02/03/2014
British author Downing’s engaging if slow-moving first in a WWI-era spy series introduces Jack McColl, a globe-trotting Scottish car salesman moonlighting as a British agent. Months before August 1914, McColl is trying to sell his company’s luxury car, the Maia, in China—and sniffing around for clues as to what the Germans and the Chinese are up to for his British government handlers back in London. He and Caitlin Hanley, a beautiful American journalist he meets in Peking, embark on a round-the-world journey that takes them to San Francisco and on to New York. Later, McColl heads to Mexico, and finally to Britain. Along the way, he survives a stabbing, falls in love, and tracks a German spy, gathering intelligence on a variety of revolutionary movements. Fans of Downing’s WWII-era spy series that concluded with Masaryk Station will appreciate the author’s command of history and period detail, though some may find the book reads more like a travelogue than a thriller. Agent: Charlie Viney, Viney Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

2014-04-02
A rookie spy gets in over his head when he's forced to choose between his assignment and the dynamic woman he's fallen for. It's 1913, and for the past few years, Scottish car dealer Jack McColl has folded small missions for the nascent British Intelligence Service into his overseas business trips. The income rarely covers more than travel expenses, but the work definitely makes his travels more interesting. Two new elements change the equation on his latest excursion from Tsingtau, China, to Shanghai to San Francisco and, ultimately, New York. Political tensions have been accelerated by the looming European war, making China far less safe, and McColl finds surprising romance with Caitlin Hanley, a vibrant young American journalist. They meet in Peking, and though McColl continues with his espionage commitments, he can't get her off his mind. When they meet again, they rekindle their affair, fueled by an ardor the time apart has triggered. But Cumming, the British naval officer who employs McColl, and Rainer von Schön, a German engineer with whom he trades information, are less than thrilled that he has Caitlin in tow. Her intrusive questions turn von Schön icy. In San Francisco, McColl is briefed by Jatish, an undercover agent who's later murdered. Could McColl himself have been the intended victim?This first installment of a proposed series by the author of the six John Russell novels (Masaryk Station, 2013, etc.) moves deliberately but colorfully, with intelligent prose and a strong period feel.

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