''Free Agent'' is a 2009

spy thriller Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelli ...

novel written by Jeremy Duns. It is the first in a trilogy of spy thrillers featuring

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

agent Paul Dark and is set at the height of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

in 1969. The novel is set in London and Nigeria during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

. Duns has said he was influenced by the novels ''A Dandy in Aspic'', by

Derek Marlowe Derek William Mario Marlowe (21 May 1938 – 14 November 1996) was an English playwright, novelist, screenwriter and painter. Life Derek Marlowe was born in Perivale, Middlesex, and lived there and in Greenford as a child. His father was Fre ...

and '' The Human Factor'' by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

. It was published in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2009 by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

and was released in the United States on 25 June 2009 by

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...

. Jeremy Duns is a member of

International Thriller Writers International Thriller Writers (ITW), was founded October 9, 2004, at Bouchercon XXXV, the "World Mystery and Suspense Conference", in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Six months later, some 150 authors with more than one billion books sold worldwide h ...

Tagline

''March 1969. John and Yoko are in bed. Harold Wilson is in Number 10. And Paul Dark is on the run from MI6, the KGB ... and himself.''

Reception

''Free Agent'' received generally positive reviews. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' considered the novel to be "a retro-cool romp as spare of prose as it is cleverly convoluted of plot", and later named it as one of its "Thrillers of the Year", praising "the timeless feel

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

fosters the clear impression of Duns as a talented thriller geek posing a challenge to modern publishing". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' agreed, and considered the book to be an "excellent debut" born from the writer's "deep knowledge of espionage and classic spy novels", while ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' wrote that "Duns's terrific debut will draw inevitable comparisons to early John le Carré", ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' was also positive in saying that the "plotting is delectably tricky", although they tempered the praise by highlighting that "the character of Dark requires more shading before he returns for the promised next episode". When the trilogy of Paul Dark books was released, a further review by Kirkus noted that "the immediacy of Duns' writing grabs and suspends the reader in a beautifully realized heartbeat of recent history". The South African news outlet

Independent Online ''Independent Online'', popularly known as ''IOL'', is a news website based in South Africa that serves the online versions of a number of South African newspapers, including '' The Star'', '' Cape Times'', '' Cape Argus'', ''Weekend Argus'', '' ...

agreed with

Eric Van Lustbader Eric Van Lustbader (born December 24, 1946) is an American author of thriller and fantasy novels. He has published as Eric Lustbader, Eric V. Lustbader, and Eric Van Lustbader. He is a graduate of New York's Stuyvesant High School and Columb ...

that the "first chapter is electrifying", although "it comes a terrible sense of disappointment as we swiftly find ourselves in the swamps of moral equivalence".

References

{{reflist , colwidth = 30em , refs = {{cite web, last=Foster, first=David, title=Jeremy Duns, Free Agent, url=http://www.spywise.net/pdf/Jeremy_Duns_Interview.pdf, publisher=Spywise.net, accessdate=2 July 2013, year=2009, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223073014/http://spywise.net/pdf/Jeremy_Duns_Interview.pdf, archive-date=23 December 2010, url-status=dead {{cite web, title=Free Agent by Jeremy Duns, url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jeremy-duns/free-agent/, publisher=

, accessdate=4 July 2013, date=20 May 2010 {{cite web, title=The Dark Chronicles: A Spy Trilogy: Free Agent; Song of Treason; The Moscow Option, url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jeremy-duns/dark-chronicles/, publisher=

, accessdate=4 July 2013, date=20 May 2012 {{cite web, title=Book review: Free Agent, url=http://www.iol.co.za/tonight/books/book-review-free-agent-1.970479#.UdGXYlZwaHs, publisher=

Independent Online (South Africa) ''Independent Online'', popularly known as ''IOL'', is a news website based in South Africa that serves the online versions of a number of South African newspapers, including '' The Star'', '' Cape Times'', '' Cape Argus'', ''Weekend Argus'', '' ...

, last=Mitchell, first=James, accessdate=4 July 2013, date=23 July 2009 {{cite web, title=Free Agent, Jeremy Duns, url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-670-02101-7, publisher=

, accessdate=4 July 2013, date=18 May 2009 {{cite news, last=Jehu, first=Jeremy, title=Thrillers of the year, url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/6662621/Thrillers-of-the-year.html, accessdate=4 July 2013, newspaper=

, date=30 December 2009 {{cite news, last=O'Connell, first=John, title=Free Agent, url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/may/30/jeremy-duns-free-agent, accessdate=4 July 2013, newspaper=

, date=30 May 2009 {{cite news, title=Books, newspaper=

, date=27 June 2009, location=London, page=5 2009 British novels British spy novels 2009 debut novels Simon & Schuster books