When someone starts assassinating paparazzi in three countries, MI7 sits up. Apparently, the killer is none other than Dmitri Vassyli Kramski, retired SVR field-operative and former Kremlin protégé. True, the Cold War is long finished, but everyone knows Vladimir Putin is as unhappy for Russia to play second fiddle on the international stage as even the most strident of his Communist predecessors. In 2010 therefore, East-West relations remain as tortuous as ever.
Kramski’s trail leads deep into London’s émigré community, forcing his pursuers into conflict with an unknown organisation bent on protecting him. Bit by bit, he begins to look less like a professional assassin and more like someone plotting to scupper the foundations of Western democracy itself. To compound matters, the Russians are as baffled by him as anyone.
The Home Secretary’s office epitomised tidiness, polished walnut and the cultural triumph of the desk. Three floors below, men in yellow jackets with drills dug the road and the traffic was at a standstill, but the soundproofing in here was so complete you could hardly hear it. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Colin Bowker, came in holding his cap and waited to be asked to sit on the chair obviously reserved for him.
The Home Secretary, already seated, donned his glasses and leaned forward. His spiky hair, long eyes and hawk nose all seemed drawn to a point ready to poleaxe his visitor. Sir Colin was much slighter and in his retirement year. He guessed he didn’t cut much of a retaliatory figure. But he had his stratagems. It was just a case of deploying them in the right order.
“Sit down, sit down,” the Home Secretary said. “I take it you’ve seen the papers?”
“For what it’s worth, yes. I have.”
“‘Serial killer’? ‘Police apathy’? ‘Amnesty International expresses concern’?”
Sir Colin brushed his right cuff. “We went through this a week ago. Up until Tuesday hardly anyone gave a damn. Because the fifth victim happens to be Harriet Johnson’s nephew, all hell’s been let loose. The truth is, I’ve got officers working on it flat out. Any ‘apathy’ has been the media’s not ours.”
“You’ve been lucky so far. The press has been itching to make more of this since day one, but they know they’ve got their work cut out drumming up public sympathy for gutter rats. Now Harriet’s on board, though, they’re on a roll. And I don’t bloody deserve it.”
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Federica Bruno
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Author review: An excellent translator. Good communication, excellent formatting skills, incredibly thoughtful approach to the text (lots of footnotes were voluntarily included by the translator, entirely at her own instigation), extremely reliable. Would recommend to anyone. |
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Bárbara Contarini
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Author review: Extremely conscientious translator with excellent communication skills. Highly recommended. |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Veronica Fernandez
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Author review: Veronica is an excellent translator. She has a masterly grasp of both Spanish and English, and a very good feel indeed, not just for the individual sentences and paragraphs that go to make up a novel, but the overall spirit of a narrative arc. She is consistently conscientious, works steadily and reliably, and takes huge care locating the precise Spanish equivalents for English idioms. This is the second of my books she has translated, and I could not have hoped for anyone better or more professional. |
