A Time to Kill — Geoffrey Household

The seemingly innocuous mission of a part-time British spy and devoted family man soon places the lives of his loved ones in dire jeopardy

Family man, estate agent, and exâ€"army infantryman Roger Taine has already served crown and country exceedingly well, most recently by derailing an insidious conspiracy by modern-day fascists. Now the Foreign Office is asking for his help once again. A former adversary of Taine's claims to be turning over a new leaf and is offering to expose a plot by East German Communists to infect British livestock with a deadly disease. What at first seems to be no more than a ludicrous invention of an overactive imagination soon draws Taine into the lethal crossfire of an internal power struggle between opposing Red factions, plunging him into a secret war that threatens to turn the waters off the Dorset coast crimson with human blood. But for Roger Taine, the stakes have never been higher -- for if he falters in his mission to prevent the unthinkable, it could cost the lives of his own beloved children.
 
In this riveting sequel to the acclaimed A Rough Shoot, one of the most able and prolific thriller writers of the twentieth century delivers a superb Cold War adventure brimming with action and unrelenting suspense. A Time to Kill is a gripping tale of intrigue and danger with a breathtaking climax that will keep readers perched on the edges of their seats.