From the “literary master for a generation” ( The London Observer ) comes a fiercely com- pelling and current novel set in Hamburg that plays to all of le Carré’s trademark strengths— Germany, rival intelligence operations, and sympathetic protagonists who discover a taste for moral integrity. A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse round his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa. Annabel, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, determines to save Issa from deportation. Soon her client’s survival becomes more important to her than her own career—or safety. In pursuit of Issa’s mysterious past, she confronts the incon- gruous Tommy Brue, the sixty- year-old scion of Brue Frères, a failing British bank based in Hamburg. Annabel, Issa, and Brue form an unlikely alliance—and a triangle of impossible loves is born. Meanwhile, scenting a sure kill in the so-called War on Terror, the spies of three nations converge upon the innocents. Poignant, compassionate, peopled with characters the reader never wants to let go, A Most Wanted Man is alive with humor, yet prickles with tension until the last heart-stopping page. It is a work of deep humanity and uncommon relevance to our times. "Le Carré's ... secret agents exist in a world of stalemate, moral compromise, ambiguity and betrayal... Like his books, le Carré is a mix of unblinking realism and hopeful humanism." -- Jill Lawless, Associated Press "What le Carré has always done terrifically is to capture the nuances of the spying game. His spooks are wonderful... In A Most Wanted Man you are, unlike the modern world, in thrillingly deft, safe hands." -- The Guadian (UK) "Highly recommended." -- Library Journal "This is le Carré's strongest, most powerful novel... Extraordinary." -- Alan Furst, New York Times Book Review (cover review) "Astounding, nearly perfect ... beautifully paced, awesomely crafted ... desperately readable" -- John Freeman, San Francisco Chronicle "Intricately plotted, beautifully written, propulsive, morally engaged, but timely as today's headlines.... The protagonists are brilliantly drawn." -- Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times "An instant classic... A provocative and incendiary ending that only le Carré, the master, can pull off." -- USA Today "As sharp as he ever was.... Le Carre ... remains a class above his neighbors on the bestseller list." -- Jeffrey Westhoff, Chicago Sun-Times "Breaks notable new ground... Le Carré's dialogue has snap, rhythm and wit... immaculate timing." -- Peter Wolfe, St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Turn the pages slowly, because an era is passing, and with it, an illuminating view of the troubled keepers of an uneasy peace." -- James F. Sweeney, Cleveland Plain Dealer John le Carré was born in 1931. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy ; The Honorable Schoolboy ; and Smiley’s People. His novels include The Constant Gardner , The Little Drummer Girl , A Perfect Spy , The Russia House , Our Game , The Tailor of Panama , and Single & Single. He lives in Cornwall, United Kingdom. A Most Wanted Man 1 A Turkish heavyweight boxing champion sauntering down a Hamburg street with his mother on his arm can scarcely be blamed for failing to notice that he is being shadowed by a skinny boy in a black coat. Big Melik, as he was known to his admiring neighborhood, was a giant of a fellow, shaggy, unkempt and genial, with a broad natural grin and black hair bound back in a ponytail and a rolling, free-and-easy gait that, even without his mother, took up half the pavement. At the age of twenty he was in his own small world a celebrity, and not only for his prowess in the boxing ring: elected youth representative of his Islamic sports club, three times runner-up in the North German Championship hundred-meter butterfly stroke and, as if all that weren’t enough, star goalkeeper of his Saturday soccer team. Like most very large people, he was also more accustomed to being looked at than looking, which is another reason why the skinny boy got away with shadowing him for three successive days and nights. The two men first made eye contact as Melik and his mother, Leyla, emerged from the al-Umma Travel Shop, fresh from buying air tickets for Melik’s sister’s wedding in their home village outside Ankara. Melik felt someone’s gaze fixed on him, glanced round and came face-to-face with a tall, desperately thin boy of his own height with a straggly beard, eyes reddened and deep-set, and a long black coat that could have held three magicians. He had a black-and-white kaffiyeh round his neck and a tourist’s camel-skin saddlebag slung over his shoulder. He stared at Melik, then at Leyla. Then he came back to Melik, n