The Collaborators

A brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA in this electrifying, globetrotting spy thriller. Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time. How exactly did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path? Criss-crossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset, and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiralling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales – from Berlin and Tangier to Latvia, Belarus and a semi-abandoned technopark outside Moscow. Dynamic, fast-paced and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller that pays homage to both meanings of ‘intelligence’. ‘A terrific espionage thriller with a propulsive plot and fantastic twists, but what really sets this book apart is the writing, sparkling on every page’ CHRIS PAVONE, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats and Two Nights in Lisbon ‘Crackles with energy as it veers between international caper and more classic espionage thriller, laced with the promise of romance. Idov… brings a pleasing cinematic sweep, insider knowledge of Russia and sharp dialogue to this enjoyable tale as it roams around the world’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Gathers stories from the headlines – novichok, Ponzi schemes, Wagner Group mercenaries – and blends them into a hipster spy smoothie’ THE TIMES , Book of the Month ‘A skilful story about manipulative spymasters in Russia and the United States… Switching perspectives and continents and written with vivid intelligence, this is a great example of the international spy novel’ LITERARY REVIEW ‘Idov breathes fresh air into [the genre]… A sparkling new voice in spy thrillers’ CRIMETIME

A brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA in this electrifying, globetrotting spy thriller. Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time. How exactly did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path? Criss-crossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset, and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiralling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales – from Berlin and Tangier to Latvia, Belarus and a semi-abandoned technopark outside Moscow. Dynamic, fast-paced and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller that pays homage to both meanings of ‘intelligence’. ‘A terrific espionage thriller with a propulsive plot and fantastic twists, but what really sets this book apart is the writing, sparkling on every page’ CHRIS PAVONE, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats and Two Nights in Lisbon ‘Crackles with energy as it veers between international caper and more classic espionage thriller, laced with the promise of romance. Idov… brings a pleasing cinematic sweep, insider knowledge of Russia and sharp dialogue to this enjoyable tale as it roams around the world’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Gathers stories from the headlines – novichok, Ponzi schemes, Wagner Group mercenaries – and blends them into a hipster spy smoothie’ THE TIMES , Book of the Month ‘A skilful story about manipulative spymasters in Russia and the United States… Switching perspectives and continents and written with vivid intelligence, this is a great example of the international spy novel’ LITERARY REVIEW ‘Idov breathes fresh air into [the genre]… A sparkling new voice in spy thrillers’ CRIMETIME

'A multiple biography with overlapping chronology is a tricky feat and Buruma pulls it off magnificently.' Ben Macintyre, The Times On the face of it, the three characters here seem to have little in common - aside from the fact that each committed wartime acts that led some to see them as national heroes, and others as villains. All three were mythmakers, larger-than-life storytellers, for whom the truth was beside the point. Felix Kersten was a plump Finnish pleasure-seeker who became Heinrich Himmler's indispensable personal masseur - Himmler calling him his 'magic Buddha'. Kersten presented himself after the war as a resistance hero who convinced Himmler to save countless people from mass murder. Kawashima Yoshiko, a gender fluid Manchu princess, spied for the Japanese secret police in China, and was mythologized by the Japanese as a heroic combination of Mata Hari and Joan of Arc. Friedrich Weinreb was a Hasidic Jew in Holland who took large amounts of money from fellow Jews in an imaginary scheme to save them from deportation, while in fact betraying some of them to the German secret police. Sentenced after the war as a traitor and a con artist, he is still regarded by supporters as the 'Dutch Dreyfus'. All three figures have been vilified and mythologized, out of a never-ending need, Ian Buruma argues, to see history, and particularly war, and above all World War II, as a neat tale of angels and devils. In telling their often-self-invented stories, The Collaborators offers a fascinating reconstruction of what in fact we can know about these fantasists and what will always remain out of reach. It is also an examination of the power and credibility of history: truth is always a relative concept but perhaps especially so in times of political turmoil, not unlike our own.

