The Forwarding Agent

from PD James:"...a contemporary spy novel which combines a thrilling narrative with credibility of setting and character, and high intelligence. This is a novel which will appeal to readers who like their thrills to be civilised.

The first chapter sets the pace. The narrator-hero, Ben Bolton, alias David Ditchling, an ex-marine officer, is in Cairo completing some private business when by chance he is caught up in a terrorist attack on a bus-load of Armenian tourists. Standing bes ide an elderly Armenian woman, he instinctively throws himself down on top of her to protect her from the hail of bullets. He saves her life but is himself wounded, almost losing the use of his hand. When the woman's son, William Mikoyan, arrives in Cairo from the USA he brings both a reward and a request that Bolton should help him track down the terrorists. Bolton is initially reluctant to become involved but when his mother, Eleni, is brutally tortured by a psychotic member of the gang, the search beco mes a personal crusade. Pursuing and pursued across the Middle East and finding allies both outside and within the official security forces, Ben Bolton is in danger of losing far more than the use of a hand.

The action moves confidently from Cairo to Cyprus, Athens, Turkey and Israel. Two of the characters in a large cast are particularly memorable: Ben's fiancée Eloise and his mother Eleni. Born a Jew but saved from the Holocaust by a Greek family, she is br ought up a Christian, but has no difficulty in reconciling the two worlds. She is a remarkable creation, a true original drawn with humour and deep human sympathy. Eleni is not the only character in The Forwarding Agent whom one hopes to meet again."

Austen Kark was born in London, served in the Royal Navy and then studied English with CS Lewis at Oxford. After reporting for several newspapers throughout the UK, Kark joined the BBC, reporting from Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. In 19 74, he was appointed Head of the BBC World Service and upon his retirement in 1986, was appointed CBE. Few writers can know and understand the passions of the Middle East as does Austen Kark.