After his release from a Siberian gulag, a Soviet negotiator discovers that freedom in Russia can be just as dangerous as imprisonment Josef Bultova nearly died in prison camp. Once one of the Soviet Union's most adept international negotiators, his work with the West grew so intimate that the Politburo rewarded him with a one-way ticket to Siberia. The meager food, heavy work, and bitter cold took a toll on him, sapping his strength until, just as he was sure he could no longer go on, the Politburo let him go.   Now he has a new assignment: shepherding a provincial Russian author, whose evocative portrayals of life in the impoverished countryside have him on the shortlist for the Nobel Prize. Josef's task is to ensure that the prize comes his way—whatever the cost. But as Moscow watches his every move, Josef realizes that he may not have escaped the gulag after all.   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author's...

A full agent again, Charlie Muffin must thwart an assassination attempt that could turn the tides of the Cold War It may be the most sensational defection of all time. The Russian agent comes straight from KGB headquarters, and he is no desk clerk. He was the head of the Russian cipher section, giving him access to every code, every plot, every secret. And he tells his new British friends that the Russians are planning something diabolical. An assassination is coming—a big one. He just doesn't know who the target is. The only man to head it off is Charlie Muffin. Portly, haggard, and badly dressed, he is nevertheless the cleverest man in English intelligence. And he will have to be clever now, for all he knows is that an important Westerner is marked for death at the hands of Russian spies. And if Charlie isn't careful, he could be the one to die. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author's personal collection.

When his son is caught trafficking cocaine, a successful financial advisor swears to take down the Colombian drug lords who sold it to him Walter Farr has done well for himself. One of the most successful investment counselors in New York, his tidy fortune is all he could ever want. Nothing in his life is out of place, except his relationship with his son, Howard. When the boy's mother died, Walter did what he could for their child, but each year Howard pulled further and further away. Even so, the distance was never enough for Walter to expect something like this.   Howard has been arrested for importing cocaine. The charge is not trivial—Howard's crime could put him away for life—and to get him out of it Walter will do the unthinkable: He'll join the FBI to go after the dangerous Colombians who sold Howard the drugs in the first place. It's a gamble that could prove deadly, but Walter Farr will never fail his son again.   This ebook features an illustrated...

An East German agent uses seduction to spy on the West Elke has long led a quiet life, dedicated to her job as an assistant to an important official in the West German government. But beneath her plain exterior is a deep insecurity, born of the pains of caring for her autistic child—the result of a long-ago romance that was her life's sole moment of passion. And then she meets Otto. Tall, handsome, and suave, he is every woman's dream, and the interest he takes in her seems impossible—because it's all a lie.   Otto is a spy, sent from the East German Stasi to gain a last advantage in the impending reunification of the divided country. His real target is not Elke but the state secrets to which she has access. When Elke accidentally discovers his deceit, the "little grey mouse" reveals a taste for revenge.   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author's personal collection.

### From Publishers Weekly Freemantle pretty much defines "old pro" in the thriller genre; 2002 saw the publication of Ice Age and Kings of Many Castles (his most recent Charlie Muffin/MI6 adventure). But prolificacy can be a two-edged sword, as this creaky and rough-hewn attempt at a mafia thriller proves. In telling the story of New York accounting firm executive John Carver's battle with the ruling families of American crime, Freemantle creates scenes that feel oddly askew-almost akin to those black-and-white movies about American criminals that British studios produced in the 1950s. There's no shortage of action, and Carver's wife and his mistress-both central to the novel's plot-are sharply delineated. His wife, Jane, the protected daughter of the firm's domineering founder, must slowly come to terms with her father's criminal behavior as well as her husband's infidelity; his mistress, Alice, is a shrewd financial journalist but also a woman with strong mothering instincts. Jane is still reeling from her father's death when the news comes that her husband has been killed, too, in another "accident" that smacks of foul play. Alice aids the distraught Jane, and the two become uneasy partners in a world where they can trust no one-not even each other-as the mob closes in and the FBI probe heats up. Their scenes together are always interesting and often credible, but the same can't be said for the unconvincing bad guys. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### Review “[Freemantle] hauls you aboard and won’t let you off until the roller coaster stops.” *—Los Angeles Times *“Freemantle has no peer.” —*Booklist* “A master storyteller.” —*Publishers Weekly*

