Citizen Orlov

Jonathan Payne

Book - 2023

"Not every fishmonger can be a secret agent. Journey to an unnamed mountainous country in central Europe at the end of the Great War. Enter Citizen Orlov, a simple fishmonger and an honest, upright citizen, who stumbles into the Ministry of Security, and consequently a hidden world of espionage and secrecy. His first assignment? To safeguard the King when he visits the scenic town of Kufzig. But Orlov soon discovers that his ministry handler, the alluring but-couldn't-possibly-be-a-femme-fatale Agent Zelle, is planning not to protect the King but to assassinate him. Caught in a web of plot and counterplot, confusing loyalties, and explosive betrayals, Orlov finds himself on trial for murder. He has an opportunity to clear his name...--but with his friends, mother, and fellow citizens' lives in the balance, freedom comes at a high cost"--

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Subjects
Genres
Fiction
Spy fiction
Published
Brentwood, Tennessee : CamCat Books [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Jonathan Payne (author)
Physical Description
272 pages ; 23 cm
ISBN
9780744309010
9780744309058
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Set in an unnamed central European kingdom at the end of WWI, Payne's stellar debut pokes hilarious fun at spy fiction through the exploits of a fishmonger named Orlov. Taking a shortcut through an alley one day, Orlov becomes concerned that the phone he hears ringing in a government office remains unanswered. He enters the room it's in through an open window, picks up the call, and gets a cryptic "life and death" message he's told to convey to someone named Agent Kosek. When Orlov sets off through the building to look for Kosek, he's mistaken for a potential operative himself and, despite being wholly clueless, is paired up with another agent on a covert assignment to protect the king from assassins. As their mission progresses, the well-meaning but bumbling Orlov finds himself enmeshed deeper and deeper in plots he doesn't understand. The blend of action and picaresque buffoonery flatteringly calls Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard tales to mind, and Payne pulls off a genuinely surprising conclusion. This auspicious debut announces a bright new voice in comic suspense. (June)

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