MI5 hear rumours of BOX 88’s existence and go after Kite – but Iranian intelligence have got to him first. Taken captive and brutally tortured, Kite has a choice: reveal the truth about what happened in France thirty years earlier – or watch his family die. MI5 hear rumours of BOX 88’s existence and go after Kite – only for Iranian intelligence to get to him first. Taken captive and subjected to torture, Kite is presented with a simple choice: reveal the truth about what happened in France thirty years earlier – or watch his family die.

Past and present collide in this excellent spy thriller. In 2020 the mysterious Lachlan Kite is kidnapped after attending the funeral of his old school friend and threatened with torture if he des not reveal certain information. I have never come across Charles Cumming before however I will now be looking out for any books by him. The fall of the Berlin Wall is imminent and the Cold War will soon be over. But for BOX 88, a top secret spying agency known only to an inner circle of MI6 and CIA operatives, the espionage game is heating up. We are experiencing delays with deliveries to many countries, but in most cases local services have now resumed. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin.

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Having read (and loved) several of Cumming's previous works, most recently, The Man Between, I was so excited to be offered an ARC of this book and it did not disappoint. This time the action centres around Lachlan Kite, a young Scottish lad recruited to the enigmatic Box 88 espionage unit. I really hope that this is going to be part of a bigger series involving Lachlan Kite because he's been built up so well in this novel - he feels like a fleshed out character, which is sometimes missing from fast-paced thrillers.

Kite’s story is told from two perspectives: that of the older, experienced operative, decades into his career as a spy; and that of Kite as an 18 year old, on his first mission. I thought the juxtaposition of the spy “origin story” on the one hand, and the supremely talented operative on the other worked extremely well, and over the course of the novel we get a pretty great portrait of Kite, his work, and his evolution as a person and spy.Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe. Box 88 by Charles Cumming is an outstanding espionage novel which is is superbly written has an excellent main underlying storyline and well drawn out main and supporting characters.