The Amateur

A spy thriller classic, now a major motion picture starring Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitriona Balfe, and Laurence Fishburne.

“A taut, chilling plot and a protagonist as memorable as one of Len Deighton’s, or le Carré’s Smiley.”—The New York Times Book Review

Charlie Heller is an ace cryptographer for the CIA, a quiet man in a quiet back-office job. But when his fiancée, Sarah Diamond, is murdered by terrorists at the American Embassy in West Germany and the Company refuses to pursue her killers, Heller takes matters into his own hands.

Tracking down Sarah’s killers behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia, Heller becomes both the hunter and the hunted—an amateur facing off against the world’s deadliest assassins and spies. But nothing will stop him from getting revenge.

Expertly plotted with shocking twists and pulse-pounding suspense, The Amateur is a sleek and stunning novel that belongs on the shelves of every espionage fan.

Praise for The Amateur

“It’s time for Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne to step aside to give Charles Heller—a CIA cryptographer looking to take revenge on the terrorists who killed his wife—his time in the spotlight.”
—E! News

“A taut, chilling plot and a protagonist as memorable as one of Len Deighton’s, or le Carré’s Smiley.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“A first-rate thriller . . . Littell is a terrific writer.”
—Chicago Tribune

“One of the best . . . a thoroughly professional and surprise-filled work.”
—Los Angeles Times

“An espionage novel that will rival Gorky Park.”
—The Minneapolis Tribune

“Truly outstanding.”
—The Denver Post

“This elegant spy novel has everything: honest emotions, shifting moods, a likeable hero and heroine, despicable villains, intrigue, action, surprise twists, economical writing, lively dialogue . . . The Amateur is the work of a real pro.”
—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“[A] slick, edge-of-your-seat mystery.”
—Electric Literature

“[A] fast-paced thriller . . . The rapid-fire action and variety certainly keep the reader engaged.”
—The Complete Review

Praise for Robert Littell

“If Littell didn't invent the American spy novel, he should have.”
—Tom Clancy

“America’s greatest living espionage novelist.”
—Sarah Weinman, The Crime Lady

“Since his Cold War classic, The Defection of AJ Lewinter, Littell has been steadily creating his own subgenre, the counter-thriller, witty and highly original tales that play off clichés of the Cold War thriller and subvert them.”
—The Washington Post

Robert Littell is the author of twenty-one other highly acclaimed novels, many about the Cold War and the Soviet Union, including his masterwork, New York Times bestseller The Company, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award winner for best mystery-thriller Legends. An American born in Brooklyn, Robert Littell now lives in France.

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