Red to Black

“Red to Black has more in common with the elegantly paced books of John le Carré than it does with Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. But readers who appreciate a healthy dose of real-world worries in their spy novels won’t complain.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
 
Gorky Park for the Putin era, Red To Black by Alex Dryden could have been ripped from recent headlines. At once a spy thriller, a love story, and a chilling look at a dangerously resurgent superpower, it is a masterful work that Stephen Fry calls, “Brilliant and unforgettable….Nothing short of miraculous.” Welcome to the New Russia.

Finn is a veteran MI6 operative stationed in Moscow. In the guise of an amiable trade secretary, he has penetrated deep into the dangerous labyrinth that is Russia under Vladimir Putin to discover some of its darkest secrets, thanks to a high-level source deep within the Kremlin.

The youngest female colonel in the KGB, Anna is the ambitious daughter of one of the former Soviet Union's elite espionage families. Charged with helping to make Russia strong again under Putin, she is ordered to spy on Finn and discover the identity of his mole.

At the dawn of the new millennium, these adver-saries find themselves brought together by an unex-pected love that becomes the only truth they can trust. When Finn uncovers a shocking and ingenious plan—hatched in the depths of the Cold War—to control the European continent and shift the balance of world power, he and Anna are thrust into a deadly plot in which friend and foe wear the same face. With time running out, they will race across Europe and risk every-thing—career, reputation, and even their own lives—to expose the terrifying truth.

“Could not be better timed . . . [Dryden] is grimly authoritative on the power plays of Putin and the new Russia.” - Daily Express (London)

“Alex Dryden’s brilliant and unforgettable novel has told me more about the making of modern Russia than I could learn from all books of journalism and contemporary history combined. That it has done so in the form of a compulsively readable spy story, love story, and moral fable is nothing short of miraculous.” - Stephen Fry

“Alex Dryden is the real thing. If he got any realer, he would step out of the pages and physically punch you, with both elegance and regret.” - Hugh Laurie

“Terrifying, quite frankly . . . chillingly unputdownable—everything you didn’t want to know about Putin but were afraid to ask.” - Emma Thompson

“Prescient . . . [Red to Black] depicts a frightening and ruthless Russia, which answers to nobody.” - The Economist

“One of the more intriguing novels of the year in any genre.” - Daily Telegraph (London)

“Dryden has written a superb spy novel....the warning bell that “Red to Black” sounds against Putin’s Russia has a powerful ring, especially when it turns to the KGB.” - Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Alex Dryden’s brilliant and unforgettable novel has told me more about the making of modern Russia than I could learn from all books of journalism and contemporary history combined...nothing short of miraculous.” - Stephen Fry

“An exceptional novel by any standard; readers who enjoy a love story mixed with their espionage (à la le Carré‘s The Little Drummer Girl) will appreciate.” - Library Journal (starred review)

“The pseudonymous Dryden, a British journalist, eschews both technological marvels and implausible action scenes in his absorbing debut, a spy thriller that exposes the links between the ‘old’ Russia of the Cold War and the ‘new’ Russia of Vladimir Putin. . .. Dryden’s fact-based scenario provides worrisome food for thought. - Publishers Weekly

“Red to Black is a terrific espionage novel wrapped in an affecting story of fated love. It also oozes a chilling, timely verisimilitude, and thoughtful newspaper readers can be forgiven for wondering if the ‘second KGB President,’ Vladimir Putin, didn’t begin to execute the Plan less than two years ago. Dryden is a journalist who has specialized in security matters since the Berlin wall fell two decades ago. This is his first novel, and it vaults him directly into the top rank of espionage novelists.” - Booklist