The Frenchman - by Jack Beaumont (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Based on the experiences of a real French spy, Jack Beaumont's first-hand knowledge and experiences make this thriller plausible and frightening as you're plunged into the very real world of terror, espionage, and danger.

Alec de Payns is an undercover operative in the ultra-elusive French Y Division of the DGSE, a foreign intelligence service equivalent to the CIA or MI6. Code named Aguilar, de Payns is one of the division's most accomplished agents working to neutralize international threats on a daily basis while simultaneously trying to balance his home life as a husband and father. When a routine mission to infiltrate a dangerous terrorist group unexpectedly goes belly up, Alec is faced with the unthinkable: that he may have been betrayed by someone in his close-knit team--and they may be trying to pin the blame on Alec himself.

Back in Paris, Alec is assigned to investigate a secretive biological weapons facility in Pakistan which the DGSE believes to be producing a newly weaponized strain of bacteria, intended for release in France. As Alec works to uncover the facility's secrets, he must also fight to clear his name and discover who the mole is before it's too late. It's not just his reputation that's at stake--it's the lives of his wife, two young children, and the entire population of Paris.

Review Quotes

"The Frenchman is a twisty and riveting thriller that seamlessly blends insider tradecraft and a doomsday plot with the realities of love, family, and friendship in the secret world. A propulsive, rip-your-guts-out adrenaline ride, The Frenchman also explores the weighty, unseen sacrifices made by intelligence officers and their families the world over. This one will leave a mark."

-- "David McCloskey, former CIA analyst and author of Damascus Station"

"The Frenchman is a must-read for every spy-thriller fan. Authentic, tense, and compelling, The Frenchman takes the reader deep into the heart of France's clandestine intelligence operations. Jack Beaumont's insider knowledge and masterful storytelling skills put him in league with the genre's best writers."

-- "Susan Ouellette, author of the award-winning spy thriller The Wayward Spy"

"With fascinating insights into the razor-sharp instincts of an international spy, The Frenchman is an intense and stylish thriller. Jack Beaumont offers a vivid portrait of Paris full of sly intrigue and covert activity. And the risks and tensions are ratcheted-up with every chapter."

-- "Timothy Schaffert, critically acclaimed author of The Perfume Thief"

"Beaumont reveals a world of international espionage that's at once exhilarating, morally repugnant, and deadly...An action-packed spy thriller with an authentic feel."

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"The Frenchman is one of the finest examples of the spy genre in recent memory. Suspenseful, masterfully plotted, and completely riveting. But what truly sets it apart from others in the field is its matchless authenticity, and the book's keen interest in its characters and the human cost of the worlds they inhabit."

-- "Nic Pizzolatto, author of Galveston and creator and writer of HBO's True Detective"

"The Frenchman is, in the way of many thrillers, a disturbing reminder of how fragile our modern world is and how easy it might be [to] upend the world order. It is a spy thriller that only an insider could have written."

-- "The Blurb"