Visibility — Boris Starling

International espionage and hardcore detective work make for a dangerous combination in this dazzling novel set in 1950s London, from the acclaimed international bestselling author of Messiah.

It's the height of the Cold War, and as the Great Fog rolls in over London, a man meets his death in the icy shallows of the Long Water. Some say he was just drunk, wandering through Hyde Park. But for Scotland Yard's new detective, Herbert Smith, the body will lead to a far more interesting trail when it's discovered that the young victim's death was no accident. He was a biochemist, and just hours before he died he had claimed to be in possession of a secret that could change the world. Smith tried to turn his back on the murky world of spies when he traded in his job at MI5, but now he's being tailed again, thinly veiled threats emerge, and Scotland Yard cannot insulate him against an underworld of international conspiracies. The CIA, the KGB, and even MI5 had every reason to want the dead man's secret, even kill for it. As the body count climbs, it's clear that each time Smith inches closer to the truth, he gets closer to his own perilous demise.

An evocative, gritty, realistic page-turner full of fascinating historical details and brilliant plot twists, Visibility marks a spine-tingling new achievement in Cold War thrillers.