A decidedly un-Bond-like British spy outwits the Soviets—and his bosses—in this thriller from a multimillion-selling author that offers “pure delight” (Chicago Tribune). Charlie Muffin is an anachronism. He came into the intelligence service in the early 1950s, when the government, desperate for foot soldiers in the impending Cold War, dipped into the middle class for the first time. Despite a lack of upper-class bearing, Charlie survived twenty-five years on the espionage battle’s front line: Berlin. But times have changed: The boys from Oxford and Cambridge are running the shop again, and they want to get rid of the middle-class spy who’s a thorn in their side. They have decided that it’s time for Charlie to be sacrificed. But Charlie Muffin didn’t survive two decades in Berlin by being a pushover. He intends to go on protecting the realm, and won’t let anyone from his own organization get in his way. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

The un-Bond-like British spy is back—from a multimillion-selling author who “hauls you aboard and won’t let you off until the roller coaster stops” (Los Angeles Times). “If Brian Freemantle isn’t the best writer of spy novels around, he’s certainly, along with John le Carré, in the top two.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer In his long-running Charlie Muffin series, Freemantle gives us an atypical British spy. Charlie is neither high cultured nor well mannered. He’s working-class, scruffy, and fond of a drink. But he gets the job done . . . Charlie Muffin U.S.A.: Officially declared dead, Charlie can breathe again without the intelligence forces of Great Britain and the United States hunting him. He puts his espionage skills to work for an English insurance company, ensuring the security of the Romanov stamps, a priceless collection assembled before the Russian Revolution. When the American government decides to use them as bait for a vicious drug lord, Charlie gets stuck in the middle. But he’s not licked yet. “Fine, lightweight-caper entertainment.” —Kirkus Reviews Madrigal for Charlie Muffin: Since British intelligence first turned on him and forced him to go into hiding, the ex-spy has had a rough few years. He takes a job for his only friend, Rupert Willoughby, who sends Charlie to Rome to check the security system for some valuable jewels. But Charlie has chosen the wrong time to visit the Eternal City. There’s a mole in the British embassy there, and with agents of the East and West homing in fast, he’s soon caught between a rock and a hard place. “The most degenerate and lovable character ever cast in the role of secret agent.” —Manchester Evening News The Blind Run: In this Edgar Award finalist, after a trumped-up trial, Charlie lands in jail for treason. But when KGB agents stage a prison break to free his fellow inmate, a convicted British traitor, Charlie also flees to Moscow. There he meets Natalia Fedova, the KGB interrogator assigned to determine if his defection is genuine. For anyone else, the risk would be suicidal. But for Charlie, the greatest danger may be falling in love. “Unpretentious, sly rather than stately, but powerful nonetheless: the best of the Muffin novels thus far.” —Kirkus Reviews See Charlie Run: Back at work for British intelligence, Charlie finally has a real assignment: A KGB agent in Tokyo wants to defect to the other side. Charlie’s role is to bring him across. But as he himself has learned from all those evasive years, there’s never anything simple or safe about running away. “Freemantle has merged the good humor of a Lawrence Block thriller, the seriousness of a le Carré spy novel and the slam-bang adventure of a popular espionage caper.” —Publishers Weekly

Television audiences around the world witness in horror the Moscow assassination attempt upon the American and Russian presidents. The captured gunman is revealed to be the son of one of Britain's most infamous nuclear defectors, which brings the shuffling, believe-nothing Charlie Muffin into the investigation. Within hours, the death of the Russian leader and the diagnosis that the American's president's wife will be maimed brings the pressure on the combined American, Russian and British investigators to a melting point. Only Charlie Muffin refuses to accept the defector's son was the sole shooter and he doesn't endear himself to anyone--including ex-KGB debriefer Natalia Fedova and mother of Muffin's daughter-and must risk his life and his love to prove his case. From the corridors of power in Russia to the offices of MI5, Charlie must once again challenge higher authorities to bring justice to all. In perhaps his most intense thriller to date, Brian Freemantle once again uses his unique understanding of international espionage and intrigue to remarkable results.

Britain's MI5 tolerates Charlie Muffin because he's their best field agent. What none of his colleagues knows, though, is that he is married to Natalia Fedova, a colonel in the FSB, the Russian intelligence successor to the KGB. It's a secret that could land her in front of a firing squad, and him in jail for life. Worst of all, their daughter would then end up in a Russian state orphanage. But a frantic call from Natalia has brought their secret out, and Charlie must lead a combined MI5/MI6 mission to rescue her. He soon realizes that his higher-ups have other priorities than his family's safety. Charlie will have to outwit not just the Russians but his own government as well to protect the lives of his wife and child. Clever, unpredictable, and exciting, Red Star Burning shows why Brian Freemantle has been widely praised as one of the greatest living espionage novelists.

