Moscow at Midnight

“This playful spy thriller has Max, out on his ear from the CIA, picking up some dodgy contract work that sends him back to his former stamping ground. But contemporary Russia, where Max finds his old contacts clinging on, turns out to be so deliriously weird and dangerous that Cold War espionage starts to look simply. There’s grimy charm, acerbic wit and an OTT plot – but in Russia these days, you could well believe it.” Sunday Times Crime Club – Star pick for September 2017; “Moscow at Midnight is a highly entertaining contemporary spy thriller. The fast-paced plot and light, easy flow of the narrative is enhanced...by occasional poetic descriptions and McGrane's skillful play with genre conventions... I would highly recommend it for a fun, entertaining read which raises questions in the reader’s mind long after the final page has been turned.” Ann Winter, Mslexia; “Sally McGrane’s fantastic debut . . . is, in its observations and marginalia, a whole-hearted declaration of love for the madness of Russia in general – and Moscow in particular.” Die Welt (book of the week); “A worthy successor to John le Carré ... A fast-paced, well-written spy thriller, full of unexpected twists and turns.” Buchbord; “Great! Tense right up to the final page . . . A multi-layered, thrilling novel that is difficult to resist and hard to put down, from beginning to end.” Süddeutsche Zeitung; "You don't need to compare this book to Le Carré or Forsyth – it stands very comfortably on its own two feet." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; “The book is perfect anyone who loves exciting detective and spy stories.”Sankt Michaelsbund; "Novels about Russia written by foreign authors very often are so full of clichés, absurdities and just crap that usually I avoid reading them. Sally McGrane’s book is different. This journalist-turned-writer knows Russia well – and is sharing her knowledge generously." Boris Akunin; “Sally McGrane made it feel so genuine that for a moment we really believed in the existence of blue diamonds discovered in Siberia on orders from Stalin. Outstanding.” Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov, authors of The Red Web; "Everyone's talking about Russia but this is a book that really takes you there, a crime thriller with a truly documentary eye, full of insights about Russian people, politics and culture- while never failing to intrigue and excite" Peter Pomerantsev, author of Nothing is True and Everything is Possible.