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From one of our most treasured BBC broadcasters, the fourth instalment in James Naughtie’s brilliant spy series finds Flemyng back in Berlin, and alone as never before.
 
  
 
  It is 1989 and although the Wall is still the Iron Curtain, the end game of the Cold War has begun. Confident that one of his own agents can provide priceless intelligence from the other side, Will Flemyng throws himself into the climactic struggle between East and West. 
 
  
 
  But fate takes a hand. A sworn enemy in the East has evidence from the Nazi era that could destroy Flemyng and his family, and he lays his trap.
 
  
 
  The eyes of the world are on Berlin, but Flemyng faces a personal struggle for honour, and survival, in the city where he learned his trade.
 
  
 
  For the master spy, has the end come at last?
 
  
 
  Praise for James Naughtie:
 
  
 
  ‘As convincing as any of John le Carré’s’ Independent
 
  ‘Beautifully written, deftly plotted, skilfully paced, imaginatively conceived’ Robert Littell
 
  ‘An involved and beautifully plotted spy story’ Allan Massie
 
  'Hugely gripping and atmospheric' Mail on Sunday
 
  'Complex and psychologically detailed' Charles Cumming
 
  'A tour de force' Kate Mosse

Berlin Checkmate

  • By James Naughtie

    James Naughtie’s fourth spy novel finds Will Flemyng in Berlin, where the past will rise up to haunt him through his mother’s hitherto secret activities during WWII.
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  • Book Details

    Imprint: Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book | Pub date: April 2026 | Format: 229 x 148mm | Extent: 416 pages | Word Count: 110,000 words
  • About the Author

    James Naughtie is a special correspondent for BBC News, for which he has reported from around the world. He presented Today on BBC Radio 4 for 21 years. This his third novel, and his most recent book is an account of five decades of travel and work in the United States – On the Road: American Adventures from Nixon to Trump. He lives in Edinburgh and London.

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