Single Spy

A reluctant double agent is tasked with an unthinkable triple assassination in this “panoramic, smart, hugely enjoyable thriller” (The New York Times Book Review).

A single spy—in the right place and at the right moment—may change the course of history . . .

Alexsi Ivanovich Smirnov, an orphan and a thief, is living by his wits and eluding the ever-watchful eye of the Soviet system—until his luck finally runs out. In 1936, sixteen-year-old Alexsi is caught by the NKVD and transported to Moscow. There, in the notorious headquarters of the secret police, he is given a choice: be trained and inserted as a spy into Nazi Germany under the identity of his best friend, the long-lost nephew of a high-ranking Nazi official, or disappear forever in the basement of the Lubyanka. For Alexsi, it’s no choice at all.

Over the next seven years, Alexsi has to play the role, and ultimately works for the legendary German spymaster Wilhelm Canaris as an intelligence agent in the Abwehr. All while acting as a double agent—reporting back to the NKVD and avoiding detection by the Gestapo. Trapped between the implacable forces of two of the most notorious dictatorships in history, and truly loyal to no one but himself, Alexsi focuses on his goal: survival.

Then, in 1943, Alexsi is chosen by the Gestapo to spearhead one of the most desperate operations of the war—to infiltrate the site of the upcoming Tehran conference between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, and set them up to be assassinated. For Alexsi, it’s the moment of truth. For the rest of the world, the future is at stake . . .

“Christie’s enthralling novel defies expectations while striking all the chords that make spy fiction so enjoyable.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A superb spy novel, with a vast sweep across the Eastern Front of World War II.” —Chris Pavone, New York Times–bestselling author of The Expats