''The Trinity Six'' is a 2011 thriller novel by

Charles Cumming Charles Cumming (born 1971) is a British writer of spy fiction. Early life and education Cumming was born in 1971, in Ayr, Scotland, the son of Ian Cumming (b. 1938) and Caroline Pilkington (b. 1943). He was educated at Ludgrove School (1979 ...

Plot summary

Sam Gaddis is a history professor at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. His friend Charlotte Berg tells him she is writing a book about the "Sixth Man", a sixth member of the

Cambridge Five The Cambridge Spy Ring was a ring of spies in the United Kingdom that passed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and was active from the 1930s until at least into the early 1950s. None of the known members were ever prosecuted for ...

Russian spy ring. However, Charlotte dies of a heart attack the next day. Unbeknownst to Gaddis, she was murdered by a Russian agent using sodium fluoracetate. Gaddis decides to finish her book, in order to pay off his debts. His lover Holly Levette gives him her mother Katya's files, who was researching a book about the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

. Gaddis contacts an elderly man called Thomas Neame, who knew the sixth man Edward Crane. He discovers that Crane was really a

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...

who worked for the British, and Crane's death was faked by MI6 to protect him, on the instructions of John Brennan, who later became the head of MI6. Gaddis later discovers that Neame is Crane. The medical staff who helped fake Crane's death are murdered by the Russians. Sir John instructs a female agent Tanya Acocella to discourage Gaddis from pursuing the case. Gaddis travels to Vienna to meet Robert Wilkinson, Crane's former handler. Wilkinson reveals that Sergei Platov, the Russian president and former KGB agent, tried to defect to the West in 1988. Wilkinson is murdered by the Russians after Brennan informs them of his location. Tanya helps extract Gaddis from Vienna. Gaddis finds a video of Platov's defection attempt in Katya Levette's files, and makes several copies. The Russians discover his identity, however he is able to prevent them from harming him or his family by threatening to publish the video. It turns out that MI6 have been using Platov's secret to blackmail him for years.

Reception

A strongly positive review in ''The Washington Post'' described it as "a sophisticated thriller that takes its spies at face value and focuses on a conventional hero, a likable, stubborn and rather naive man, who is trying to survive in a world of duplicity and danger." ''The Washington Post'' named it one of their notable books of the year for 2011, comparing it to

Alan Furst Alan Furst (; born 1941) is a Jewish-American author of historical spy novels. Furst has been called "an heir to the tradition of Eric Ambler and Graham Greene," whom he cites along with Joseph Roth and Arthur Koestler as important influences. M ...

and

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

. A review in ''The New York Times'' described it as "a lively thriller", however wrote that "the narrative thread slackens somewhat as Cumming piles improbability upon improbability." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' described it as "characterized by a gripping sense of realism", displaying "a vast knowledge of spycraft and Cold War history". ''Kirkus Reviews'' later listed it as one of the best thrillers of 2011. ''The Independent'' described it as "splendidly written". The book was reviewed in ''The Guardian'', and also in ''The Spectator''. The book was longlisted for the 2011

CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association for best thriller of the year. The award is sponsored by the estate of Ian Fleming. It is given to a title that fits the broadest definition of th ...

award.https://readingagency.org.uk/adults/Specsavers%20Crime%20Thriller%20Awards%202011%20-%20longlist.pdf The book was

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

in 2011 by

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

References

{{reflist British thriller novels British spy novels Cold War spy novels 2011 British novels HarperCollins books