About the Book
Gabriel Dax is on route to Russia, tasked with delivering a mysterious Blanco drawing to celebrated defector, Kit Caldwell. But Caldwell is convinced that the KGB suspects him of treachery and he wants to get out – now.
When Gabriel is ordered by his enigmatic handler Faith Green to help, he is pulled into a web of shifting loyalties and dangerous escape plans. As tensions rise and trust fractures, he is forced to confront the fine line between devotion and deception. But which will he choose?
Format: Hardcover (272 pages) Publisher: Viking
Publication date: 3rd September 2026 Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller
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My Review
Cold Sunset is the third book in the series featuring reluctant spy Gabriel Dax, the follow-up to Gabriel’s Moon and The Predicament.
He may still be a reluctant spy who would rather be pursuing his career as a travel writer but Gabriel Dax is certainly now a more experienced one. However it’s not in ways he’s very happy about. Previous missions have put him in a position where he’s been involved in fatal confrontations making him ponder just what he’s become capable of. ‘How had he managed to do what he’d just done? What instincts had taken over? What kind of person was he becoming?’
It’s all because he remains in thrall to the alluring and enigmatic Faith Green, head of the MI6 section known as ‘the termite hunters’ charged with rooting out traitors in the service.
It’s as part of one of these ‘termite hunting’ missions that Gabriel finds himself sent to California to make contact with a poet, Francis Falkner, who has information about a former Bletchley Park colleague he suspects of passing information to the Russians. Gabriel feels uncomfortable about the task given they often end up so badly. On the other hand it gives him an opportunity to gather material for his latest book. One of the joys of the series is the insight we get into the books Gabriel is working on, some of which sound really interesting, and getting glimpses of his rather florid writing style. I suspect Boyd has a lot of fun with this.
Gabriel’s fear that past events will catch up with him proves well-founded, resulting in another narrow escape once back in England. He barely has time for another long lunch with his publisher or a quickie with his ex-girlfriend before he’s sent to Russia to assist in the exfiltration of Kit Caldwell, a British triple agent for whom Gabriel has been acting as decoy by posing as a double agent. (Yes, it got my head spinning too.) Caldwell believes his position has been compromised and he needs to get out of Russia in double quick time before the KGB catch up with him. The carefully planned mission looks foolproof on paper but is anything ‘foolproof’ in a world where duplicity is a way of life.
Ah, duplicity thy name is Faith Green. (It’s not even her real name.) Gabriel finds her tantalising even though she seems able to move from passionately intimate to coldly indifferent in a split second. He believes he loves her but does she feel the same way about him? Sometimes he thinks the answer is yes, at other times he wonders if he’s just being manipulated. One of the great things about the series is the way the author keeps us guessing about her as well, no more so than in this book.
The fallout from the exfiltration mission and the possibility there is another traitor in MI6 means Gabriel must lie low for a while. But is there anywhere in the world where someone can’t track you down?
Gabriel is someone you can’t help rooting for even though he often makes foolish blunders, smokes and drinks too much and is a bit of a loner. (The only person he really opens up to is his therapist Dr Katrina Haas.) But while researching his books he’ll happily chat to anyone whether that’s a man employed to clear up cigarette butts and dog shit in Red Square or a barber on a remote Greek island.
Cold Sunset is another thoroughly enjoyable, stylish spy thriller. Is this the final outing for Gabriel Dax? I really hope not.
I received a review copy courtesy of Viking via NetGalley.
In three words: Intriguing, entertaining, well-crafted
Try something similar: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre
About the Author
WILLIAM BOYD was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana, and grew up there and in Nigeria. He is the award-winning author of seventeen highly acclaimed novels and five collections of stories. He divides his time between London and France. (Photo: Goodreads author page/Bio: Publisher author page)
Connect with William
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