Debut spy novel from the creator of TV series Spooks. A secret agent is trained to try to think of every possible outcome and eventuality. Who could have guessed that a bureaucratic error would send two men to the same 'cover' job, working in a shabby photo-processing booth, where each must keep his real identity secret from the other, while awaiting orders.

Or that those orders would be to assassinate each other.

Thrown together by this apparently ghastly mistake, Charlie and George decide to go on the run together. In the whole world, the only people they can trust are each other. Or can they?

Wolstencroft expertly weaves a Tarantino-style web of interdependent events, and has produced a rip-roaring journey which leaves the reader scant opportunity to breathe.

Unfortunately, after being drawn into the twisted narrative during a fantastic opening, I felt that the some of the characters in the ambitious plot could have been developed further.

Good news: if you like spy novels, it's a great read. Bad news: it's a shame Wolstencroft didn't delve deeper.

Updated: 08:59 Saturday, January 29, 2005