Synopses & Reviews
The Tears of Autumn is Charles McCarry's riveting novel of espionage and foreign affairs, spun with unsettling plausibility from the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy a major bestseller upon its first publication in 1975. Paul Christopher, at the height of his powers as a secret agent, believes he knows who arranged the assassination, and why. His theory is so destructive of the legend of the dead president, though, and so dangerous to the survival of foreign policy, that he is ordered to desist from investigating.
But Christopher is a man who lives by, and for, the truth and his internal compunctions force him to the heart of the matter. He resigns from the Agency and embarks on a tour of investigation that takes him from Paris, to Rome, Zurich, the Congo, and Saigon. Threatened by Kennedy's assassins and by his own government, Christopher follows the scent of his suspicion one breath behind the truth, one step ahead of discovery and death.
The Tears of Autumn is an incisive study of power and a brilliant commentary on the force of illusion, the grip of superstition, and the overwhelming strength of blood and family in the affairs of nations. It's also a superb political thriller, taut and unsentimental, whose brilliantly original and persuasive theory about who killed Kennedy will, once again, get minds racing.
Review
"Fascinating, entirely credible...this political thriller catches the reader and commands him to finish." Peter Benchley, author of Jaws
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"There is no better American spy novelist. It's like the best parts of ten John le Carré novels all put together." Lev Grossman, Time
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"The best spy novelists were once spies themselves, including le Carré, Greene, McCarry, and even Maugham." Laura Miller, The New York Times Book Review
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"[T]he foremost American fabulist of the trade....[McCarry's] scrumptious writing carries triumphantly from one climax to another and the plot unfolds with vivid velocity to an explosive end." Eugene Weber, The Los Angeles Times Book Review
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"As a storyteller, McCarry surpasses Len Deighton and John le Carré...his novels have a multi-dimensional quality, a deep sensitivity, and a verisimilitude that tells you the author knows what he's talking about." The Washington Post
Synopsis
A major bestseller upon its first publication in 1975, The Tears of Autumn is McCarry's riveting novel of espionage and foreign affairs, spun with unsettling plausibility from events surrounding the assassination of J.F.K.
Synopsis
Threatened by Kennedy's assassins and by his own government, secret agent Christopher follows the scent of his suspicion--one breath behind the truth, one step ahead of discovery and death.
Synopsis
"As soon as he began publishing fiction more than three decades ago, Charles McCarry was recognized as a spy novelist of uncommon gifts" wrote Charles Trueheart in The Washington Post. Tears of Autumn, McCarry's riveting novel of espionage and foreign affairs, was a major bestseller upon its first publication in 1975. Spun with unsettling plausibility from the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and featuring Paul Christopher, it's a tour de force of action and enigma. Christopher, at the height of his powers, believes he knows who arranged the assassination, and why. His theory is so destructive of the legend of the dead president, though, and so dangerous to the survival of foreign policy that he is ordered to desist from investigating. But he is a man who lives by, and for, the truth--and his internal compunctions force him to the heart of the matter. Christopher resigns from the Agency and embarks on a tour of investigation that takes him from Paris to Rome, Zurich, the Congo, and Saigon.
About the Author
Charles McCarry is the author, most recently, of the acclaimed thriller Old Boys. He established an international reputation as a novelist with the publication of his worldwide bestseller, The Tears of Autumn, in 1975, and is the author of nine other critically acclaimed novels including The Miernik Dossier, The Secret Lovers, The Last Supper, and The Better Angels. During the Cold War, he was an intelligence officer operating under deep cover in Europe, Africa, and Asia.