The Interpreter's Secret

A tense and elegant literary thriller about power, peril, and the truths politicians dare not speak. A State Department interpreter witnesses a secret pact between Washington and Moscow and flees to England, only to find himself hunted on all sides. With nothing but a cryptic red-ink note as proof, he must expose a conspiracy that threatens global stability.

'a classy, well-crafted literary thriller.' Adam Lebor in the Financial Times

'an enjoyable resemblance to the screen adventures of male-female spy duos in the old Cold War, although its backdrop (oligarchs in London, Putin’s assassins abroad, a possibly compromised White House) is the new one' The Times

'original, zeitgeisty and highly engaging' Aspects of Crime

'...cultivated and intelligent' Literary Review

'reliably combines suspenseful plots with thoughtful, convincingly sketched heroes' Times Literary Supplement

'A brilliantly original drama of the new Russia-United States relationship - a suspenseful thriller with style and heart.' Simon Mason

'An intelligent and sophisticated chase novel that doesn't pause to draw breath... imagine The 39 Steps brought bang up-to-date' James Wolff, author of Beside the Syrian Sea

In Stockholm for a G20 summit, the interpreter Thomas Weaver is summoned by the White House Chief of Staff to an off-the-record meeting with a Russian general. Expecting routine diplomacy, what Weaver gets instead is a chilling glimpse into a secret arrangement between Washington and the Kremlin. Warned never to divulge what has been said, Weaver discovers he has accidentally recorded the meeting – the only evidence that it took place.

Now under threat, he escapes to the safety of a friend’s house in the English countryside, and then on to London. Yet even there he senses danger. Unsure where to turn, Weaver finds unexpected help from the enigmatic Lily Churchill, whose own loyalties are a mystery. As the two begin to grasp the significance of what Weaver has heard, he and Lily are forced to go underground to hide from their unknown pursuers, who seem determined to silence Weaver for good.

The Interpreter’s Secret is a sophisticated literary thriller about corruption, conspiracy, and the lethal confusions of language.