Charlie Muffin Thrillers Volume Two, The Charlie Muffin Thrillers
The un-Bond-like British spy is back—from a multimillion-selling author who “hauls you aboard and won’t let you off until the roller coaster stops” (Los Angeles Times).
“If Brian Freemantle isn’t the best writer of spy novels around, he’s certainly, along with John le Carré, in the top two.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
In his long-running Charlie Muffin series, Freemantle gives us an atypical British spy. Charlie is neither high cultured nor well mannered. He’s working-class, scruffy, and fond of a drink. But he gets the job done . . .
Charlie Muffin U.S.A.: Officially declared dead, Charlie can breathe again without the intelligence forces of Great Britain and the United States hunting him. He puts his espionage skills to work for an English insurance company, ensuring the security of the Romanov stamps, a priceless collection assembled before the Russian Revolution. When the American government decides to use them as bait for a vicious drug lord, Charlie gets stuck in the middle. But he’s not licked yet.
“Fine, lightweight-caper entertainment.” —Kirkus Reviews
Madrigal for Charlie Muffin: Since British intelligence first turned on him and forced him to go into hiding, the ex-spy has had a rough few years. He takes a job for his only friend, Rupert Willoughby, who sends Charlie to Rome to check the security system for some valuable jewels. But Charlie has chosen the wrong time to visit the Eternal City. There’s a mole in the British embassy there, and with agents of the East and West homing in fast, he’s soon caught between a rock and a hard place.
“The most degenerate and lovable character ever cast in the role of secret agent.” —Manchester Evening News
The Blind Run: In this Edgar Award finalist, after a trumped-up trial, Charlie lands in jail for treason. But when KGB agents stage a prison break to free his fellow inmate, a convicted British traitor, Charlie also flees to Moscow. There he meets Natalia Fedova, the KGB interrogator assigned to determine if his defection is genuine. For anyone else, the risk would be suicidal. But for Charlie, the greatest danger may be falling in love.
“Unpretentious, sly rather than stately, but powerful nonetheless: the best of the Muffin novels thus far.” —Kirkus Reviews
See Charlie Run: Back at work for British intelligence, Charlie finally has a real assignment: A KGB agent in Tokyo wants to defect to the other side. Charlie’s role is to bring him across. But as he himself has learned from all those evasive years, there’s never anything simple or safe about running away.
“Freemantle has merged the good humor of a Lawrence Block thriller, the seriousness of a le Carré spy novel and the slam-bang adventure of a popular espionage caper.” —Publishers Weekly