In The Scarlet Papers, the lives of characters from different eras and locations intersect through a mysterious manuscript—the enigmatic Scarlet Papers. The multiples timelines and locations are as follows:

VIENNA, 1946: A brilliant German scientist is abducted from the ruins of Nazi Europe.
MOSCOW, 1964: A US diplomat entangled in a clandestine love affair during the Cold War.
RIGA, 1992: A Russian archivist selling secrets that could reshape the twentieth century.
LONDON, THE PRESENT DAY: A British academic on the run, with a chance to solve one of history’s greatest mysteries.

As the characters’ paths converge, history is rewritten, secrets are unveiled, and destinies hang in the balance. Themes of espionage, moral dilemmas, and the human cost of secrets permeate this superb twisty old-school spy thriller.

The Scarlet Papers is a masterpiece. Compelling, original, a page turner that has you in it's claws from the very first page.

Enjoyable Cold War tale with a spying historian offered the revelation of a lifetime by an old high level intelligence agent who seemingly is a double agent. The storyline is cleverly revealed by moving past to present and back again with efforts to prevent information being made public by high fliers at MI5 and government. It all builds to a satisfactory climax with several surprise twists and turns. Good stuff!

My thanks to Penguin Random House Michael Joseph for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Scarlet Papers’ by Matthew Richardson.

This is a superb spy thriller that begins in the present day when Dr. Max Archer, Associate Professor of Intelligence History at the London School of Economics’, receives a card with the mysterious message: “Tomorrow 11AM. Take a cab and pay in cash. Tell no one. Dry-clean thoroughly. Scarlet King. (PS ATLAS)”.

Max is aware that Scarlet King had been a legendary name in the post-war intelligence community though she now must be in her 90s and a ghost. Max cannot understand why she has reached out to him but there is no way he will refuse the chance to solve one of history's greatest mysteries.

The narrative moves between the present and a number of time periods and locations in post WWII Europe; weaving together aspects of Scarlet King’s long career in MI6 and her involvement in various Cold War intelligence operations.

I love spy fiction and I found myself quickly drawn into ‘The Scarlet Papers’. On completion I was impressed not only with the intricate plotting and characterisation but how well Richardson had captured the various historical locations.

The novel was clearly well researched and in his Acknowledgements Richardson provides a bibliography of some of the nonfiction sources that he consulted in writing his novel. It’s quite a long list and given the novel’s length and depth, he rightly reflects that it had been a monumental project.

Overall, I found ‘The Scarlet Papers’ a multilayered, intellectually satisfying work of spy fiction in the tradition of John le Carre’s George Smiley novels. There’s plenty of suspense and twists along with references to historical events and figures.

Highly recommended.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Reading about the cold war era was so insightful. The twists and turns of this story kept me totally riveted. The character Max gained huge sympathy. Who knew there were so many spy departments on the payroll

Overall a worthwhile and interesting book which started off making me think that I had made a mistake in reading it due to its wandering and slow start, Fortunately, I persevered and a third of the way through, the story started to take real shape and, from then on, the more that I read, the better it became.

Buy it, be patient and enjoy!

A clever, fast pacy thriller, full of intrigue and espionage.
I like to judge a book by it’s first line and ‘It all started with the card’ hooked me straight away.
Dr Max Archer takes a taxi to Holland Park, following a calling card sent through the internal post from Scarlet King.
Not a name to be dismissed lightly, a legendary Spy Master within the Intelligence Service.
So when Scarlet contacts Max with info on the ‘6th man’ and offer him her memoirs, he finds the invitation too irresistible.
However realises to write and publish the memoir would be breaking the National Secrets Act.
He has a moralistic dilemma as the memoir would secure him a multi million pound book deal.
You get caught up in the conspiracy and conceit, with spies, double and triple agents.
A fabulous historical global story with convincing political characters, drawing on the author’s own experience as a screen writer in Westminister.
Thanks @RichardsonBooks @michaeljbooks & @netgalley for the eARC

