Charles McCarry

A republication of a first novel by the author of Old Boys finds a small group of international agents embarking on a car trip from Switzerland to the Sudan, a journey marked by the actions of one of the travelers, who might be the leader of a terrorist group responsible for starting the Cold War.

The Miernik Dossier

Living in Shanghai to observe and absorb the culture and language to aid a shadowy U.S. agency known only as HQ, an unnamed spy is given a task that forces him to risk everything as he goes undercover in a massive Chinese multinational conglomerate to expose the secrets of their powerful CEO.

A Novel

The Shanghai Factor

Lucky Bastard is the suspenseful and hilarious story of a gifted politician with dangerous friends and a zipper problem. The author is Charles McCarry, a writer widely acclaimed for his richly perceptive novels of political intrigue. John Fitzgerald Adams, known by the voters who love him as Jack, has good reason to believe he is the illegitimate son of JFK. His goal is the same as that of any Kennedy: to reclaim the presidency . . . and enjoy as many women as possible along the way. Jack possesses an instinctual political genius, an unerring knack for charming voters and advancing his own interests. But Jack, up from poverty, cannot make it to the Oval Office without money and support. Luckily, he becomes the beneficiary of the largesse of two maverick Russians who recognize Jack's talent and invest considerable resources in his rise to power. Jack also relies on a strong-willed wife, an ardent radical who masterminds his political moves while guarding against the threat that his wild libido will destroy his career. As Jack marches toward the presidency, others who realize the truth about his sinister connections try to stop him. But will anyone believe them? Charles McCarry has long been recognized as the dean of Washington's novelists, "a magical writer, the very best in this field" (Martha Gellhorn, Sunday Telegraph). With Lucky Bastard, McCarry has written the novel of his career, a thrilling and imaginative vision of power and conspiracy in the age of Clinton.

Lucky Bastard

"First published in 1983, this is one of a half dozen of McCarry's espionage thrillers featuring CIA agent Paul Christopher, an old school spy who operates in a world where clever and vicious communists are unquestionably the villains, and who is handsome, dedicated and never short of compliant women."--"Publishers Weekly."

The Last Supper

Old Boys

After meeting an Argentinean revolutionary's daughter, a spy hopes he's found an ally in his quest to exact revenge against the handlers who ended his father's career, but soon finds himself caught in a web of deceit with ties to the Cold War.

The Mulberry Bush

Influential secret agent Paul Christopher pursues a dangerous theory about the assassination of President Kennedy, an investigation that threatens American foreign policy.

Tears of Autumn

A rogue agent crisscrosses the globe to investigate the assassination of JFK in this acclaimed spy novel by the acclaimed author of The Miernik Dossier. When President Kennedy is shot in Dallas, the nation is shocked and mystified. But American spy Paul Christopher has a different perspective. He believes he knows who arranged the assassination and why. But if his theory is correct, it would destroy the dead president's image and endanger vital foreign policy. Christopher is therefore ordered to end his investigation. Determined to uncover the truth, Christopher resigns from the Agency and embarks on a quest that takes him from Paris to Rome, Zurich, the Congo, and Saigon. Threatened by Kennedy's assassins and by his own government, Christopher follows the scent of his suspicion into the dark heart of a geopolitical conspiracy. The Tears of Autumn is an incisive study of power and a brilliant commentary on the force of illusion, the grip of superstition, and the overwhelming strength of blood and family in the affairs of a nation.

The Tears of Autumn

Christopher comes out of retirement to assist in locating an Arabian terrorist who is kidnapping and brain-draining American agents.

A Paul Christopher Novel

Second Sight

Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

Haig gives an inside look at the government and discloses such shocking revelations as Johnson's theories on the assassination of JFK, the indecision in the Oval Office at the beginning of the Vietnam War, Kissinger's confrontation with J. Edgar Hoover, and more. "Contains perceptive and candid analyses of episodes in American foreign policy".--New York Times Book Review.

How America Changed the World : a Memoir

Inner Circles

I became a spy because my father before me was a spy. Although I am, for the time being, hiding something from you. In a rose garden in Buenos Aires, a young American spy meets the beautiful daughter of a famous Argentinian revolutionary. They fall in love. But he is no ordinary spy – and she is no ordinary woman. He has a hidden agenda: to avenge his father, who died penniless and friendless on the streets of Washington. And in Luz, he seems to have found an ally. But, as his fate becomes further entwined with hers, he soon finds himself caught in a perilous web of passions, loyalties and lies that stretches back to the darkest days of the Cold War.

It is the late 1930s, and a young Christopher bears witness to an unspeakable atrocity committed by a remorseless SS officer. When the action moves forward to the height of the Cold War, the SS man emerges out of the ruins of post-war Germany to destroy the last living witness to his crime. It's a case of tiger chasing tiger as Christopher is pursued by the only man who can match his craft or his instincts.

