The un-Bond-like British spy is back—from a multimillion-selling author who “hauls you aboard and won’t let you off until the roller coaster stops” (Los Angeles Times). “If Brian Freemantle isn’t the best writer of spy novels around, he’s certainly, along with John le Carré, in the top two.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer In his long-running Charlie Muffin series, Freemantle gives us an atypical British spy. Charlie is neither high cultured nor well mannered. He’s working-class, scruffy, and fond of a drink. But he gets the job done . . . The Run Around: It could be the most sensational defection of all time. The head of the KGB’s cipher section comes with every code, every plot, and every secret. But his most startling disclosure of all is that the Russians are planning a shocking assassination. But the defector doesn’t know who, where, when, or how. All Charlie knows is that he must stop the murder from happening—without being marked for death himself. “Freemantle surpasses his earlier acclaimed thrillers.” —Publishers Weekly Comrade Charlie: Charlie uncovers a last-gasp plot from the collapsing Soviet Union. The signs point to a new Soviet Star Wars system—and to the involvement of a British traitor. But can he trust the intel? Or does the KGB want one more chance to set up their old adversary? His nemesis, Berenkov, sets a nasty trap using Natalia Fedova as bait, and as the Soviet regime crumbles, it could take Charlie down with it . . . “Intricate, funny and highly satisfying.” —Publishers Weekly Charlie’s Apprentice: Following the end of the Cold War, Charlie is tasked with training new recruits. When one of his trainees is arrested within days of arriving in Beijing to extract a blown British agent, Charlie must go to China and get both of them out. Meanwhile, his former lover Natalia Fedova is searching for him—with a daughter she says is his. “Superior work from a master of the form.” —Publishers Weekly Bomb Grade: It has been more than five years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Britain’s cagiest spy is beginning to feel obsolete—until he’s assigned to Russia one more time. The British government needs him to go undercover as an arms dealer to retrieve 250 kilograms of uranium stolen from their nuclear silos. To complicate the explosive situation, heading the anti-smuggling unit is none other than his old flame, Natalia Fedova. “Once again, Freemantle confirms his place as one of the masters of the genre. Thumbs-up for his latest—it’s everything an espionage thriller should be.” —Booklist

Britain's MI5 tolerates Charlie Muffin because he's their best field agent. What none of his colleagues knows, though, is that he is married to Natalia Fedova, a colonel in the FSB, the Russian intelligence successor to the KGB. It's a secret that could land her in front of a firing squad, and him in jail for life. Worst of all, their daughter would then end up in a Russian state orphanage. But a frantic call from Natalia has brought their secret out, and Charlie must lead a combined MI5/MI6 mission to rescue her. He soon realizes that his higher-ups have other priorities than his family's safety. Charlie will have to outwit not just the Russians but his own government as well to protect the lives of his wife and child. Clever, unpredictable, and exciting, Red Star Burning shows why Brian Freemantle has been widely praised as one of the greatest living espionage novelists.

A burned ship might burn bridges for the rogue British spy. “Charlie’s exploits are more like miniature Le Carrés . . . a mini-marvel of neat intrigue” (Kirkus Reviews). They call Charlie Muffin a traitor. He has been on the run ever since the blow-up in Berlin, when British intelligence declared him obsolete and tried to kill him. Charlie outsmarted them then, and he has done so ever since, staying one step ahead by forgoing any semblance of an even halfway normal life. Now he is alone in Hong Kong and his only protector and friend, Rupert Willoughby, is a hemisphere away. Now Rupert is in trouble. He has invested £6 million in a massive new ocean liner but the ship is destroyed by arsonists, burning completely down in a Hong Kong harbor. The owners blame Chinese agents, but Charlie smells a rat and agrees to investigate. But the conspiracy is more dangerous than anyone knew, and it’s not long before Charlie realizes that his good deed could be his last. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

Television audiences around the world witness in horror the Moscow assassination attempt upon the American and Russian presidents. The captured gunman is revealed to be the son of one of Britain's most infamous nuclear defectors, which brings the shuffling, believe-nothing Charlie Muffin into the investigation. Within hours, the death of the Russian leader and the diagnosis that the American's president's wife will be maimed brings the pressure on the combined American, Russian and British investigators to a melting point. Only Charlie Muffin refuses to accept the defector's son was the sole shooter and he doesn't endear himself to anyone--including ex-KGB debriefer Natalia Fedova and mother of Muffin's daughter-and must risk his life and his love to prove his case. From the corridors of power in Russia to the offices of MI5, Charlie must once again challenge higher authorities to bring justice to all. In perhaps his most intense thriller to date, Brian Freemantle once again uses his unique understanding of international espionage and intrigue to remarkable results.

“If Brian Freemantle isn’t the best writer of spy novels around, he’s certainly, along with John le Carré, in the top two.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer Charlie Muffin isn’t your typical British spy. He’s neither high cultured nor well mannered. He doesn’t care about being smooth, pretty, or popular; he only cares about getting the job done . . . Charlie M: After twenty-five years serving the Crown in the shadows of the Cold War, Charlie finds himself under fire from a new breed of superiors who believe his lack of proper breeding makes him a liability in the spy game against the Soviets. But Charlie’s going to show them that you don’t survive as long as he has without knowing how to turn the tables on your enemy . . . Here Comes Charlie M: On the run, Charlie has slowly devolved into what his former masters once accused him of being. His formerly razor-edged instincts have been dulled by indolence, drink, and the monotonous tension of living in the dark. Believing the heat must have cooled by now, he returns to England, only to discover how very wrong he was—and how much more dangerous life has just become . . . The Inscrutable Charlie Muffin: Charlie has been keeping his head down with the help of his only friend and ally, Rupert Willoughby. But Rupert’s own fortunes turn sour when an ocean liner he invested in burns and sinks in the Hong Kong harbor. Desperate, he turns to Charlie to find out what really happened. Charlie can hardly refuse—but he’ll wish he had.

DIVAs the dust settles after the demise of the Cold War, Charlie Muffin must thwart a plan that could bring the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust/divDIV /divDIVIt has been more than five years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Charlie Muffin, Britain’s cagiest spy, is beginning to feel obsolete. As the machine of state intelligence is dismantled around him, he expects that he too will soon be on the scrap heap. But Britain needs him in Russia one more time./divDIV /divDIVSince the demise of the Soviet empire, Charlie’s old stomping grounds have gone to seed. The Communist bureaucracy has degenerated into chaos. Rampant corruption, coupled with easy gangland money, means that disorder reigns. In the anarchy, 250 kilograms of uranium goes missing and Charlie must track it down before it goes to the highest bidder./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection./div

Britain's MI5 tolerates Charlie Muffin because he's their best field agent. What none of his colleagues knows, though, is that he is married to Natalia Fedova, a colonel in the FSB, the Russian intelligence successor to the KGB. It's a secret that could land her in front of a firing squad, and him in jail for life. Worst of all, their daughter would then end up in a Russian state orphanage. But a frantic call from Natalia has brought their secret out, and Charlie must lead a combined MI5/MI6 mission to rescue her. He soon realizes that his higher-ups have other priorities than his family's safety. Charlie will have to outwit not just the Russians but his own government as well to protect the lives of his wife and child. Clever, unpredictable, and exciting, Red Star Burning shows why Brian Freemantle has been widely praised as one of the greatest living espionage novelists.