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BOX 88 #4
Icarus 17
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jul 26The fourth book in Charles Cumming’s gripping new thriller series surrounding BOX 88 – a covert intelligence organization that operates below the radar.A threat to the lives of his wife and daughter forces Lachlan Kite to move his family to safety. Meanwhile Kite’s former girlfriend, Martha Raine, comes to him with a plea for help. Her 20-year-old son, Max, has vanished without trace in Greece. Can Kite help to find him?
Analysts at Anglo-American intelligence agency BOX 88 discover that Max was in a relationship with an Israeli woman, Jessica Morrow, who has links to the Mossad. Morrow is being hunted by a ruthless criminal gang. Fearing the worst, Kite and Martha set out for Athens in a desperate attempt to locate Max and Jessica.
Analysts at Anglo-American intelligence agency BOX 88 discover that Max was in a relationship with an Israeli woman, Jessica Morrow, who has links to the Mossad. Morrow is being hunted by a ruthless criminal gang. Fearing the worst, Kite and Martha set out for Athens in a desperate attempt to locate Max and Jessica.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 2, 2026
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About the author
Charles Cumming
25 books1,321 followersCharles Cumming is British writer of spy fiction. His international bestselling thrillers including A Spy By Nature, The Spanish Game, Typhoon and The Trinity Six. A former British Secret Service recruit, he is a contributing editor of The Week magazine and lives in London.
http://www.charlescumming.co.uk/
http://www.charlescumming.co.uk/
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Geez, Charles Cumming sure can write. This guy writes smart, character and plot-driven espionage stories that don’t skimp on action and suspense but still remain a step above your average thrillers. “Icarus 17” is my thirteenth(!) book by Mr. Cumming, the fourth book in the Box 88 series featuring Lachlan “Lockie” Kite, the British head of Box 88, a joint Anglo-American espionage organization for which Lockie has been working since he was recruited while at school in the 1980’s.
This time it’s personal – very personal. We start out with an attack on Lockie’s wife and child, out in the countryside of Sweden, thwarted at the last minute by a passerby, but still an unknown threat that Lockie wasn’t home to address, putting further strain on our hero. To make matters worse, he was about to sit down to dinner with Martha Raine, his former girlfriend and first real love of his life. Martha’s son, twenty-year-old Max, had run away to Greece and was now missing, and Martha was asking Lockie to help find him.
We then learn a little bit more about what happened to Max. It turns out that his girlfriend, Yasmine, was being followed by some pretty serious gangsters that were out to either kidnap her or kill her, she wasn’t sure which. But either way, Max and Yasmine go on the run, pursued by people with seemingly unlimited resources. Max soon learns the story of Yasmine’s parents, her dad being important in the Saudi family, and the fact that she witnessed something she shouldn’t have when she was in Paris, which people would go to great lengths to keep quiet.
And off we go, with Martha and Lockie trying to track the kids down before the gangsters get to them. It soon becomes clear that there are two different groups after Yasmine, one to protect her and one to kill her. Forged passports, illegal border crossings, dodgy hotels…. the chase is on through Southern Europe. Can Martha and Lockie get to Max and Yasmine before the killers do?
Another fast-paced action thriller with memorable characters and a smart plot. Although it can be read as a stand-alone novel, it shouldn’t be – knowing the history of the previous three books makes a huge difference in the emotional journey we take with the characters. And there are several surprises along the way, surprises that will really change Lockie’s life going forward into the next novel.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
This time it’s personal – very personal. We start out with an attack on Lockie’s wife and child, out in the countryside of Sweden, thwarted at the last minute by a passerby, but still an unknown threat that Lockie wasn’t home to address, putting further strain on our hero. To make matters worse, he was about to sit down to dinner with Martha Raine, his former girlfriend and first real love of his life. Martha’s son, twenty-year-old Max, had run away to Greece and was now missing, and Martha was asking Lockie to help find him.
We then learn a little bit more about what happened to Max. It turns out that his girlfriend, Yasmine, was being followed by some pretty serious gangsters that were out to either kidnap her or kill her, she wasn’t sure which. But either way, Max and Yasmine go on the run, pursued by people with seemingly unlimited resources. Max soon learns the story of Yasmine’s parents, her dad being important in the Saudi family, and the fact that she witnessed something she shouldn’t have when she was in Paris, which people would go to great lengths to keep quiet.
And off we go, with Martha and Lockie trying to track the kids down before the gangsters get to them. It soon becomes clear that there are two different groups after Yasmine, one to protect her and one to kill her. Forged passports, illegal border crossings, dodgy hotels…. the chase is on through Southern Europe. Can Martha and Lockie get to Max and Yasmine before the killers do?
Another fast-paced action thriller with memorable characters and a smart plot. Although it can be read as a stand-alone novel, it shouldn’t be – knowing the history of the previous three books makes a huge difference in the emotional journey we take with the characters. And there are several surprises along the way, surprises that will really change Lockie’s life going forward into the next novel.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Best of the series so far. Our protagonist, Lachlan Kite, is older and somewhat wiser, when Martha Raine returns to seek his help finding her missing son. The two parallel stories are well done, with plenty of twists and turns. The ending wraps up the story in an almost satisfying way, although it is clear that we're being set up for book #5. Looking forward to it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews