The Mission Song - Couverture souple

'I imagine this is the first time that le Carré has been mentioned in the same breath as Updike and Roth. They, after all, are Literary Novelists with a capital L and N, whereas Le Carré is . . . well, what is he? Actually he is sui generis. Or, rather, he is his own genre. Quite an achievement that.' (Sunday Telegraph)

'THE MISSION SONG is meticulously researched, and the tricks and tactics of being a top interpreter are convincingly rendered. You're left with the uncomfortable feeling that perhaps politicians, journalists, civil servants and the businessmen really are the lying, amoral bastards portrayed here. Perhaps it isn't only in le Carré's world, but in the real world too, that we're unwise to believe what we are told.' (Independent on Sunday)

'Fast-paced and entertaining' (Times Literary Supplement)

'Exquisitely crafted' (Daily Mail)

'Le Carre's eye is undimmed, his passion for his craft as strong as it ever was. He delivers a tale that few could equal and none will surpass.' (Observer)

'le Carre shows no sign of slowing up or losing touch.' (Spectator)

'This thriller exhibits his familiar strengths: superbly realised characters; a succession of knockout scenes nobody else could produce; and a distinctive ability to fuse social comedy and moral anger . . . Mesmerising.' (Sunday Times)

'Bold, vigorous and extremely funny.' (Evening Standard)

'I think it's very good' (John Sutherland, 'Front Row', BBC Radio 4)

'A formidably sophisticated work of fiction, full of energy, rage and great humour. All the qualities for which le Carre'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.' (Charles Cumming, Mail on Sunday)

Bruno Salvador has worked on clandestine missions before. A highly skilled interpreter, he is not stranger to the Official Secrts Act. But this is the first time he has been asked to change his identity - and, worse still, his clothes - in service of his country.

Whisked to a remote island to interpret a top-secret conference between no-name financiers and Congolese warlords, Salvo's excitement is only heightened by memories of the night before he left London, and his life-changing encounter with a beautiful nurse named Hannah.

Exit suddenly, the unassuming, happily married man Salvo believed himself to be. Enter in his place, the pseudonymous Brian Sinclar: spy, lover - and perhaps, even, hero.