A Spy Alone

Charles Beaumont

Jul 2024 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by David Thorpe

About this audiobook

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. Contains mature themes.

About the author

Charles Beaumont worked undercover as an MI6 operative in war zones, on diplomatic missions and in international business. His work spanned two decades and four continents. A Spy Alone is his first novel.

David Thorpe has appeared in numerous stage plays, in repertory, and on tour. An award-winning audiobook narrator, he has voiced several fantasy and science fiction books, including a number of the original Doctor Who books and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.