Christopher's Ghosts

“Charles McCarry is the best modern writer on the subject of intrigue,†? wrote P.J. O'Rourke, and Time magazine has declared that “there is no better American spy novelist.†? Related as a collection of dossier notes written by the five characters, The Miernik Dossier reveals a complicated web in which each spins his or her own deception: each is a spider, and each is a spy. The Miernik Dossier is a thoroughgoing masterpiece.

Miernik Dossier

“[A] smart and utterly diverting spy trade masterwork” from the acclaimed author of The Tears of Autumn (NPR). When two people collide on their bikes on an empty road, the meeting can hardly be by chance—especially when one of the people in question is working for the shadowy American espionage organization known as HQ, and the other seems to be involved in a similarly secretive Chinese operation. But when sparks fly, the two fall into a dangerous romance with international implications. The young American spy was sent to China simply to absorb what he could about the language and culture. But as his dalliance with the mysterious Mei blossoms into a full-blown affair, his bosses at HQ demand he use his connections to uncover the truth about a powerful CEO suspected to be a Chinese intelligence operative. Now he’s caught in a game of cat-and-mouse with lethal consequences—not only for him, but also for the global balance of power.

The KGB grooms a long-lost Kennedy for an explosive assignment in this thriller by an ex-CIA agent and New York Times–bestselling spy novelist. Although in the mid-1940s no one had ever heard of JFK, Jack Adams’s mother insisted her new son be christened John Fitzgerald. Years after his parents’ death, Jack learns the reason for his name: a packet of photos showing his mother in bed with young John Kennedy. As a student at Columbia University, Jack demonstrates that he inherited more than JFK’s good looks. His irresistible charisma and political instinct make him a natural campus leader, but he has his sights set on something bigger than the student council. Young Jack Adams wants to be president of the United States, and the Soviet Union is prepared to help. A KGB spy named Dmitri recruits Jack, promising him the presidency in exchange for treason. Dmitri guides Jack for decades, putting him in a position to become the largest intelligence coup in history—unless the candidate’s libido derails him first.

Dallas, 1963. The world is shocked and America plunges into mourning when US President John F. Kennedy is assassinated by a lone gunman. But for CIA agent Paul Christopher, this is no random act of violence. Through the haze of conspiracy, national tragedy, and the frantic response of American intelligence services, a clear picture of cause and effect starts to take shape in Christopher's mind. But his theory is so destructive of the legend of the dead president that he is ordered to abandon the investigation. Driven by his relentless desire to uncover the truth, Christopher goes it alone, following his intuition on a trail that leads from Washington to Europe, the Congo, and Vietnam. The Tears of Autumn is an incisive study of power and an inspired portrayal of the force of illusion, the grip of superstition, and the overwhelming strength of family in the affairs of nations. It's also a taut and unsentimental political thriller whose brilliantly original and persuasive theory about who killed Kennedy will, once again, get minds racing.

On the eve of the Inauguration the losing candidate presents proof of the crime to his opponent, the incumbent President, and demands that he stand aside. The winner refuses and takes the oath of office, thereby setting in motion what may destroy him and his party, and even bring down the Constitution. From this crisis, master storyteller Charles McCarry, author of such classic thrillers as The Tears of Autumn and The Last Supper weaves a masterpiece of political intrigue. Shelley's Heart is so gripping in its realism and so striking in its foresight that McCarry's devoted readers may view this tale of love, murder, betrayal, and life-or-death struggles for the political soul of America as an act of prophecy.

A Thriller

Shelley's Heart

Charles McCarry is considered by many to be the master of American spy fiction, brilliantly staking his claim with such international bestsellers as The Tears of Autumn and The Miernik Dossier. A spy writer’s spy writer, he has been lauded extravagantly by the critics and his peers. George V. Higgins wrote “Charles McCarry is the Lord's best combination of spellbinding storyteller and silken prose writer.†? “Intelligent and enthralling,†? said Eric Ambler, and Jeffrey Archer praised writing that “makes one put the book down and gasp.†? In his magnificent new novel, with rights sold in six countries before publication, McCarry returns to the world of his legendary character, Paul Christopher, the crack intelligence agent who is as skilled at choosing a fine wine as he is at tradecraft, at once elegant and dangerous, sophisticated and rough-and-ready. As the novel begins, Paul Christopher, now an aging but remarkably fit 70ish, is dining at home with his cousin Horace, also an ex-agent. Dinner is delicious and uneventful. A day later, Paul has vanished. The months pass, Paul’s ashes are delivered by a Chinese official to the American consulate in Beijing and a memorial service is held in Washington. But Horace is not convinced that Paul is dead and, enlisting the support of four other retired colleagues—a sort of all-star backfield of the old Outfit—Horace gets the “Old Boys†? back in the game to find Paul Christopher. Harassed by American intelligence, hunted by terrorists, Horace Christopher and the Old Boys travel the globe, from Xinjiang to Brazil, from Rome to Tel Aviv, Budapest to Moscow, in search of Paul and the unspeakably dangerous truth.

Charles McCarry

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