American Spy: a Cold War spy thriller like you've never read before
Lauren Wilkinson
Formats & Editions
A BARACK OBAMA SUMMER READING PICK
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 CENTRE FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN'A whole lot more than just a spy thriller, wrapping together the ties of family, of love and of country' BARACK OBAMA
'There has never been anything like it' MARLON JAMES (GQ)
'A compelling read' MAIL ON SUNDAY
'Brilliant Cold War spy thriller. A gripping tale and an unusual take on the spy genre told from an intriguing perspective' HWA DEBUT CROWN JUDGES
'Pacy and very exciting' DAILY TELEGRAPH
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What if your sense of duty required you to betray the man you love?
It's 1986, the heart of the Cold War. Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. She's brilliant and talented, but she's also a black woman working in an all-white boys' club, and her career has stalled with routine paperwork - until she's recruited to a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic, revolutionary president of Burkina Faso, whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention.
In the year that follows, Marie will observe Thomas, seduce him, and ultimately, have a hand in the coup that will bring him down. But doing so will change everything she believes about what it means to be a spy, a lover, and a good American.
'A stunning book' PAUL BEATTY
'Intelligent and propulsive' GUARDIAN
'A spy thriller like you've never read before' TIME
Read MorePraise for American Spy: a Cold War spy thriller like you've never read before
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A gutsy new thriller . . . challenging boundaries is what brave fiction does, and Wilkinson proves confident enough to carry it off - New York TimesFor the novel's engaging intelligence and serious reckoning with the world's postwar order, Wilkinson deserves the comparisons to John le Carre she's already receiving. But in bringing a virtually unheard-from fictional viewpoint to espionage literature, she has reinvigorated the genre - TimeAn intelligent and propulsive debut tackles issues of politics, race, gender and moral ambiguity - GuardianMitchell is an engaging, complex protagonist: feisty and brave but also vulnerable . . . The scenes of New York and African life are sharply observed, the narrative often lyrical. This is an impressive debut, with a multi-faceted and engaging protagonist - Financial TimesWilkinson paints a convincing and lively portrait of this fascinating real-life figure. A non-privileged protagonist in this poshest of genres is rare enough to make that the USP, but by any standards this is a fine thriller, thoughtful and dryly witty, richly textured and, when required, pacy and very exciting - Daily TelegraphA whole lot more than just a spy thriller, wrapping together the ties of family, of love and of country
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