The Miernik Dossier
Charles McCarry
‘Charles McCarry's first novel, The Miernik Dossier is arguably the finest modern American spy story, the only one that matches the leading British masters of the genre in subtlety and ingenuity.'
(The New York Times Book Review)'True entertainment ... has throughout the crystal ring of truth ... intelligent, absorbing.'
(New Yorker ) 'Book of the week', Lucy Sussex (The Sunday Age)Now in paperback for the first time in many years, Charles McCarry’s legendary debut novel The Miernik Dossier introduces master spy Paul Christopher.
An unlikely touring party of five friends embark on a road trip to deliver a brand-new Cadillac from Switzerland to the Sudan. All of them are attached to the UN in Geneva, and all of them are more than they claim to be.
Among the travellers are Kalash el Khatar, a seven-foot-tall Muslim prince; British intelligence agent Nigel Collins and his beautiful half-English, half-Hungarian girlfriend Ilona Bentley; Paul Christopher; and Tadeusz Miernik, a shy and bumbling Polish scientist who just might be the leader of a terrorist cell that could set the Cold War alight.
Related as a collection of intelligence reports, wire taps, surveillance notes, and conversation transcripts written and recorded by the five characters, the novel reveals a complicated web in which each character spins his or her own deception.
From the sophistication of political intrigue in Geneva and Cold War Eastern Europe to the palaces and terrorist camps of Dar es Salaam, The Miernik Dossier moves through a world of the subtlest plots and the most brutal acts of violence. Innovative and daring in construction, this is a masterpiece of suspenseful storytelling.
'It's clever, taut, utterly convincing and delightfully offbeat.'
Robin Osborne (Daily Examiner)'The Miernik Dossier is so amazingly current; it is hard to believe it was first published over thirty years ago. The writing is fresh and has such veracity that one imagines reading an actual dossier pulled from the operational files of the CIA ... I for one can't wait to get my hands on the rest of McCarry's work.'
Elizabeth Emmanuel (Media Culture)'Scribe has done the reading world a favour by republishing McCarry's 1973 work.'
Graham Clark (Courier Mail)'It grips like a python!'
Roger Hainsworth (The Adelaide Review)'There is gripping tension all the way, and huge enjoyment on offer for admirers of this masterpiece from a blissfully un-American genre.'
Bob Hart (Herald Sun)McCarry eschews today's Ludlumeque fast-action sequences and uses an interesting plot device to engage the reader ... this is the first of the "Christopher" series; others are equally enjoyable for lovers of fine espionage fiction.'
Brooke Walker (Good Reading)'Sex, violence, plot and counter plot all intertwine in a most marvellous manner, making The Miernik Dossier one of the best spy novels out. Set aside some free time, because you won't be able to put it down.'
Steve Woodman (Border Mail)'Sex, violence, plot and counter plot all intertwine in a most marvellous manner, making The Miernik Dossier one of the best spy novels out. Set aside some free time, because you won't be able to put it down.'
Steve Woodman (Illawarra Mercury)Charles McCarry
Charles McCarry established an international reputation as a novelist in 1975, with the publication of his worldwide bestseller, The Tears of Autumn. He is the author of ten other critically acclaimed novels — The Miernik Dossier, The Secret Lovers, Old Boys, The Better Angels, The Last Supper, The Bride of the Wilderness, Second Sight, Shelley's Heart, Lucky Bastard, and Christopher's Ghosts — which have been translated into more than 20 languages. During the Cold War, he was a CIA officer operating under deep cover in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Since his resignation from the CIA, Charles McCarry has divided his time between the Berkshires and Florida's east coast.
Extent: 256pp
Size: 234mm x 153mm
ISBN (13): 9781921215605
RRP: $32.95
Pub date: February 2008
Status: Out of print
ANZ, South-East Asia, South Africa
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