DIVAs the dust settles after the demise of the Cold War, Charlie Muffin must thwart a plan that could bring the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust/divDIV /divDIVIt has been more than five years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Charlie Muffin, Britain’s cagiest spy, is beginning to feel obsolete. As the machine of state intelligence is dismantled around him, he expects that he too will soon be on the scrap heap. But Britain needs him in Russia one more time./divDIV /divDIVSince the demise of the Soviet empire, Charlie’s old stomping grounds have gone to seed. The Communist bureaucracy has degenerated into chaos. Rampant corruption, coupled with easy gangland money, means that disorder reigns. In the anarchy, 250 kilograms of uranium goes missing and Charlie must track it down before it goes to the highest bidder./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection./div

Britain's MI5 tolerates Charlie Muffin because he's their best field agent. What none of his colleagues knows, though, is that he is married to Natalia Fedova, a colonel in the FSB, the Russian intelligence successor to the KGB. It's a secret that could land her in front of a firing squad, and him in jail for life. Worst of all, their daughter would then end up in a Russian state orphanage. But a frantic call from Natalia has brought their secret out, and Charlie must lead a combined MI5/MI6 mission to rescue her. He soon realizes that his higher-ups have other priorities than his family's safety. Charlie will have to outwit not just the Russians but his own government as well to protect the lives of his wife and child. Clever, unpredictable, and exciting, Red Star Burning shows why Brian Freemantle has been widely praised as one of the greatest living espionage novelists.

“If Brian Freemantle isn’t the best writer of spy novels around, he’s certainly, along with John le Carré, in the top two” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Charlie Muffin was once the toughest agent in British intelligence. He wasn’t strong, fast, or charming, but he knew how to survive. When his agency branded him a traitor, he eluded their pursuit for years. After eventually proving his innocence, he’s invited back into The Firm. But only just. Consigned to a monotonous desk job, it takes months for Charlie to get a real assignment. A KGB agent in Tokyo wants to defect to the other side. Charlie’s role is to bring him across. But as Charlie has learned from all those evasive years, there’s never anything simple or safe about running away. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

An ex-spy is about to upend the world of international intrigue. Meet “the most degenerate and lovable character ever cast in the role of secret agent” (Manchester Evening News). Charlie Muffin is back at rock bottom. The ex-spy has had a rough few years since British intelligence first turned on him and forced him to go into hiding. He’s drinking again, forgetting things—getting soft. He hasn’t even noticed the tap on his phone. Though Charlie doesn’t know it yet, the walls are closing in again. He takes a job for his only friend, Rupert Willoughby, who sends Charlie to Rome to check the security system for some valuable jewels. Charlie has chosen the wrong time to visit the Eternal City. There’s a mole in the British embassy there, and the agents of the East and West are homing in fast. Charlie, unlucky as always, is about to find himself caught between a very solid rock and an equally hard place. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

Charlie Muffin comes face-to-face with his KGB nemesis in this thriller filled with “intricate plotting, gripping intrigue, and a memorable romance” (Kirkus Reviews). Charlie Muffin is too good an agent to be working a desk, but after a bust-up with his new director, he has been relegated to clerk work. Among the heaps of papers, though, Charlie stumbles upon the clues to a last-gasp plot from the collapsing Soviet Union. The signs point to a new Soviet Star Wars system—and to the involvement of a British traitor. Or do they? After all, the KGB wants one more chance to eliminate their old adversary Charlie. When the agency discovers his involvement, it sets a nasty trap. As the Soviet regime crumbles, it could take Charlie down with it. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

Home is where the heat is for disgraced British spy Charlie Muffin, “a marvelous creation” from the multimillion-selling author (The Daily Mail). Charlie Muffin has come back to England. The ex-spy, a veteran of twenty-five years’ service to the Crown, was last seen in Berlin, where an attempt on his life by his own organization led to international embarrassment. They had expected Charlie—a disheveled, middle-aged survivor of every double cross in the book—to die easily. Instead, he disappeared. But after months on the run, dulling his instincts with alcohol and laziness, the strain of life in the shadows finally gets to Charlie. By now the heat back home must have died down, and he shouldn’t have any trouble sneaking across the Channel. Now, he expects, he can finally be safe in England. Charlie Muffin is dead wrong. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.