'There is no better American spy novelist … it’s like the best parts of ten John Le Carre novels all put together'

(Time)

‘McCarry is the best modern writer on the subject of intrigue … read Dostoyevsky’s The Possessed or Conrad’s The Secret Agent for worthwhile comparisons.’

P.J. O’Rourke

'Was le Carré really the No.1 — or is there another espionage master lurking in the shadows who might be deserving of the palm? ... McCarry is the genuine article.'

(The New York Times)

'The best writer of intelligence and political novels in the world.'

(The Boston Globe)

'McCarry's novels are among the best of our time.'

(The Wall Street Journal)

'Mr McCarry's spy novels ... are as much a part of our national literature as the works of Mark Twain, Raymond Chandler, and Ernest Hemingway and deserve the permanence of well-made, durable volumes that belong on the shelves of anyone who thinks good books matter.'

Otto Penzler (The New York Sun)

'Charles McCarry is a storyteller ... [whose] novels have a multidimensional quality, a deep sensitivity, and a verisimilitude that tells you the author knows what he is talking about.'

(Washington Post)

'McCarry is ranked among the titans of spy fiction for decades.'

(Washington Post)

'Charles McCarry ... resides in the upper reaches of spy fiction's Mount Olympus.'

(Boston Globe)

Charles McCarry is 'the greatest espionage writer that America has ever produced.'

Otto Penzler (The New York Sun)

'McCarry is an exceptional novelist who writes about espionage.'

Alan Furst

'True entertainment ... has throughout the crystal right of truth ... intelligent, absorbing.'

(The New Yorker)

'Ten years of intelligence work have shaped the novels of espionage and adventure this story-spinner crafts, works that situate McCarry as the foremost American fabulist of the trade ... To paraphrase what the first Duke of Buckingham said about Homer: Just try him once, If you persist to read, McCarry will be all the books you need.'

Eugene Weber (The Los Angeles Times Book Review)

'McCarry is the best modern writer on the subject of intrigue — by the breadth of Alan Furst, by the fathom of Eric Ambler, by any measure.'

P.J. O'Rourke (The Weekly Standard)

'McCarry writes political thrillers whose elegance sharpens their mounting excitement.'

Dick Adler (Chicago Tribune)

'McCarry is an ace spy novelist.'

(Publisher's Weekly)

'Come this time next year, I expect Christopher’s Ghosts to be a strong contender for the MWA’s Best Novel award. If it isn’t, someone won’t be thinking clearly. And it won’t be me.'

Michael Allen (www.grumpyoldman.com)

'Excruciatingly tense ... a pure historical thriller ... The sheer ambition of McCarry’s spy novels catapults him into the company of John Le Carré, Eric Ambler, Graham Greene and Alan Furst, but his stylish voice and historic scope make him unique.'

(LA Times)

'The writing in this book is often superb, both in the evocation of Third Reich and, most especially, in Mr McCarry’s polished description of the netherworld of Cold-War spying ... McCarry has no peer when painting a nuanced and contemplative portrait of American Cold War espionage.'

(Washington Post)

'The writing in this book is often superb, both in the evocation of Third Reich and, most especially, in Mr. McCarry's polished description of the netherworld of Cold War spying.'

Steve Hirsch (Sunday Times)

'Charles McCarry brings a spy's analytical mind and a poet's lapidary style to his justly praised espionage novels ...'

Denise Hamilton (Los Angeles Times)

'Christopher's Ghosts is certainly one of the better Christopher novels ... McCarry is back in form here, and by pitting the Christopher family against the Nazis, he is deadly serious. The story is rich in suspense, colorful characters, sudden surprises and detail. His prose, as always, is elegance itself.'

Patrick Anderson (The Washington Post)

'I want to affix the words "national treasure" in front of Charles McCarry's name ... Among the gifts Christopher's Ghosts offers — a moving book at first love, spy thrills, entertaining characters — what stays with the reader are the horrors a totalitarian regime unleashes on its citizens.'

(Tampa Tribune)

'Christopher's Ghosts is a model of great fiction writing. Genre aside, it's no cheap thriller. McCarry's yarn is thorough and nuanced — psychological without self-indulgence, political in a very humanist way, emotionally unforgettable.'

(Boston Phoenix)

'Many critics believe that Charles McCarry is the finest espionage writer working today. Count me in. He writes with precise attention to detail yet manages to encompass the big picture of the bloodiest century in history, avoiding unnecessary drama and excessive heroics. This is the way it really was, the reader thinks upon digesting a McCarry book, which is the finest compliment that can be paid any novelist.'

(San Antonio Express-News)

'McCarry excels at nuance, wit and subtlety ... Any of his books will reward your time.'

(Cleveland Plain Dealer)

'Veteran McCarry (The Tears of Autumn) remains a compelling storyteller, as shown in his latest spy thriller, which chronicles the early career of his series hero, Paul Christopher ... The book speeds toward a satisfying, inevitable conclusion.'

(Publisher's Weekly)

'McCarry takes the story of his recurring master spy Paul Christopher back to his wildly romantic beginning ... Former spook McCarry remains at the top of his game.'

(Kirkus Reviews)

'Christopher's Ghosts is a novel with something to say. It's a suspenseful, thought-provoking drama that uses the story of its character to explore the history of Germany from World War II through the Cold War.'

(Watermark Books)

'Effectively a prequel to McCarry's series of outstanding novels featuring master spy Paul Christopher, this exciting tale has much to recommend it: the prose is elegantly literate, the plot unfolds clearly, the characters are drawn in satisfying detail, the transitions are graceful, the sense of place and time is strong, and the "tradecraft" is as authentic as circumstances permit, given the author's own CIA history (he was an intelligence officer during the Cold War). Enthusiastically recommended.'

(Library Journal)

'McCarry's prose is pellucid and spare, Things happen and happen fast. I read the first 70 pages without being aware that I had drawn a breath. The restraint of the writing heightens the emotional affect and the reader is relentlessly caught up in the inevitability of the tragic events as they unfold. ...

Christopher's Ghosts is a sad but never depressing book. In its artful symmetries and neat reversals, it is a satisfying and moving story of intrigue that delivers on every beat. Track it down.'

Sue Turnbull (Sydney Morning Herald)

'Since McCarry writes so beautifully and has given his readers such great pleasure, it is not easy to say that Christopher's Ghosts is one of his lesser works. But what is less for this writer is considerably more than most in the genre can muster.'

Peter Temple (The Age)

'A sensitive, intelligent writer, he is a must for anyone who enjoys good, suspenseful and credible spy fiction.'

Jeff Popple (Canberra Times)

'... in the realms of spy fiction this is an outstanding and compelling thriller as well as a love story told with acute sensitivity,'

(Pittwater Life)

'A taut, haunting, atmospheric thriller that will get you through the winter blues.'

Frank Walker (Sun Herald)

'In an epic whose cinematic scope brings to life the tension and fear of Europe in the late 1930s, Charles McCarry takes the reader back in time, to the youth of CIA agent Paul Christopher in pre-war Berlin to lay the foundations of one of the most remarkable characters in espionage fiction.'

(Maryborough Herald)

'Ex-CIA agent McCarry's novel is just as absorbing as his ten previous ones.'

John Wright (Bay-FM 100.3)

'Superbly plotted and replete with detailed and fascinating history, McCarry's novel opens up the long-closed vaults of old Europe and exposes all the festering corruption they contained.'

(Good Reading)

'McCarry continues his tradition of interesting and suspenseful tales, infused with colourful characters, all assembled with his smooth prose.'

Peter Barrett (Armidale Express)