Lord Alexander Hawke is used to going after big game, but his pursuit of a mysterious figure code-named Warmonger brings him up against his most deadly foe—Vladimir Putin—in the latest entry in this New York Times bestselling series. Lord Alexander Hawke’s hunt for the Warmonger—a shadowy figure orchestrating chaos across the globe—is put on hold so that he may undertake an urgent mission for the Crown. His assignment: Travel to Russia, escorting the lovely Dr. Ariadne Silk; confront his archnemesis, Vladimir Putin; and recover a secret document that threatens to shake the British monarchy to its core. While Hawke makes a perilous journey across Europe, his good friend Ambrose Congreve’s routine investigation of a bizarre murder takes a deadly turn, pulling him into a cat-and-mouse game with Silence, a cold-blooded assassin who may be targeting Hawke himself. Hawke will soon discover that he is a pawn in the Warmonger’s Byzantine plot to bring the world to the brink of total war and resurrect a fallen empire. Ted Bell was the vice-chairman of the board and creative director of Young & Rubicam, one of the world's largest advertising agencies. He was also the New York Times bestselling author of the Alex Hawke series as well as the YA adventure novels Nick of Time and The Time Pirate . He passed away in January 2023. Ryan Steck is the author of Fields of Fire , Lethal Range , Redd Christmas , and Out for Blood . He is also a freelance editor, as well as the founder and editor in chief of The Real Book Spy, and he was named an online influencer by Amazon. Praised as “one of the hardest-working and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (author A. J. Tata). He lives in Michigan. ONE Istanbul, Turkey Though it wasn't perhaps what he was best known for, it was certainly no secret that Lord Alexander Hawke knew how to make an entrance. His Lancia D24-custom-built in 1953 and driven to victory in the 1954 Mille Miglia by Alberto Ascari-roared down the cobbled Bab-ı Ali Caddesi, negotiating a maze of minor streets through Sultanahmet Square before coming to an abrupt and quite dramatic halt at the Imperial Gate, entrance to the historic Topkapı Palace. He idled there, slowly advancing down the queue of attendees, occasionally revving the 3,284-cubic-centimeter, 265-horsepower V6 engine as if to say, "Still here, old chap," until at last it was his turn to hand the reins of his mechanical steed over to a waiting valet. Hawke stepped out, the midnight blue of his bespoke Tom Ford tuxedo accentuating his athletic frame, looking every inch the aristocrat that he, in fact, was. He stood just north of six feet tall, with a thick mane of unruly black hair that was deliberately at odds with the rest of his immaculate appearance. As he made way for the valet, he allowed himself a wry smile. "Mind you, don't scratch the paint, old boy," he said. "It's older than both of us." The nervous valet just stared back, goggle-eyed, as Hawke swept past him and joined the line filing through the security checkpoint leading into the complex. Built in 1459 under Sultan Mehmed II-or Mehmed the Conqueror as he was known to history-the sprawling complex known as Topkapı Palace had, for nearly four centuries, been the stage for crucial state affairs, with viziers and foreign dignitaries gathered beneath its soaring dome. Though now a museum celebrating the fallen grandeur of the Ottoman Empire, the palace nevertheless retained a regal aura, especially tonight, as it played host to some of the most powerful figures in the Western world: ambassadors, military leaders, and, of course, spies. The NATO strategic alliance summit had been held in Istanbul to address the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe and growing fears that Russia's adventure in the Ukraine might lead to an all-out conflict with NATO member nations that had once been part of another fallen empire: the Soviet Union. The Republic of Turkey, a NATO member nation since 1952, straddling the line between Europe and the Middle East, had been chosen to host the summit, and this final soiree put on by Turkey's minister of national defense, Amir al-Fulan, celebrated the close of the event. One last chance for the attendees to come together and, theoretically at least, reinforce their mutual commitment to the alliance. Hawke detested formal events. Found them unimaginably tedious. The only thing that could be said for them was that the champagne usually flowed in copious amounts-though, given a choice, Hawke would have preferred a tot of Goslings Black Seal rum in some grimy outlaw dive bar on a Caribbean waterfront. The company was usually better, and something about it appealed to his pirate blood. He was, in fact, a direct descendant of the notorious buccaneer Richard Hawke, known as "Blackhawke," and had inherited more from his ance