"From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a new short story collection: half spy stories, half tales of revenge, all highlight the kinder, funnier, and gentler side of espionage and retribution. In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself--quite...

"Simon Riske is a freelance industrial spy who, despite his job title, lives a mostly quiet life above his auto garage in central London. He is hired to perform the odd job for a bank, an insurance company, or the British Secret Service, when he isn't expertly stealing a million-dollar watch off the wrist of a crooked Russian oligarch. Riske has maintained his quiet life by avoiding big, messy jobs; until now. A gangster by the name of Tino Coluzzi...

"London, 1956. At Lime Grove Studios, the BBC has just launched 'The Hour, ' a topical news program. At the heart of the show are three contrasting journalists: enigmatic producer Bel Rowley, a spirited woman in a man's world; her best friend, Freddie Lyon, a brilliant and passionate reporter; and charming, well-connected front man Hector Madden. As Freddie moves to cover a significant but controversial story, the trio becomes entangled in an intense...

A CIA interrogator is lured into a ruse that puts London at risk of a biological attack.

Joan Stanley is a widow living out a quiet retirement in the suburbs when, shockingly, the British Secret Service places her under arrest. The charge: providing classified scientific information, including details on the building of the atomic bomb, to the Soviet government for decades. As she is interrogated, Joan relives the dramatic events that shaped her life and beliefs: her student days at Cambridge, where she excelled at physics while challenging...

Bond learns that Blofeld is headquartered in a remote part of the Swiss Alps. In order to infiltrate Blofeld's mountain fortress - an allergy clinic filled with beautiful women - Bond disguises himself as a stuffy genealogist. Unable to withstand the overwhelming temptation surrounding him, 007 blows his stuffy cover but discovers Blofeld's sinister plot in the process

"When an MI6 agent ... turns rogue and plans world domination with a terrifying satellite-borne weapon, Bond must pursue his former ally to Cuba, Monte Carlo, Switzerland and even Russia"--Container insert.