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A Colder War

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A Colder War

By: Charles Cumming
Narrated by: Jot Davies
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About this listen

From the Top 10 Sunday Times bestselling author and winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year.

Thomas Kell is a disgraced agent who longs to come in from the cold. When MI6’s top spy in Turkey is killed in a mysterious plane crash, his chance arrives… for Kell is the only man Service Chief Amelia Levene can trust to investigate the accident.

In Istanbul, Kell soon discovers that there is a traitor inside Western Intelligence. Then he meets Rachel- the dead spy’s daughter- and the stakes grow higher still.

From London to Greece and into Eastern Europe, Kell tracks the mole. But a betrayal close to home transforms the operation into something more personal. Soon Kell will stop at nothing to see it through.

©2014 Charles Cumming (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Crime Thrillers Espionage International Mystery & Crime Literary Fiction Suspense Thriller Fiction Mystery
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Critic reviews

‘A Colder War is more than an excellent thriller: it is also a novel that forces us to look behind the headlines and question some of our own comfortable assumptions’ Spectator

‘An espionage maestro . . . The levels of psychological insight are married to genuine narrative acumen – but anyone who has read his earlier books will expect no less’ Independent

‘For those hungering for a new John le Carré, Charles Cumming has inherited the master’s mantle. His new book, A Colder War, features sinister goings-on in spook-infested Istanbul’ Sunday Times

‘There’s a sense that Kell is developing into a Smiley for our times’ Mail on Sunday

‘[Cumming] expertly recreates a world of waiting and watching where boredom is as much an enemy as other agents, and yet has still produced a page-turning thriller. . .If you thought true spy novels went out with the Berlin wall, think again’ Press Association

‘Edgily elegant … perfect for those wanting a contemporary spy thriller in the vein of Le Carré and even for those who don’t’ Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

What listeners say about A Colder War

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gripped

Great characters. Interesting and gripping plots and twists

I can recommend this book


Will look for more of his today


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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Character Driven Spy Series

Book 2 in series.. Interesting settings, good continuation of themes from Book 1.. Realistic scope of intelligence work relying on intelligence rather than super hero whiz bang machismo.. Narration is absolutely top notch.. Going to check if there is a Book 3!! Highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not one of his best.

I like the author generally & at the time if listening have read all but two of his books. This one is around his average. Some things irrretate - eg too many Americanisms. One hopes that a British spy would put out the rubbish rather than the 'garbage' for example.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Credible, imaginative and unexpected - brilliant!

What other book might you compare A Colder War to, and why?

Others have been comparing it against Le Carre and Forsyth, but I suggest one should take this book on its own merit. This new master (well to me) sits along side the old masters. If you enjoy them, you will also enjoy this book too.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Left Me A Little Cold

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. There was nothing here by way of characterisation or plot that lifted this novel out of the 'ordinary and predictable' category. Not at all what I personally look for in espionage novels.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Oh definitely it should have been far less predictable!

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Maybe the scene when agents are searching a derelict site which is suspected as being the drop zone for messages to the 'mole'.

Do you think A Colder War needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes why not because all the building blocks are there and this could and should have been a MUCH better novel than it was. I quite like the main character but a very thin plot let him down as well as me!

Any additional comments?

I'm a dedicated John Le Carre fan and before I bought this audiobook I read that Charles Cumming was being hailed by one newspaper critic as possibly the next Le Carre. Sorry but in my opinion that judgement call is quite wrong. On the basis of this novel there is just no comparison. Maybe in the future......?

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

entertaining enough, great narrator

an entertaining book. not a great the first one, but still nice to spend the time on. love the narrator, he's really good with the different voices and accents without being annoying.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining spy novel

Well constructed and entertaining spy novel. Not quite the depth of Le Carre but has good pace and better than most current writers. Narrator grates at first but soon forgot about that as I got absorbed in the story

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fabulous!

Second book in the series. I cannot recommend too highly. Great story, read wonderfully well. 5 stars to ALL concerned.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved Jot's narration

Great narrator!
I've been devouring Cumming's books of late. This is the best narrator yet.

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Very good listen

Great plot, very tense, lots of twists and a very impressive performance from the narrator

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