Amateur » (Abridged)

Since he began publishing spy fiction in 1973, Robert Littell has evolved into one of the most consistently interesting espionage novelists of the modern era. We asked the author to share some of his experiences -- and his favorite books -- with us.

A spy thriller classic from the author of The Company

Before Robert Littell vaulted onto the bestseller lists with The Company, The Amateur, which has been long out of print, established him as a contemporary master of the espionage thriller. In this sleek and murderous novel, Charlie Heller is an ace cryptographer for the CIA, a quiet man in a quiet back-office job. But when his fiancée is murdered by terrorists and the Agency decides not to pursue her killers, Heller takes matters into his own hands. The fact that he is an amateur makes him all the more dangerous. Mind-blowing in its intelligence, pulse-pounding in its suspense, The Amateur is a stunner.

The New York Times Book Review

A taut, chilling plot and a protagonist as memorable as one of Len Deighton's, or le Carré's Smiley.