The 13th Assassin
‘Both a murder mystery and spy thriller, Malley has created a page turner that will engage fans of both genres.’ Thomas Waugh
Emily Stearn is young, headstrong, logical - and believes that someone has murdered her Uncle Sebastian.
Whilst going through his belongings, after his sudden death, Emily discovers an encrypted journal.
With the help of Al Andrews, a maths graduate she befriends after meeting in the local cafe, she deciphers the material.
It reveals that Sebastian, a Cambridge history professor, was a spy. Code name WHISPER.
His one mission came in 1981 when British Intelligence believed that he was the only agent capable of getting close to Colonel Igor Kalenkov.
A disciple of the 13th Directorate – the Soviet killing and kidnapping department – Kalenkov was closely-guarded, and was planning an attack on the British Royal Family at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana to sow division in the West.
Sebastian did not wish to assassinate Kalenkov himself, but he arranged to lure the Russian into a trap for a sniper to take him out at Moscow’s international history convention.
But not all goes according to plan.
As the journal surrenders its chilling secrets 40 years on, Emily believes that the Russians must have assassinated her uncle.
.
But does a grainy CCTV image point to a murderer closer to home?
Emily is determined to uncover the truth, no matter what the cost.