There were times, during my reading of this novel, that I was as confused as I ever wanted to be! A brilliant spy novel, full of authentic details, names that are still familiar to the majority of people even now, and so many twists and red herrings, no one tells the whole truth.
Scarlet King is an old lady, who was a super spy, a legend in her own lifetime. She wants to publish her memoirs, a tell all book, that will embarrass both the UK and American governments, and may push the boundaries of what is permitted in the Official Secrets Act.
Scarlett has written her memoirs in a notebook, that is securely hidden, but these details have to be verified before a publisher will give a final commitment to take on this task.
Dr Max Archer is a history professor, who has written many books about the Cambridge Spies, this knowledge alone gives a clue about the nature of these jottings in a notebook. Scarlet wants Max to verify her notes, in preparation to publish.
World War Two events were never going to be clear cut or clean. Wartime was nasty, trust was not automatically given, there were double agents, triple agents and the intelligence services were ruthless in their endeavours.
We have both USA/ UK agents trying to find escaped German scientists in order to recruit them for the Nuclear programmes, and these organisations were always having mole hunts for hidden agents working for Russia.
There are good interrogation descriptions, which leave the reader quite breathless at the speed of questions and answers. The research is intense and detailed, with actual names and events to add verisimilitude to this story. The ending is astounding, will make you take a sharp intake of breath, there was not a hint of this throughout the book. Astonishing .
My only gripe……, too many acronyms, they disturbed the flow of the narrative.
My thanks to Netgalley and publishers, Penguin, Michael Joseph, for my advance digital copy, freely given in return for my honest review.
I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon UK.

If you're a fan of the novels of John le Carré such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy you will absolutely love this brilliantly compelling espionage thriller that combines 'old world' tradecraft - dry-cleaning, safe houses, book codes, secret writing, brush passes, dead letterboxes - with modern technology. Think surveillance and tracking devices capable of being installed just about anywhere.

Moving from the end of the Second World War, through the Cold War to the present day, it conjures up the murky world of secret agents, double agents, sleepers and moles. References to real life individuals such as Kim Philby, James Jesus Angleton and Maurice Oldfield (reputed to be one of the models for John le Carré's George Smiley), along with figures in the world of espionage from more modern times, give it an air of authenticity. (As can be seen from the bibliography, the author's research has been extensive.) And although the story is fictional, many of the elements seem completely plausible. Worryingly so, if you believe in the reality of a secret state. And it wasn't so long ago that the existence of someone very like one of the main characters in the story was revealed, after many years in the shadows. 

The book is full of characters with messy relationships and exposes the moral dilemmas which spies confront, the isolation inherent in their role and the burden of keeping secrets, even from those you love.  As one character observes, 'We were good spies and terrible human beings.' Many of the characters are almost certainly not who they purport to be or are adept at adopting different personas. 'Spying was a performance and the costume, the voice, the initial entrance were as vital as the lines themselves.'

It's impossible to describe the twists and turns of the plot without giving anything away. I could sympathise with one character as they complain, 'Spies always seemed to make things so damn complicated' although that delicious complexity is what makes The Scarlet Papers a 'just one more chapter' read. Despite being quite a chunky book, the story moves along like a whirlwind with surprises galore awaiting you. I loved it. If you're a fan of espionage thrillers, put this one on your wishlist.

An interesting thriller ideally for spy fans! Not my usual kind of read but definitely held my intrigue throughout! Really enjoyable characters and super fast-paced. I whizzed through it!

A clever and pacy spy thriller featuring historical characters interspersed with fictional ones. This engaging story's setting and historical details are well-researched and lyrically delivered. Archer is a failing academic with a sound knowledge of intelligence services and its players. Inherently naive, he stumbles almost unwittingly into an intelligence and political minefield planted by a shadowy master spy. Whilst he and the security service search for the missing papers, the reader reads them. There are twists and multilayered characters, and the distinction between fact and fiction is distinctly noir. I like the historical detail, the intensity and the many surprises this novel delivers; it's an entertaining read.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a spy book that starts really well and the characters are so full of life but for me i started to lose interest this one was not for me

