Charles Cumming’s Kennedy 35

There are only a few signed copies of Charles Cumming’s latest novel, Kennedy 35, available, so you’ll want to check with the Webstore if you’re hoping for a signed book. https://bit.ly/3ut1BX9

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Charles Cumming for an author event to talk about Kennedy 35, his latest spy novel. Pay attention to the conversation below about the title of the book.

Here’s a description of Kennedy 35.

Financial Times Best Thriller of 2023

Veteran agent Lachlan Kite—“a spy for the 21st century” (Daily Mail)—reckons with the fallout from a mission in Senegal carried out early in his career.



1995: In the wake of the Rwandan genocide, 24-year-old spy Lachlan Kite and his girlfriend, Martha Raine, are sent to Senegal on the trail of a hunted war criminal. The mission threatens to spiral out of control, forcing Kite to make choices which will have devastating consequences not only for his career at top-secret intelligence agency BOX 88, but also for his relationship with Martha.

2023: Eric Appiah, an old friend from Kite’s days at school and an off-the-record BOX 88 asset, makes contact with explosive information about what happened all those years ago in West Africa. When tragedy strikes, Kite must use all the resources at his disposal to protect Martha from a criminal network with links to international terror.

Charles Cumming once again straddles two timelines to create a high-tension thriller in this latest Lachlan Kite novel.


Charles Cumming is a British writer of spy fiction. He was educated at Eton College (1985-1989) and the University of Edinburgh (1990-1994), where he graduated with 1st Class Honors in English Literature. He had been described as “the best of the new generation of British spy writers who are taking over where John le Carré and Len Deighton left off.”


Enjoy the conversation.