At Mainstreet, we have long been fans of Charles Cumming and his books, in particular the Box 88 series. So we were delighted that he joined us on Tues 14th Nov to discuss the next book in the series, Kennedy 35.

‘Nobody writes more enjoyable spy thrillers than Charles Cumming.’ – ANTHONY HOROWITZ

1995: In the wake of the Rwandan genocide, 24-year-old spy Lachlan Kite and his girlfriend, Martha Raine, are sent to Senegal on the trail of a hunted war criminal. The mission threatens to spiral out of control, forcing Kite to make choices which will have devastating consequences not only for his career at top-secret intelligence agency BOX 88, but also for his relationship with Martha.

2023: Eric Appiah, an old friend from Kite’s days at school and an off-the-record BOX 88 asset, makes contact with explosive information about what happened all those years ago in West Africa. When tragedy strikes, Kite must use all his resources to bring down a criminal network with links to international terror … and protect Martha from possible assassination.

‘Excellent.’ – IAN RANKIN
‘Charles Cumming’s most ambitious, and his best yet.’ – MICK HERRON
‘Atmospheric and full of sharply-realised characters.’ – SUNDAY TIMES

Charles Cumming was born in Scotland. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh, he was approached by the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and used his experiences as the basis for his debut novel, A Spy by Nature which has been adapted for film by BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee John Hodge (Trainspotting), with Paul Mescal (Normal People) attached to the lead role.

After a wonderful event, Charles came back in the morning to sign lots of stock for the shop as Kennedy 35 is one of our Books of the Year 2023.

‘The best of the new generation of British spy writers who are taking over where John le Carré and Len Deighton left off.’  – THE OBSERVER

This event was held in the barn and can only be accessed by stairs. Please read our accessibility policy on the website for more information.