Spies and Other Gods
United Kingdom

Spies and Other Gods

by James Wolff

Summary

The head of British Intelligence, Sir William Rentoul, is only six months away from retirement when an anonymous complaint threatens to expose a disastrous covert operation. Already struggling with an increasingly unreliable memory, he must now contend with parliamentary scrutiny, a trail of assassinations, and secrets that could bring the intelligence establishment to its knees.

Enter Aphra McQueen, a sharp and unconventional parliamentary researcher tasked with investigating the complaint. Her inquiry leads her into a covert operation involving CASPIAN, an elusive assassin responsible for killing Iranian dissidents across Europe. As the investigation unfolds, Aphra discovers that the case is far more complicated than it first appears—and that she herself may be concealing crucial information. With intelligence agencies scrambling to contain the fallout, an unsuspecting British-Syrian dentist becomes entangled in a dangerous international conspiracy.

Told in part through the sardonic voice of an almost omniscient narrator known as the “spirit of spying,” Spies and Other Gods combines espionage, dark humour, and institutional satire. James Wolff examines the uneasy relationship between secrecy and accountability, revealing the human weaknesses and moral compromises behind the machinery of intelligence.

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James Wolff
James Wolff

James Wolff is a British novelist and former intelligence officer who spent more than a decade working for British intelligence. Having grown up in the Middle East, he has lived in cities including Beirut, Damascus, Cairo, and Istanbul. His professional experience and familiarity with the region inform his fiction, which explores the moral ambiguities, personal risks, and hidden workings of espionage. Wolff is the author of the Discipline Files series, which includes Beside the Syrian Sea, How to Betray Your Country, and The Man in the Corduroy Suit. His novels are known for combining realistic intelligence operations with sharp wit, unconventional storytelling, and complex characters. Spies and Other Gods, published in 2026, continues his exploration of the intelligence world through a story of political oversight, covert assassinations, and institutional betrayal.

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Published
2026
Author
James Wolff