Synopses & Reviews
“If Brian Freemantle isnt the best writer of spy novels around, hes certainly, along with John le Carré, in the top two. . . . It doesnt get much better than this.” ---The Philadelphia Inquirer
In a botched escape from Russia, MI5 spy Charlie Muffin is seized by the FSB, Russia's intelligence-service successor to the infamous KGB. Charlie is Russias long-term target in British counter-intelligence, and Moscow is determined to extract, by whatever means necessary, every secret of British---and Western---espionage over Charlies thirty-year career.
Charlies determined not only to resist the interrogation but to learn from it if his Russian intelligence-officer wife and their daughter escaped the trap that snared him and have reached England. He embarks on a cat-and-mouse battle of deception to convince his interrogators that theyre learning what they want---or think they want---aware that one misspoken word could be fatal.
Thats not Charlies only problem. Hes also trying to work out how his escape was foiled. It could not have been only due to the FSB, or his wife and daughter would have been caught as well. His MI5 boss doesnt think it was, either, and suspects treachery by Britains external intelligence organization, MI6. To help discover the truth, Natalia, Charlies wife, uses all the Russian tradecraft shes ever learned to help save her husband.
Red Star Falling---the third in the Red Star trilogy---continues the acclaimed series that has established Brian Freemantle as one of the worlds most ingenious espionage writers.
Review
Praise for Red Star Falling:
“In Freemantle's latest sophisticated spy thriller, the Muffin man remains a compelling figure, even in convalescent mode.” —Kirkus Reviews
“The author again wickedly portrays the appalling internecine struggles between MI5 and MI6, yet retains a more sober vantage that the cold war is unending.” —Crime Book Beat
Praise for Red Star Burning:
“This is le Carré territory, to be sure—think The Russia House (1989)—and Freemantle hits every note perfectly in dramatizing the fundamental conflict between individual values and institutional machinations. On top of that, he constructs an airtight plot, full of backpedaling twists, that leads to a stunning cliffhanger of a finale.” —Booklist (starred review)
“A terrific story. … At least a double cross is on, if not a triple, and theres genuine suspense in the unfolding origami.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Freemantle has written a tense and entertaining scramble.” —Library Journal
Praise for Brian Freemantle:
“Freemantle, certainly one of the top espionage writers today, may very well be one of the best of all time.” —Booklist
“Praised as more than a match for John le Carré, Freemantle will not disappoint readers.” —Library Journal
“His thrillers . . . are both sleek and tough, filled with gritty characters and superb plotting.” —Chicago Tribune
“Impossible to put down . . . marvelous . . . real genius.” —The Washington Post
“Wonderful . . . Freemantle holds the reader in his thrall with masterful, insightful writing.” —Orlando Sentinel
“If you like to read about a protagonist who, like a master chess player, seems to be thinking three or four moves ahead of everyone, then the Charlie M series is for you. It is deliciously complex.” —Deadly Pleasures
Review
Praise for Red Star Burning:
“This is le Carré territory, to be sure—think The Russia House (1989)—and Freemantle hits every note perfectly in dramatizing the fundamental conflict between individual values and institutional machinations. On top of that, he constructs an airtight plot, full of backpedaling twists, that leads to a stunning cliffhanger of a finale.” —Booklist (starred review)
“A terrific story. … At least a double cross is on, if not a triple, and theres genuine suspense in the unfolding origami.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Freemantle has written a tense and entertaining scramble.” —Library Journal
Praise for Brian Freemantle:
“Freemantle, certainly one of the top espionage writers today, may very well be one of the best of all time.” —Booklist
“Praised as more than a match for John le Carré, Freemantle will not disappoint readers.” —Library Journal
“His thrillers . . . are both sleek and tough, filled with gritty characters and superb plotting.” —Chicago Tribune
“Impossible to put down . . . marvelous . . . real genius.” —The Washington Post
“Wonderful . . . Freemantle holds the reader in his thrall with masterful, insightful writing.” —Orlando Sentinel
“If you like to read about a protagonist who, like a master chess player, seems to be think three or four moves ahead of everyone, then the Charlie M series is for you. It is deliciously complex.” —Deadly Pleasures
Synopsis
Red Star Falling marks the return of Brian Freemantle's acclaimed espionage series. After a botched escape from Russia, MI5 spy Charlie Muffin finds himself in the custody of the FSB, Russia's secret service organization and descendent of the KGB. His position in British intelligence has been discovered, and the Russians are eager to have their revenge for his having exposed a triple agent they had spent decades fostering. Desperate to learn if his wife and daughter were able to reach England without him, Charlie knows that his stay with the Russians could come to an abrupt, deadly end if he doesn't find a way to give them what they want—or at least what they think they want—while trying to find out the fate of his family. Meanwhile, the British intelligence forces are at each others' throats as they attempt to discover who revealed Charlie's identity. Was the culprit working in their own self-interest or, more worryingly, for the Russians?
About the Author
BRIAN FREEMANTLE is the author of more than thirty books, which have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. These include fifteen previous novels in the Charlie Muffin series, most recently Red Star Burning. He has been foreign editor and chief foreign correspondent for the London Daily Mail and foreign correspondent for the London Daily Sketch, among others. He lives in England.