This image is the cover for the book Shanghai Factor

Shanghai Factor

“[A] smart and utterly diverting spy trade masterwork” from the acclaimed author of The Tears of Autumn (NPR).

When two people collide on their bikes on an empty road, the meeting can hardly be by chance—especially when one of the people in question is working for the shadowy American espionage organization known as HQ, and the other seems to be involved in a similarly secretive Chinese operation. But when sparks fly, the two fall into a dangerous romance with international implications.

The young American spy was sent to China simply to absorb what he could about the language and culture. But as his dalliance with the mysterious Mei blossoms into a full-blown affair, his bosses at HQ demand he use his connections to uncover the truth about a powerful CEO suspected to be a Chinese intelligence operative. Now he’s caught in a game of cat-and-mouse with lethal consequences—not only for him, but also for the global balance of power.

Charles McCarry

A former operative for the CIA, Charles McCarry (b. 1930) is America’s most revered author of espionage fiction. Born in Massachusetts, McCarry began his writing career in the army, as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. In the 1950s he served as a speechwriter for President Eisenhower before taking a post with the CIA, for which he traveled the globe as a deep cover operative. He left the Agency in 1967, and set about converting his experiences into fiction. His first novel, The Miernik Dossier (1971), introduced Paul Christopher, an American spy who struggles to balance his family life with his work. McCarry has continued writing about Christopher and his family for decades, producing ten novels in the series to date. A former editor-at-large for National Geographic, McCarry has written extensive nonfiction, and continues to write essays and book reviews for various national publications. Ark (2011) is his most recent novel.

Mysterious Press