A MOST WANTED MAN

A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse round his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa. Annabel, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, determines to save Issa from deportation. Soon her client’s survival becomes more important to her than her own career. In pursuit of Issa’s mysterious past, she confronts the incongruous Tommy Brue, the sixty-year-old scion of Brue Frères, a failing British bank based in Hamburg. A triangle of impossible loves is born. Meanwhile, scenting a sure kill in the so-called War on Terror, the spies of three nations converge upon the innocents. Poignant, compassionate, peopled with characters the reader never wants to let go, A MOST WANTED MAN is alive with humour, yet prickles with tension until the last heart-stopping page. It is also a work of deep humanity, and uncommon relevance to our times. ''A formidably sophisticated work of fiction, full of energy, rage and great humour. All the qualities for which le Carré''s fiction has been admired - his descriptive powers, his electrifying dialogue, his cynicism in the presence of corporate greed and government power - are visible in The Mission Song. That this great English novelist continues to produce work of this calibre with such frequency is simply astonishing.'' ''One of the most sophisticated fictional responses to the war on terror yet published.'' Guardian. ''A first-class novel about the most pressing moral and political concerns of our time.'' Telegraph. ''le Carré is back on form in a cracking terror plot.''Daily Express. ''Wry, warm, compassionate.'' The Times. ''This is bleak, brilliant, hypnotic stuff and yet another reason to count le Carré among this country''s very finest contemporary writers. Unhesitatingly recommended.'' Independent on Sunday . Spectator: ''Le Carré shows no sign of slowing up or losing touch.''