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AN ACADEMIC RECRUITED BY MI6

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Finlay Knox is a linguistics academic whose research draws the attention of MI6.

Operating between academia and espionage, he must construct and sustain identities under observation.

But as a mission in Beijing begins to fracture, the boundary between those identities starts to collapse.

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Read the opening chapters of The Controlled Identity and receive exclusive intelligence briefings âžž

MEET THE AUTHOR

Author and espionage novelist James Burnett standing on a stone bridge, with historic architecture and green trees in the background.
Author and espionage novelist James Burnett standing on a stone bridge, with historic architecture and green trees in the background.

Dr James Burnett is a British author and academic with a background in finance and university teaching. His espionage fiction brings together international intrigue, psychological tension and the complexities of identity.

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His debut novel, The Controlled Identity, introduces Finlay Knox, a British academic whose research attracts the attention of MI6. Recruited into a world of secrecy, deception and shifting loyalties, Knox must navigate the dangerous intersection of academia and international intelligence, where trust is fragile and identity is never quite what it seems.

Perfect for fans of John le Carré, Ian Fleming, Robert Ludlum, and Charles Cumming.

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READ THE BLOG HERE ↓

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Image of three book covers about spy thrillers, with a dark background, magnifying glass, photographs, map, bullets, a watch, and a flashlight.

THE KNOX FILES

THE CONTROLLED IDENTITY

SOME DECISIONS DON’T FEEL LIKE CHOICES

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ÃŽLE VERMILLION

THE DEEPER HE LOOKS, THE LESS HE UNDERSTANDS

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THE INTELLIGENCE FELLOW

HE LIVES TWO LIVES. NOW BOTH ARE UNDER ATTACK

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