From the author of Legacy, now a major BBC Film, and The Kaiser’s Last Kiss comes a brilliant new novel for fans of John le Carre, Mick Herron and Charles Cumming.

Brexit looms and Charles Thoroughgood, Chief of MI6, is forbidden for political reasons from spying on the EU. But when an EU official volunteers the EU’s negotiating bottom lines to one of his officers, Charles has to report it.

Whitehall is eager for more but as the case develops Charles realises that it may not be quite what it appears. At the same time, he finds he has a family connection with a possible terrorist whom MI5 want checked out. In both cases, Charles is forced to become his own agent, seeking what he really does not want to find.

Authoritative and packed with in-depth knowledge, Accidental Agent is a gripping new spy thriller from a master of the genre.

‘A well researched plot, intelligent prose and topicality’ Spectator

‘Alan Judd’s special magic is to mix contemporary events as they break over our heads with the codes and crafts of the secret world on whose special traits he is always uncannily up to date’ Peter Hennessy

‘Plotting in the best le Carré tradition’ Mail on Sunday

‘Charles Thoroughgood, Chief of MI6, keeps the flame of true espionage burning brightly in a contemporary Brexit operation as political correctness threatens to close in on his freewheeling profession – authentic, clever and wonderfully entertaining’ Sir Richard Dearlove, ex-Chief of MI6

‘Judd infuses his writing with insider knowledge’ New Statesman

‘Wonderful. One of the best spy novels ever’ Peter Hennessey on Legacy

‘Belongs to the classic tradition of spy writing’ Guardian

‘Judd has an infallible grasp of intelligence’ Spectator