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The Insider

BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SCARLET PAPERS: THE TIMES THRILLER OF THE YEAR 2023

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The Insider

By: Matthew Richardson
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A thrilling novel of espionage and murder in the dark heart of Westminster, from the UK's most exciting new spy writer

A Russian defector is found brutally murdered in a London hotel.

Only four people knew he had turned - the four most important and powerful figures in Whitehall.

There's only one conclusion - a mole has infiltrated the highest levels of the nation's security.

Operating in secret from within Westminster's darkest corners, former spy, Solomon Vine, must uncover the traitor.

Because Britain's future hangs in the balance.

And with it the fate of the whole world . . .


Praise for Matthew Richardson

Proof that the spy genre is flourishing in the 21st century . . . [Richardson's] plotting has an old-school, Swiss-clock precision - The Guardian

Compelling, intense and sharply authentic - James Swallow, bestselling author of Nomad

A splendid tale of espionage starring an old-fashioned MI6 hero . . . exciting spy literature - The Times

A bang-up-to-date thriller told with old-school panache. A great read. - Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of the Slough House Series

© Matthew Richardson 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Espionage Genre Fiction Political Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting

Critic Reviews

Praise for Matthew Richardson
Proof that the spy genre is flourishing in the 21st century . . . [Richardson's] plotting has an old-school, Swiss-clock precision
Compelling, intense and sharply authentic (James Swallow, bestselling author of Nomad)
A bang-up-to-date thriller told with old-school panache. A great read. (Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Dead Lions)
A splendid tale of espionage starring an old-fashioned MI6 hero . . . exciting spy literature
Combines immaculate Cold War tradecraft with modern tech savvy as our maverick hero comes up against a le Carré-esque establishment while trying to find a mole
Supremely confident . . . told with panache and a taste for spy craft that mark it as outstanding
Authentic, mysterious, fraught with deception, betrayal, and uncertain allegiances, it captures perfectly the foggy world of spies (Jason Matthews, author of Red Sparrow)
Calls to mind early le Carré (Gregg Hurwitz, bestselling author of Orphan X)
Truly authentic and frighteningly so . . . a remarkable thriller
All stars
Most relevant
The story has just the right balance of narrative to conversation. The tension builds slowly and relentlessly. Sean Barrett's reading is - as ever - faultless. In the past year I've probably listened to a couple of hundred books, and this is one of the top five. I'll admit I guessed the villain half-way through, but that hardly made the story less enjoyable because there was no certainty the hero would find out in time.

Perfect balance.

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Sean Barret makes anything worth listening to, and Matthew Richardson adds the perfect story that keeps you listening until the end

spy craft craftily written and performed

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I'm new to this author and I think he writes an intriguing story. As a crime thriller lover I only started this because Sean Barrett was narrating and was not disappointed. I was interested to know he last.

clever plot

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Riveting story and compelling narration. The streamlined, pared-back writing meant there wasn’t much fat on the narrative and the characters’ back stories, relationships, conversations or their inner lives; I would have liked some more substance to all of this. Everything serves the movement and tension of the story, and it’s great!

The glaring flaw was the way the narrative set up who the mole could be among the possible options: it made it too easy to guess who it could be. Still, the other twists and turns kept me wanting more.

Great narrative with a significant flaw

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Fabulous storyline and very well read. Thoroughly enjoyable book. I highly recommend it and hope there is a sequel.

Outstanding!

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