The Jackal's Share
Chris Morgan Jones
01 August 2013
9780330532556Synopsis
A gripping spy thriller from a new Le Carre
Boundless wealth hides the deepest secrets . . .
When a charismatic billionaire asks Ben Webster to investigate his personal affairs it isn’t long before the private spy is convinced that there is something very wrong with his new client. What is Darius Qazai’s real motive for contacting Webster? And what – beneath his generous, honourable image – does he have to hide?
Soon Webster will discover that the tycoon's secret is far bigger and more dangerous than he could have imagined, and that his new enemy will think nothing of destroying him, or his family . . .
In a heart-pounding journey which will take readers from London to Marrakech, from Italy to Dubai, Chris Morgan Jones once again asserts himself as the spy thriller writer for a new generation.
Also in the Ben Webster series: An Agent of Deceit
Praise for Chris Morgan Jones' Ben Webster series:
‘The best spy adventure I’ve read in a long time’ The Times
‘The Jackal's Share reunites us with corporate spy Ben Webster from his debut An Agent of Deceit. Morgan Jones does invite comparisons with Le Carre, and never more so than in this elegant novel about the dark, amoral charisma of the super-rich. Murky, mesmerising stuff’ Guardian
‘Moves at tremendous pace and teems with exciting moments . . . such a clever and entertaining novel’ The Times
‘Chris Morgan Jones's debut novel, An Agent of Deceit, was rightly praised for continuing the reconfiguration of the spy novel begun by such terrific authors as Charles Cumming after the Berlin Wall came down and east versus west became too simplistic an analysis of world politics. But with The Jackal's Share it becomes clear that, actually, Morgan Jones is writing detective as well as spy fiction. The novel is as much Raymond Chandler as John le Carré; as much The Big Sleep as The Spy Who Came in From the Cold . . . Morgan Jones has more than equalled his powerful debut ’ Observer
‘Accomplished and believable’ Sunday Times
‘An elegant, tense thriller’ Grazia
'Morgan Jones's prose is clean and cold, crisp and ominous . . . this is a world Morgan Jones knows, and it shows’ Observer
‘The Jackal's Share reunites us with corporate spy Ben Webster from his debut An Agent of Deceit. Morgan Jones does invite comparison with Le Carre, and never more so than in this elegant novel about the dark, amoral charisma of the super-rich – in this case Darius Qazai, an Iranian expat who runs an enormous asset-management business and has hired Webster to investigate his own reputation in the runup to its sale. Webster must struggle to remain uncompromised – and, later, safe from the forces his mission sets in motion. Murky, mesmerising stuff’ Guardian
‘Ambivalent as ever about the ethics of the superrich and his part in solving their problems, Webster proves to be the ethically troubled anti-Bond. A more-than-worthy sequel with deft, complex and believable plotting, tense, gut-wrenching action, and classy literary writing’ Kirkus Starred Review
‘Chris Morgan Jones's debut novel, An Agent of Deceit, was rightly praised for continuing the reconfiguration of the spy novel begun by such terrific authors as Charles Cumming after the Berlin Wall came down and east versus west became too simplistic an analysis of world politics. But with The Jackal's Share it becomes clear that, actually, Morgan Jones is writing detective as well as spy fiction. The novel is as much Raymond Chandler as John le Carré; as much The Big Sleep as The Spy Who Came in From the Cold . . . Ben Webster's character has interesting complexities. Like Marlowe, he has his own morality and doesn't much like the wealthy – including his own client. But down these moneyed streets a man must go, although, unlike Marlowe, Webster does it with wife and kids in tow . . . Webster's characterisation is strong and carried along in the flow of the plot, which has the broad canvas of a spy novel: Middle Eastern politics are central and there are trips to Lake Como, Dubai and Marrakech. The author is deft with all his characterisations but, in particular, he has created two genuinely chilling antagonists, one whose menace is horribly physical, the other whose seeming omniscience provides the threat. He also has an assured sense of place whether in his foreign locations or moving around London . . . Chris Morgan Jones has more than equalled his powerful debut and in Ben Webster has created a flawed, likable central character. I look forward to getting to know him better’ Observer