Back at work for the British Secret Service, Charlie accepts an assignment in Japan that just might be his last Charlie Muffin was once the toughest agent in the British Secret Service. He wasn't strong, fast, or charming, but he knew how to survive. When his agency branded him a traitor, he eluded their grasp for years, never quite letting himself get caught in their crosshairs. Finally he proved his innocence; the nation forgave him and asked him back to work. Charlie Muffin has come in from the cold. Consigned at first to a monotonous desk job, it takes months for Charlie to get a real assignment. A KGB agent in Tokyo wants to defect and come to the other side, and Charlie is to help him out—one traitor to another. But as Charlie knows all too well, there's never anything simple or safe about running away. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author's personal collection.

A cat-and-mouse thriller starring Claudine Carter as the profiler, the beautiful and brilliant psychologist who must stop a serial killer--before he stops her.Claudine Carter is a profiler, the first forensic psychologist ever appointed to Europol, the European Union's FBI. Brilliant and driven, she creates psychological portraits of criminals from the clues no one else sees. As an investigator, she is cold and detached. As a woman, she is still reeling from the recent shocking suicide of her new husband, which hints at a scandal that could ruin her career.A serial killer is stalking Europe, leaving a trail of dismembered corpses across fifteen nations. Horribly mutilated and gruesomely displayed, the victims seem to have nothing in common, no clues that link them to one another or to the killer. The authorities can find no trace of the madman--and no hint of when he will strike next.Claudine must brush her personal feelings aside to concentrate on the case...

A dozen stories of espionage in Berlin, from one of the genre's masters In 1990—after the Iron Curtain has lifted but before East and West Germany become one—an uneasy truce exists between the spy agencies of Berlin's two halves. As the governments of the divided state negotiate reunification, espionage continues quietly. That calm is about to explode. An English agent, on a routine collection of microfilm on the other side of Checkpoint Charlie, is arrested for spying, and all hell threatens to break loose. He is the fourth officer in six months to fall, and the arrest confirms everyone's fear: There is a mole in English intelligence. Responsibility falls on Samuel Bell, the head of the Berlin espionage department, nicknamed "the Factory." But Bell's search for the mole—an unwanted strain on his alcohol-frayed nerves—is only one of this collection's dozen stories of life in the Factory, where deception is rampant and death is never far behind. This...

A diplomat's murder reunites Cowley and Danilov in a global search for the killer There's nothing surprising about the body. The wounds are precise, their meaning clear. The Washington, DC, cops have seen enough like them to know that they mean a mob hit. And when mobsters kill their own, there's not much the police can do about it. They're prepared to dismiss the case when someone looks at the dead man's ID. He was Russian—and a diplomat. William Cowley, the head of the FBI's Russian office, takes on the case. A year earlier he had solved a strange killing with the help of Dimitri Danilov, a Russian cop with a sense of honor rare in the lawless, post-Communist world. Now they rejoin forces, embarking on an around-the-world search for the meaning of the diplomat's death. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author's personal collection.

After fifteen years in prison, a disgraced spy hunts down the man who put him away Jack Mason is ready to kill. For fifteen years he has plotted revenge from his prison cell. He has exercised daily, keeping his body and mind fit, and learned all he could about computers, so that he can finally manipulate them at will. He will need to use all his mental powers to find Sobell, then merciless strength to kill him.   An ex-CIA agent, Mason was jailed for spying on his country for the Russians. Sobell was the KGB colonel who recruited him and, when the scheme turned sour, sold him out. He is hidden somewhere in the United States, with a new identity courtesy of Witness Protection, and a mistress in the form of Jack's ex-wife. When Jack gets out of prison, he's going to take them both down—no matter what the cost.   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author's personal collection.