The Shame Archive

Here’s a novel to make the great and the good quake: it posits that MI6 keeps a “shame archive” of the sensitive secrets it has accumulated about our senior politicians, business leaders, and so on. Oliver Harris’s regular hero, tough spook Elliot Kane, investigates when the material falls into a blackmailer’s hands - as does one of the victims, a cabinet minister’s wife who is determined to keep the lid on her past. Harris writes with compassion or satirical glee, depending on which his characters deserve, and this third Kane novel puts him firmly in the Mick Herron class * Telegraph Best New Crime Thrillers to Read This Summer *
When someone on the dark web called Eclipse blackmails Rebecca Sinclair, the wife of a cabinet minister, with photographs from her past as an escort, she turns for help to Elliot Kane, a former spook… The spy with a conscience is not a new notion, yet the skill with which Oliver Harris structures and paces The Shame Archive shows he has all the tools a thriller writer needs. Highly recommended * The Times, New Thrillers for June *
In a world where CCTV and smartphones track our every move, the only safe space for degenerate antics is probably a personal safe-room swept for bugs and cameras. An elite brothel in London’s posh Belgravia seems a high-risk option. In The Shame Archive, Oliver Harris has crafted an enthralling tale about a secret repository of bad - sometimes criminal - behaviour, including at the Belgravia brothel, held deep in the bowels of MI6… Harris steadily cranks up the tension, relating Sinclair’s and Kane’s stories with skill and verve until they meet in an explosive climax. What really lifts the book is the seemingly authentic portrayal of the sleazy interface where Britain’s venal ruling elite meets Russian dirty money * Financial Times *
Our Len Deighton… Harris’ deceptively understated style powers a relentless thriller that deep dives into the digital battlefields where future wars will be fought * Irish Times *
Captivating and horrifying at once, a completely plausible evocation of the putrid morass that is the British Establishment and its craven capitulation to Russian money - or indeed, any money. Oliver Harris is squarely in the territory of the greats: Greene and le Carré but also the modern masters, Mick Herron and Adam Brookes. There can be no higher accolade. * Manda Scott *
In turn cerebral and high-octane, The Shame Archive is a flawless political thriller: gripping, smart and hugely enjoyable. The tension builds with such fervour that by the final unexpected twist, I was left with my heart in my mouth. Now finished, all that remains is to devour Harris’ entire back-catalogue whilst I await the next instalment and the surely inevitable screen adaptation, both of which can’t come a moment too soon * Charlotte Philby *
‘Oliver Harris is an outstanding writer’ * The Times *
One of our finest thriller writers * Evening Standard *
Oliver Harris is always pure quality * Ian Rankin *
A twisty, propulsive spy thriller * Irish times, praise for Ascension *
A stunner * Philip Pullman, praise for Ascension *
First class * Daily Telegraph, praise for Ascension *

Oliver Harris was born in London but now lives in South Korea. He is the author of the Nick Belsey series of crime novels, plus two novels featuring MI6 officer Elliot Kane. He teaches creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.

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