JUDAS 62: The gripping new spy action thriller featuring BOX 88 from the master of the 21st century spy novel (BOX 88, Book 2)

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Like the first in series, Box 88, the second book, Judas 62, takes place in two widely spaced periods, first Lachlan’s youth, when he’s just starting to learn his tradecraft and to develop as a man, and then his current middle age, when he has become a very senior spook with a lot of emotional baggage.

Judas 61 is Yuri Aranov a Russian scientist spirited out of Russia by student Lockie in 1993 when he uses the identity of ‘Peter Galvin’ and ‘Galvin’ is Judas 62.When Evgeny Palatnik, a Soviet defector to the West is murdered in America with Novichok, Kite sets out to avenge him. The fact that you know that the mission is successful slightly diminishes the tension of what would have made a good standalone novel.

JUDAS was a list of Russian intelligence officers, military personnel and scientists living in the West who had been targeted for reprisal assassinations by Moscow. I was rather surprised to see some of the reviews for this novel saying that it was even better than its predecessor, Box 88. It's also interesting to see how the present-day, veteran spymaster Kite was shaped by and learned from the mistakes and indiscretions he made in his youth. I found that the story of Kite’s visit to and escape from Russia had echoes of Ben Macintyre’s true life book The Spy and the Traitor and in this respect, though the methods were somewhat different, it rang true and therefore had all the more impact. Secret agent Lachlan Kite faces peril in Dubai as a brutal ghost from his past works his way down a Russian kill list – with Lachlan and one of his key contacts next in line.

If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added. So far I’ve appreciated new books that ignore that part of life and keep settings free of that nonsense. More disturbingly still for Kite is that a former alias of his, Peter Galvin, has also been placed is on the list as JUDAS 62.

It’s well written with such a large sense of realism and it’s very obvious the author has done his homework. S. source for Box 88, the transatlantic counterintelligence and top secret spy agency, named Saul Kaszeta is off for a four-day fishing vacation to Lake Placid in New York State’s Adirondack Mountains. There would be ‘collateral damage’ along the way and young Lachlan Kite would somehow have to get used to it. The story just didn't feel as tight as I'd expect and, although it was OK to not have a bunch of twists and turns as the action unfolded the fact that there really weren't any was a bit disappointing. In March 2008, Charles Cumming published an interactive online story, The 21 Steps, as part of a Penguin We Tell Stories project.

I really enjoyed this book and it flowed on so well with the characters from the first book, BOX 88. This is an improvement from the first book, which had a strong protagonist and good concept for a strong series start, but the first half here becomes somewhat plodding, as young Kite brings a defector out of Russia. The modern day part of the story plays well on current affairs referencing recent Russian tactics with poisonings, criminal behaviour and intelligence organisation tactics. I don't usually have anything but praise for Charles Cumming, but I did think this was a bit too long.

Is he, Martha, or his family in danger of Russian assassins like so many other names on the list who have recently been killed? The past— Kite’s exfiltration of a valuable scientist from Russia— meets the present— a mission to frame a Russian FSB officer who has put out a bounty on Kite’s head for the past grievances. The supporting cast are again pretty well developed/developing, with some very good aspects in play around MI6 operatives and covers.I’m not sure if I’ll ever go there but it seems like such an economic anomaly in that area of the world that I’m very curious about it. The narrative switches back to 1993 and takes us through Kite’s time in Voronezh where he was to make contact with a student named Yuri Aranov and secure his safe passage West. He is able to bring her up to speed without much fuss and the plan is for the two couples, Kite and Martha and Yuri and his pregnant girlfriend, will make the journey together to the west using assumed names and passports that Box 88 operatives have provided. JUDAS 62 is a lengthy read and one that takes no time for short-cuts or diversions from the task at hand.