Disorderly Elements — Bob Cook

A humorous debut spy novel for fans of Ross Thomas, featuring a Cold War MI6 intelligence analyst who uses rumors of a leak to defer his imminent layoff.

“There's a recession on, you know.” With an unemployed son and a baby on the way, these are not words that Michael Wyman wants to hear, particularly not from his employers, the university where he's a professor of philosophy, or the British secret service for which he's worked for 30 years. And he most particularly doesn't want to hear them from both employers at once, accompanied by the information that he's being laid off without a pension.

Happily, a miracle is at hand, in the form of a Communist spy burrowed deep in the highest reaches of British intelligence. An East German defector can identify the spy, thus safeguarding national security and protecting the government from crippling embarrassment. He is willing to give up the information, but only to one man. At fifty-six years old, Wyman has one last chance to get back in the game . . . and get out on his own terms.

Praise for Disorderly Elements

“A delightful and clever first novel with a fast-moving plot, extremely witty dialogue, and a style that combines the best of espionage fiction with a “sting” of classic proportions.” -- Library Journal

“The writing is unusually alert, and it is hard to believe that Disorderly Elements is a first novel. Mr. Cook's 56-year-old Michael Wyman is one of the more unusual heroes in espionage fiction.” -- The New York Times

“Witty, irreverent, and tremendously amusing.” -- Liverpool Echo (UK)

“Spy fiction has a splendid new recruit.” -- The Observer (UK)