The Predicament: A Gabriel Dax Novel

by William Boyd

Overview

“Boyd is one of my favorite authors.”—Kate Atkinson

From the internationally bestselling author, a thrilling novel starring the travel writer-turned-reluctant spy Gabriel Dax, who finds himself implicated in a dangerous conspiracy with global consequences

1963, Guatemala. The country is in turmoil, with a presidential election looming and a charismatic, left-wing ex-priest and trade union leader predicted to win. United Fruits, a giant American corporation responsible for a large percentage of the country’s GNP, meanwhile, is not pleased by this prospect. Neither is the CIA. Amid the uncertainty, Gabriel Dax arrives on orders from his MI6 handler Faith Green, who has tasked him with assessing the fallout from the election.

Upon arrival, Gabriel meets Frank Sartorius, the local CIA agent. Despite Sartorius’s genial manner, Gabriel suspects something untrustworthy brewing under the surface. Soon, a political assassination with suspicions of Mafia involvement leads to riots, and Dax escapes to Europe, thinking he will finally return to his normal life as a travel writer. But when Green compels him to investigate some shady characters in West Berlin, it becomes clear that an even greater danger is afoot as the magnetic young President Kennedy prepares to arrive for a state visit. A gripping novel of politics and spy craft with dramatic twists and turns, The Predicament shows Boyd to be one of our most masterful contemporary storytellers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802166289
Publisher:	Atlantic Crime
Publication date:	11/04/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256

About the Author

WILLIAM BOYD was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana, and grew up there and in Nigeria. He is the author of sixteen highly acclaimed, bestselling novels and five collections of stories. Any Human Heart was longlisted for the Booker Prize and adapted into a TV series. His books have won many literary awards, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction, and the Costa Book Award. He was named a Granta Best Young Novelist in 1983, and in 2005, he was awarded the CBE. Boyd is married and divides his time between London and southwest France.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Gabriel’s Moon:

“Boyd builds layer upon layer of intrigue . . . A hugely enjoyable and satisfyingly intricate historical thriller . . . Gripping.”—Washington Post

“Like John le Carré, with whom he has been compared, Mr. Boyd at his best creates characters that are complex, emotionally and psychologically—much like the dramas that ensnare them.”—Wall Street Journal

“Stands shoulder to shoulder with the great spy novels of the last generation. But also, through artfully crafted reveals and unsettling moments of humanity, William Boyd adds to the genre, elevating it in such a way that Gabriel’s life, outside of his missions for MI6 and the dangers associated there, feels real in a way that endears him to the reader.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“A spy story to rival Restless . . . A masterly tale . . . Sure-footed, comfortably managing at once to deliver all the pleasures of the genre while also subtly undercutting and questioning them . . . Boyd takes such obvious, infectious pleasure in telling his story, bounding along just in front of the reader, scattering clues and red herrings. I’m not sure that there’s a more reliably entertaining novelist working today.”—Alex Preston, The Guardian

“A retro-thriller . . . A portrait of a vanished world . . . A new William Boyd novel is always a pleasure, and this is a read that will keep you completely hooked to the very last page.”—Erica Wagner, Financial Times

“Hugely enjoyable . . . Skillfully performs double duty: working as a satisfying standalone story and setting Gabriel up for further escapades . . . A vivid re-creation of the early 1960s, and one of the pleasures it offers is a feeling of agreeable time travel to fascinating corners of a vanished world. These are conveyed with a filmic vibrancy.”—Marcel Theroux, The Guardian, “Book of the Day”

“A cracking read . . . Deliberately and satisfyingly stuffed with incident, Cold War history, romance and any number of mysteries.”—James Walton, The Spectator (UK)

“Boyd is a pro: the pages turn easily and his imagination never lets us stop before dragging Gabriel to his next locus of drama and confusion.”—John Self, The Times (UK)

“Boyd is brilliant at writing these great sweeping books where he takes fictional characters but ties them in with real people and events. He is at the top of his game: he really does combine, as in a way does Robert Harris and so did John le Carré, really fine writing with absolutely riveting storytelling.”—Kathryn Bromwich, The Guardian

“No scene is flat, no sentence is flabby . . . If you want to enjoy a gripping ride—and who doesn’t?—you could do much worse than Gabriel’s Moon.”—George Monaghan, New Statesman

“An electric espionage thriller that calls to mind the best of John le Carré and Len Deighton . . . Boyd’s prose is crisp, his dialogue zings, and the heaps of dramatic irony he places on Gabriel’s stumble into spyhood buoys the narrative rather than weighing it down. Readers will hope to hear more from Gabriel soon.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Gabriel is a kind of Evelyn Waugh naif caught in a Graham Greene plot, and one of the book’s pleasures is his entirely plausible resourcefulness as challenges grow more perilous. While Boyd craftily ramps up the complications for his reluctant spy, he also gives him a full life apart from intelligence errands . . . A highly entertaining book . . . An exceptional storyteller in fine form.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This first-rate complex and suspenseful historical thriller will resonate with fans of John Le Carre and Alan Furst.”—First Clue

“A wonderfully intricate novel of espionage and elegant skullduggery, richly imagined, meticulously researched and unflaggingly readable.”—John Banville

“I enjoyed it hugely. Boyd is one of my favourite authors—he never disappoints.”—Kate Atkinson

“William Boyd once again brings to the spy novel his particular storytelling genius. The result is brilliant fun.”—Mick Herron

From the Publisher