title: A Spy's Life: A Novel
author:  Henry Porter 
description: The mysterious crash of a private UN plane at New York's La Guardia airport gets this second spy novel by British author Porter (Remembrance Day) off to a rousing start. The only survivor is former British spy Robert Harland, who wakes up to find himself floating in the freezing East River. Harland, once an MI6 rising star, is now a water specialist for the United Nations, doing good and honorable work for a change. After he survives the crash of the U.N. plane, he is suddenly the target of harassment, threats, assault; then somebody tries to kill him. When a nervous young man named Tomas Rath shows up, claiming to be Harland's son, the ex-spy finds himself caught up in a multigovernment dragnet intended to plug intelligence leaks, a grisly expos of a brutal Bosnian war criminal and a confrontation with a painful piece of his past he would prefer to forget. While being hounded by Walter Vigo, a ruthless British spymaster, Harland tries to unravel the mystery of his son, his former Czech lover and the elusive Lipnik, a Serb mass murderer thought to be dead, but actually very much alive and under the odd protection of several Western powers. This is a spy yarn full of suspense, action, unexpected plot twists and the fascinating detail of covert spy operations where everyone is a liar, even the good guys. Porter has the deft touch of a spy handler, manipulating the plot with skill and never letting up on the risk, tension and uncertainty that come with intelligence activity and danger. Agent, Georgina Capel. (Mar.)Forecast: Porter, the British editor of Vanity Fair, writes frequently for numerous publications in the U.K. Similar exposure in the U.S. (he lives part-time in New York) would help him build his rep here, but spy novel aficionados should find their way to his work regardless. <br />Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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  [Also by Henry Porter](index_split_009.html#filepos3642)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Remembrance Day
  
  
  A Spy’s Life
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Empire State
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Brandenburg
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Dying Light
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Firefly
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  WHITE HOT SILENCE
  
  
  HENRY PORTER
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 Henry Porter Cover design by Cindy Hernandez  
  Cover photograph © Woman:  
  plainpicture/Mark Owen; Train: Bigstock All rights reserved. No part of this
  book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
  including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in
  writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages
  in a review. Scanning, uploading, and electronic distribution of this book or
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  prohibited. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not
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