Julian Raines was one of the first Englishmen to volunteer for the international brigade in Spain. The British Secret Service suspect that the flamboyant Raines was recruited for the KGB by the Bolsheviks during his student days at Oxford and send Robert Florry, a struggling young writer, to Spain after Raines with orders to eliminate him. Florry was an old school chum to Raines and had every reason to hate him. The British are not alone on Raines' trail. The ruthless Communist leader in Barcelona believes that the identity of the double agent conceals a powerful and profitable secret. It is a novel that constantly surprises.
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"I love Hunter's older books. This is a spy adventure set against the civil war in Spain prior to WW2. That's all you need to know. There will be unexpected twists and turns. But that is what you expect in a spy novel."
— Nate (4 out of 5 stars)
" Started slow. Set during the Spanish Civil War, kept reading. Did not see the twist at the end. "
— Lawrence, 8/9/2013" I guess I just couldn't get into the Spanish Revolution during the 1920s. Not my favorite period of history. "
— Ginny, 9/14/2012" Not very compelling characters and too detailed descriptions of violence. "
— Câ„“inton, 5/25/2012" I've started this book a couple times. A little slow for Stephen Hunter. British narrator again; seems like a no-no for me. Will try again later. "
— Robert, 4/27/2012" a pretty solid cold-war-type spy novel w/ some nice twists. "
— br4ndy, 2/4/2012" I did not find that this book was as good as most of the books I have read in this genre, it was also rather slow moving compared to what I am used to. "
— Bob, 12/16/2011" I didn't like this one as well as his other novels. It's a stand alone &, while I think it was as well written, it just didn't ring as true to me. Either I didn't identify with the story as well or he didn't know the subject as well. I'm not sure which. "
— Jim, 3/31/2011" This book was just OK; some parts were actually quite boring, to be honest. Nice period piece, but if you like how things were in Spain during the time of Franco, you'll like it; if not, pass. (You're not missing much.) "
— Metagion, 3/13/2011" Confusing story about a very confusing time, but fun to read nevertheless. Several real surprises. "
— Lewis, 2/21/2011" I did not find that this book was as good as most of the books I have read in this genre, it was also rather slow moving compared to what I am used to. "
— Bob, 1/7/2011" early hunter <br/>find the real the real julian raines. <br/>liked it. "
— Steve, 4/8/2010" Confusing story about a very confusing time, but fun to read nevertheless. Several real surprises. "
— Lew, 7/1/2009" a pretty solid cold-war-type spy novel w/ some nice twists. "
— br4ndy, 4/28/2009" I enjoyed this one, but in my opinion, not one of Hunters best. "
— Richard, 4/6/2009" I didn't like this one as well as his other novels. It's a stand alone &, while I think it was as well written, it just didn't ring as true to me. Either I didn't identify with the story as well or he didn't know the subject as well. I'm not sure which. "
— Jim, 9/12/2008" I guess I just couldn't get into the Spanish Revolution during the 1920s. Not my favorite period of history. "
— Ginny, 7/3/2008Stephen Hunter is the author of several bestselling novels, including Time to Hunt, Black Light, Point of Impact, and the New York Times bestsellers Havana, Pale Horse Coming, and Hot Springs. He has also published two collections of film criticism and other nonfiction works. He was a film critic at the Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for criticsm, as well as the 1998 American Society of Newspaper Editors Award for Distinguished Writing in Criticism.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.