Not one of my favourite go-to genres but the blurb really did interest me and I am not adverse to a splodge of historical fiction so I thought I'd give it a whirl...
We meet Dr Max Archer - history professor and, since being turned down by security services, wannabe spy. He is intrigued when he is summoned to a clandestine meeting which turns out to be with one Scarlet King a super-spy, well respected and well thought of as espionage royalty! It appears that she wants Archer to help her publish her memoirs. A tell-all book that might just skirt/cross the official secrets act - definitely stir up trouble. He is initially reticent but acquiesces.
But... this meeting has not gone unnoticed...
And so begins a chase - For the manuscript. One side eager to publish. The other just as eager to spike. As well as that, we learn the content of said manuscript which is a spy thriller's dream. Can Archer stay one step ahead and get the job done...
I am no aficionado about the things contained within this book but, as the layman, it appears that the author has done his research. Detailing a lot of events post-war regarding espionage and shenanigans that both side got up to. I found some fascinating, others a bit dry, but all worthy of inclusion, and stuff fans of the spy-thriller genre will probably lap up.
Archer himself was a bit lame initially, but I guess that's included to speak to circumstance and why he takes on the challenge. Which, let's face it, is quite perilous! I did warm to him along the way and was sad to say goodbye at the end.
There are a few twists and turns along the way. Some very clever, others predictable. And also some quite worthy obfuscation. As with My Name Is Nobody (the other book by this author that I have read) the story and all its interconnected parts flowed very well. Culminating in a satisfying ending.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Brilliant.
Every time I thought I knew what was happening, it twisted away and a new thread began. The perfect spy novel for the present day, we are taken from the ruins of WWII to the intensities of present day, through the eyes of those deep in the middle of it, and the eyes of someone unwillingly peripheral to it.
Each character is beautifully delivered to the reader, but you feel you just can't quite connect, which is so clever as they are, of course, almost all spies and have lived so many lives their true selves must be hidden in the mists of time. The story is so, so clever that the various threads don't unite right until the end, when somehow all comes right.
I can't say much before I feel I may risk spoilers, so you shall just have to read it.

The Scarlet Papers is the best spy novel I’ve ever read!

I was curious when I’ve read the blurb and from the first pages I was hooked. Such an engaging story!

I feel that I want to read more espionage books now (and I’ve bought other books by this author because he’s a genius).

The characters are interesting, the plot is twisted and the story really intense. The final reveal though - oh my!

I don’t have words to describe how perfect this book is.

The Scarlet Papers is a spy novel with numerous twists and turns along with a few red herrings that I found thoroughly enjoyable and an excellent read from the beginning until the curve ball end.

Highly recommended.

A towering novel, The Scarlet Papers takes events from WW2 and brings them to life with a mixture of facts and a fierce imagination. The British security services have a fight on their hands, a scandal that needs tidying up and tucking away into a deep dark corner. Of course, there’s more than one way to skin a cat and definitely more than one way to keep a secret.

For a spy, or indeed, anyone involved in espionage, wartime must an energising time to be alive. War has a tendency to accelerate innovation and for the security services, the intelligence battle is one just as fiercely fought as those on the battlefields. I thoroughly enjoyed the factual elements and how seamlessly they were woven into the narrative. For what is a lengthy book, I never felt my attention wander, there is so much going and to be educated in the process was a delight.

An enjoyable book. This book has a complicated plot with twists and turns, multiple timelines and agents and double agents. It is entertaining throughout.

Wow! This is an incredibly gripping espionage thriller that had me hooked from the start. I cannot recommend it enough.

A sweeping story of events that affected the secret services from WWII through the cold war until the collapse of the Soviet Union. During which time the Russian’s successfully established a recruiting centre at Cambridge University to recruit spies s is well known. The story however is centred on an old lady, Scarlet, recruited as a young lady, retired after reaching the top echelons of the of the service then wanted to record her memoirs for posterity. She recruits a low level academic to review and check her extensive notes for publication. The story becomes a historical novel written with such intermate detail that Scarlet seems to be a real part of historical events. A most engrossing read, full of double cross smoke and mirrors with vested interests waiting to pounce and prevent publication with plenty of red herrings to confuse them. A tense action-packed story.