'A multiple biography with overlapping chronology is a tricky feat and Buruma pulls it off magnificently.' Ben Macintyre, The Times On the face of it, the three characters here seem to have little in common - aside from the fact that each committed wartime acts that led some to see them as national heroes, and others as villains. All three were mythmakers, larger-than-life storytellers, for whom the truth was beside the point. Felix Kersten was a plump Finnish pleasure-seeker who became Heinrich Himmler's indispensable personal masseur - Himmler calling him his 'magic Buddha'. Kersten presented himself after the war as a resistance hero who convinced Himmler to save countless people from mass murder. Kawashima Yoshiko, a gender fluid Manchu princess, spied for the Japanese secret police in China, and was mythologized by the Japanese as a heroic combination of Mata Hari and Joan of Arc. Friedrich Weinreb was a Hasidic Jew in Holland who took large amounts of money from fellow Jews in an imaginary scheme to save them from deportation, while in fact betraying some of them to the German secret police. Sentenced after the war as a traitor and a con artist, he is still regarded by supporters as the 'Dutch Dreyfus'. All three figures have been vilified and mythologized, out of a never-ending need, Ian Buruma argues, to see history, and particularly war, and above all World War II, as a neat tale of angels and devils. In telling their often-self-invented stories, The Collaborators offers a fascinating reconstruction of what in fact we can know about these fantasists and what will always remain out of reach. It is also an examination of the power and credibility of history: truth is always a relative concept but perhaps especially so in times of political turmoil, not unlike our own.

A brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA in this electrifying, globetrotting spy thriller. Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time. How exactly did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path? Criss-crossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset, and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiralling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales – from Berlin and Tangier to Latvia, Belarus and a semi-abandoned technopark outside Moscow. Dynamic, fast-paced and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller that pays homage to both meanings of ‘intelligence’. ‘A terrific espionage thriller with a propulsive plot and fantastic twists, but what really sets this book apart is the writing, sparkling on every page’ Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats and Two Nights in Lisbon ‘Crackles with energy as it veers between international caper and more classic espionage thriller, laced with the promise of romance. Idov . . . brings a pleasing cinematic sweep, insider knowledge of Russia and sharp dialogue to this enjoyable tale as it roams around the world’ Financial Times ‘Gathers stories from the headlines – novichok, Ponzi schemes, Wagner Group mercenaries – and blends them into a hipster spy smoothie’ The Times , Book of the Month ‘A skilful story about manipulative spymasters in Russia and the United States. . . . Switching perspectives and continents and written with vivid intelligence, this is a great example of the international spy novel’ Literary Review ‘Idov breathes fresh air into [the genre] . . . A sparkling new voice in spy thrillers’ CrimeTime

A brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA in this electrifying, globetrotting spy thriller. Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time. How exactly did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path? Criss-crossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset, and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiralling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales– from Berlin and Tangier to Latvia, Belarus and a semi-abandoned technopark outside Moscow. Dynamic, fast-paced and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller that pays homage to both meanings of ‘intelligence’. ‘Aterrific espionage thriller with a propulsive plot and fantastic twists, but what really sets this book apart is the writing, sparkling on every page’ Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats and Two Nights in Lisbon ‘Crackles with energy as it veers between international caper and more classic espionage thriller, laced with the promise of romance. Idov . . . brings a pleasing cinematic sweep, insider knowledge of Russia and sharp dialogue to this enjoyable tale as it roams around the world’ Financial Times ‘Gathers stories from the headlines – novichok, Ponzi schemes, Wagner Group mercenaries – and blends them into a hipster spy smoothie’ The Times , Book of the Month ‘A skilful story about manipulative spymasters in Russia and the United States. . . . Switching perspectives and continents and written with vivid intelligence, this is a great example of the international spy novel’ Literary Review ‘Idov breathes fresh air into [the genre] . . . A sparkling new voice in spy thrillers’ CrimeTime