Charles Cumming Talks ICARUS 17, BOX 88 and Writing Modern Espionage

In this episode of the Spybrary Spy Podcast, Shane Whaley is joined by fellow Spybrarian and Head of Boston Station, Joe Modzelewski, to welcome bestselling espionage author Charles Cumming back to the show.

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Charles joins Spybrary to discuss his new Lachlan Kite thriller, ICARUS 17, released on 2 July in the UK and 7 July in the United States. Billed as a nail-biting new entry in the BOX 88 series, ICARUS 17 sees Kite pulled back into fieldwork when Martha Rain, a woman from his past, asks for his help in finding her missing son, Max.

Max and his girlfriend Yasmine have disappeared in Athens, but they are not simply missing. They are on the run, hunted by two rival agencies with orders to kill. The secret they are carrying could destabilise the Middle East for a generation, and if Kite fails to save them, the consequences will be catastrophic.

Alongside the new novel, Shane and Joe talk with Charles about his writing process, his approach to writing modern espionage fiction, and his experiences working in the writers' rooms of some of the spy television shows and films enjoyed by Spybrary listeners.