White Fox
  • Published: 20 August 2024
  • ISBN: 9780552178365
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $24.99

White Fox

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Set during the darkest days of the Cold War, a tautly-told, nail-bitingly atmospheric historical thriller about two competing KGB operatives caught in a race to secure the devastating truth behind the assassination of JFK

The new novel from a master of the Cold War thriller . . .

'This is Robert Harris storytelling territory' Daily Mail
'Outstanding' Sunday Times
'Tense, exciting and authentic' Charles Cumming, author of Judas 62
'Stunning' The Times
'Brilliantly plotted' John Sweeney, author of Killer in the Kremlin
'A standout thriller' Financial Times

1963. In a desolate Russian penal colony, a radio broadcasts news of the killing of
President John F. Kennedy . . .

Alexander Vasin's new posting as director of a brutal gulag camp is far from a promotion. This is where disgraced KGB officers are sent to disappear, quietly, and forgotten.

But when a violent revolt breaks out, Vasin must decide: run or die. So he runs. With him goes a mysterious prisoner – an individual who might hold the key to an extraordinarily dangerous secret: the identity of who really ordered Kennedy’s assassination.

Racing from bleak Siberian wastelands to the grey streets of Soviet Moscow, Vasin needs to stay one step ahead of the most ruthless intelligence organization in the world in order to keep the most wanted man in Russia alive. And with his loyalty, morality and patriotic duty tested to the limits, he will face the ultimate choice: fall in line, or die fighting the system . . .

Weaving together a critical moment in history with the cut-throat machinations of Soviet politics, this tautly told, nail-bitingly atmospheric novel is a superb Cold War thriller.
  • Published: 20 August 2024
  • ISBN: 9780552178365
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $24.99
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About the author

Owen Matthews

OWEN MATTHEWS worked as a war correspondent in Bosnia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq and Ukraine and was Newsweek magazine’s bureau chief in Moscow from 2006 until 2016. He has written several works of non-fiction including the critically-acclaimed Stalin’s Children and An Impeccable Spy. Black Sun is his first novel. He lives in Moscow and Oxford.

portrait photo of Owen Matthews

Also by Owen Matthews

Red Traitor
Black Sun
See all

Praise for White Fox

Matthews skilfully balances the exhilarating thrill of the chase with the conflict between duty, self-interest and justice in his hero's heart. A fine send off for a well-accomplished series.

THE TIMES 'Best Thrillers of the Month'

Matthews' excellent Black Sun spy trilogy comes to an impressively tense conclusion in White Fox . . . First rate.

MAIL ON SUNDAY

A white-knuckle ride through the grey paranoia of Cold War Soviet Russia, which Owen Matthews conjures up quite brilliantly.

SHOTS magazine

Superlative . . . balances thrills with historical fact (and speculation) in equal measure and it races you along to its breath-taking conclusion.

Maxim Jakubowski, CRIME TIME

Impressive . . . Matthews' knowledge of the USSR and the Cold War gives the novel the feeling of authenticity . . . a personal note at the end shows why Vasin's struggles are both so convincing and so affecting.

LITERARY REVIEW

Brings to mind The 39 Steps . . . impressive plotting and historical detail.

CRIME FICTION LOVER

Outstanding . . . [Matthews] writes with verve . . . Vasin is his finest creation.

Adam LeBor, FINANCIAL TIMES

One of the best of many western writers on Russia . . . a kind of Russian version of The Thirty-Nine Steps . . . such is the impact of the story as it progresses that we willingly suspend disbelief for the sake of an engrossing read.

Andrew Rosenheim, SPECTATOR