Published by The Mysterious Press on July 7, 2026
In the fourth novel of Charles Cummings’ BOX 88 series, Lachlan Kite’s past catches up with him. Just before Martha Raine’s wedding in 2001, he had a last fling with her. The sex must have been good because Kite proposed to her the next morning, asking her to call off her wedding. But Martha knew that Kite was married to his job and would never give her the full and undivided attention she craved, so Kite and Martha went their separate ways.
Martha had a son and daughter before getting divorced in 2022. Meanwhile, Kite married a woman who was more tolerant of his need to divide his attention between his job and his family. Sadly for him, Kite’s wife is getting a bit weary of his insistence that saving the world from tyrants and terrorists is a worthier use of his time than hanging out with her. Such is life.
The story begins in 2018, when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His killers later torture and murder Marc Chevalier because they believed he would expose kickbacks in the construction of NEOM, the city-of-the-future brainchild of Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Back in the present, Kite is meeting Martha for dinner in London at her request when he learns that a shooter has killed people near his home in Sweden. Kite rushes back home, where he offers to retire so he can stay home and keep his family safe. His wife knows that retirement is not in the cards.
Martha reappears in Kite’s life when her son Max disappears. Kite uses his position at BOX 88 (a hybrid, off-the-books intelligence agency that combines resources of the US and UK) to search for Max. He discovers that Max has disappeared with his girlfriend, Yasmine, who seems to be using a fake identity. The reader, like Kite and Max, will wonder who she might really be. The answer is surprising.
Much of the novel follows Max and Yasmine as they flee from two competing teams of people who want to capture or kill Yasmine. In true thriller fashion, the young lovers stay a step ahead of the pursuit. In due course, Max and the reader learn why Yasmine is on the run. Hint: it has something to do with the death of Chevalier.
The rest of the novel follows Kite and Martha, who are a step behind Max and Yasmine. Their journey begins in Greece and moves to Albania before a final confrontation occurs in Sarajevo. Charles Cumming adds enough local color in each location to give the story a strong sense of atmosphere.
Yasmine’s predicament is unlikely but not nearly as implausible as the plots of most modern thrillers. The technology and tradecraft Kite uses to track down Yasmine and Max is fun. Kite’s characterization gains some depth, thanks to the tension caused by his competing relationships with his wife and Martha. The story moves with the pace of a thriller, placing Max and Yasmine in danger and giving Kite ample cause for worry about their fate.
The story gives a nod to current events, including an astute analysis (from a British perspective) of the American Right and its reaction to Obama (“Because of Obama you get Breitbart and the odious Bannon, as well as the attendant horrors of Fox News, Hannity, Tucker Carlson and so on. From there it is a very short journey indeed to Donald J. Trump.”). Apart from occasional commentary, the story is not overtly political, so open-minded espionage fans on both sides of the divide should be able to enjoy it. The story is complete and can be read as a standalone, but a teaser at the end will give series fans a reason to await the next installment.
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