RIGHT PLACE. RIGHT TIME. WRONG MAN.

'Engrossing...ingenious...nods to Buchan, Fleming and le Carré' SUNDAY TIMES, THRILLERS OF THE MONTH
'A propulsive, intelligent, ripped-from-the-headlines spy novel that's guaranteed to cost you hours of sleep. Highly recommended' DAVID McCLOSKEY
'A twisty storyline and convincing action scenes make this a very promising debut' FINANCIAL TIMES
'A gripping debut, perfect for fans of Mick Herron and David McCloskey' THE SUN

Jamie Tulloch is a successful exec at a top tech company, a long way from the tough upbringing that drove him to rise so far and so quickly.

But he has a secret...since the age of 23, he's had a helping hand from the Legend Programme, a secret intelligence effort to prepare impenetrable backstories for undercover agents. Real people, living real lives, willing to hand over their identities for a few weeks in return for a helping hand with plum jobs, influence and access.

When his tap on the shoulder finally comes, it's swiftly followed by the thud of a body. Arriving at a French airport ready to hand over his identity, Jamie finds his primary contact dead, the agent who's supposed to step into his life AWOL and his options for escape non-existent.

Pitched into a deadly mission on hostile territory, Jamie must contend with a rogue Russian general, arms dealers, elite hackers, CIA tac-ops and the discovery of a brewing plan for war. Dangerously out of his depth, he must convince his sceptical mission handler he can do the job of a trained field agent while using his own life story as convincing cover.

Can Jamie play himself well enough to avoid being killed - and to avert a lethal global conflict?

'In the very top tier of espionage fiction' M. W. CRAVEN
'An excellent debut with terrific pace...will grip you to the end' JAMES SWALLOW
'A twisting, edge-of-your-seat tale of mercenaries, greed, corruption, and espionage' I.S. BERRY
'I was on the edge of my seat the whole time' ANTONY JOHNSTON
'A rip-roaring page-turning keep-you-up-all-night thriller' NICHOLAS BINGE, author of ASCENSION
'Smart, riveting, and eerily prescient' SUNYI DEAN, Sunday Times Bestselling author of THE BOOK EATERS
'A pulse-pounding, twisting thrill-a-minute read that Slow Horses fans are going to absolutely love' ADAM SIMCOX

"Innocents have been caught up in espionage ever since The Thirty-Nine Steps. David Goodman's engrossing thriller offers an ingenious variation on the trope. Goodman combines traditional elements - the nods to Buchan, Fleming and le Carré - with the topicality of 2020s technology and the threat from Russia" - SUNDAY TIMES

"A twisty storyline and convincing action scenes make this a very promising debut." - FINANCIAL TIMES

"One of the most polished assured debuts I've read in recent years. A killer concept, artfully executed. A Reluctant Spy is a galloping globe-trotting runaway read that I guarantee will have you in its clutches till the very last page." - ROBERT RUTHERFORD