Watchman - Ian Rankin

Bombs are exploding in the streets of London, but life seems to have planted more subtle booby-traps for Miles Flint. Miles is a spy. His job is to watch and to listen, then to report back to his superiors, nothing more. The job, offering glimpses into the most private lives of his victims, appeals to Miles. He doesn't lust after promotion, and he doesn't want action. He wants, just for once, not to botch a case.

Having lost one suspect - with horrific consequences - Miles becomes too involved with another, a young Irishwoman. His marriage seems ready to crumble to dust. So does his home. He is being pursued by The Hell-Raiser of Fleet Street', reporter Jim Stevens, who also has his sights set on MP Harry Sizewell.

Meanwhile, Miles, pursuing dreams of beetles and moles, is given one last chance of redemption - a trip to Belfast, which quickly becomes a flight of terror, murder and shocking discoveries. But can the voyeur survive in a world of violent action?

lan Rankin's hard-to-find early spy novel, reissued with a new introduction by the author.

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, lan Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982. His first Rebus novel, Knots and Crosses, was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into twenty-two languages and are bestsellers on several continents.