What do you think?
Rate this book
Win a free print copy of this book!
11 days and 15:57:03
15 copies available
U.S. only
Cold Sunset: A Gabriel Dax Novel
Not yet published
Expected 3 Nov 26Win a free print copy of this book!
11 days and 15:57:03
15 copies available
U.S. only
“William Boyd once again brings to the spy novel his particular storytelling genius. The result is brilliant fun.”—Mick Herron
“One of my favorite authors—he never disappoints.”—Kate Atkinson
From the internationally bestselling author, the third literary thriller starring beloved reluctant spy Gabriel Dax draws readers deep into a shadow-drenched world where loyalty blurs, treachery abounds, and any misstep could be fatal.
It is 1964, and Cold War Moscow is smoldering with secrets. Travel writer-turned-spy Gabriel Dax has been tasked with delivering a mysterious Blanco drawing to Kit Caldwell, the triple-agent and celebrated “defector” now leading the well-heeled life of a Hero of the Soviet Union.
But Caldwell is convinced that the KGB suspects him of treachery. He wants Gabriel to do the impossible and smuggle him over the Russian border to Finland. When Gabriel is ordered to help by his enigmatic handler Faith Green, he is pulled into a web of shifting loyalties and dangerous escape plans. As tensions rise and trust fractures, he is forced to confront the fine line between devotion and deception . . .
“One of my favorite authors—he never disappoints.”—Kate Atkinson
From the internationally bestselling author, the third literary thriller starring beloved reluctant spy Gabriel Dax draws readers deep into a shadow-drenched world where loyalty blurs, treachery abounds, and any misstep could be fatal.
It is 1964, and Cold War Moscow is smoldering with secrets. Travel writer-turned-spy Gabriel Dax has been tasked with delivering a mysterious Blanco drawing to Kit Caldwell, the triple-agent and celebrated “defector” now leading the well-heeled life of a Hero of the Soviet Union.
But Caldwell is convinced that the KGB suspects him of treachery. He wants Gabriel to do the impossible and smuggle him over the Russian border to Finland. When Gabriel is ordered to help by his enigmatic handler Faith Green, he is pulled into a web of shifting loyalties and dangerous escape plans. As tensions rise and trust fractures, he is forced to confront the fine line between devotion and deception . . .
- GenresEspionage
272 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication November 3, 2026
About the author
William Boyd
71 books2,661 followersNote: William^^Boyd
Of Scottish descent, Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana on 7th March, 1952 and spent much of his early life there and in Nigeria where his mother was a teacher and his father, a doctor. Boyd was in Nigeria during the Biafran War, the brutal secessionist conflict which ran from 1967 to 1970 and it had a profound effect on him.
At the age of nine years he attended Gordonstoun school, in Moray, Scotland and then Nice University (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow University (MA Hons in English and Philosophy), where he edited the Glasgow University Guardian. He then moved to Jesus College, Oxford in 1975 and completed a PhD thesis on Shelley. For a brief period he worked at the New Statesman magazine as a TV critic, then he returned to Oxford as an English lecturer teaching the contemporary novel at St Hilda's College (1980-83). It was while he was here that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published.
Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. When he was offered a college lecturership, which would mean spending more time teaching, he was forced to choose between teaching and writing.
Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year, and is also an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling and Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
Boyd has been with his wife Susan since they met as students at Glasgow University and all his books are dedicated to her. His wife is editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar magazine, and they currently spend about thirty to forty days a year in the US. He and his wife have a house in Chelsea, West London but spend most of the year at their chateau in Bergerac in south west France, where Boyd produces award-winning wines.
Of Scottish descent, Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana on 7th March, 1952 and spent much of his early life there and in Nigeria where his mother was a teacher and his father, a doctor. Boyd was in Nigeria during the Biafran War, the brutal secessionist conflict which ran from 1967 to 1970 and it had a profound effect on him.
At the age of nine years he attended Gordonstoun school, in Moray, Scotland and then Nice University (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow University (MA Hons in English and Philosophy), where he edited the Glasgow University Guardian. He then moved to Jesus College, Oxford in 1975 and completed a PhD thesis on Shelley. For a brief period he worked at the New Statesman magazine as a TV critic, then he returned to Oxford as an English lecturer teaching the contemporary novel at St Hilda's College (1980-83). It was while he was here that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published.
Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. When he was offered a college lecturership, which would mean spending more time teaching, he was forced to choose between teaching and writing.
Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year, and is also an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling and Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
Boyd has been with his wife Susan since they met as students at Glasgow University and all his books are dedicated to her. His wife is editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar magazine, and they currently spend about thirty to forty days a year in the US. He and his wife have a house in Chelsea, West London but spend most of the year at their chateau in Bergerac in south west France, where Boyd produces award-winning wines.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 11, 2026
Another enjoyable read by William Boyd in the Gabriel Dax series.
This time the novel is mainly set between UK, USSR and Finland, with old friends and foes all making appearances. The book is well written, with a good pace to the narrative, though having finished the book it is not clear if there will be another sequel.
A good read from a master story teller.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
This time the novel is mainly set between UK, USSR and Finland, with old friends and foes all making appearances. The book is well written, with a good pace to the narrative, though having finished the book it is not clear if there will be another sequel.
A good read from a master story teller.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Gabriel Dax, by day is a respectable travel writer. Gabriel Dax, by day is also an efficient and inconspicuous spy in the service of British intelligence. The Institute of Development Studies, by day is a prosaic façade housing within unobtrusive individuals engaged in the research of mundane topics. The Institute of Development Studies, by day is also a muted and oblivious euphemism for MI6, the United Kingdom’s Secret intelligence service. Faith Green, by day, is a highly ranked employee of the Institute of Development Studies. Faith Green, by night, is the handler of Gabriel Dax — and on some opportunistic nights, also his lover.
Gabriel Dax is roused out of his sublime abode that is Rose Cottage, set in a panoramic landscape of rural England, to embark on a journey across the Atlantic to establish a rendezvous with the poet F.T. Falkner. The ravage of a terminal illness finds Falkner at the doorstep of death. The dying man, however, brings to life an explosive revelation involving a former colleague at Bletchley Park, and currently a professor at Carlsen University, Indianapolis, Angus Fairford. Ordered by Faith Green to get to the bottom of things, Dax takes Fairford unawares by springing himself upon the Professor after an insipid lecture on Molière. What Dax learns, more than just stirs a hornet’s nest. There has been an insidious infiltration of the MI6, the nature of which is grave enough to rival the treachery of defectors such as the Cambridge Five.
Before he can realise, the unwitting dilettante is coopted, nay, dragged into an extremely dangerous operation, that involves amongst other things, an intricate process of exfiltration. Partly egged on by his ambivalent feelings for Faith. Partly by the sheer exhilaration spontaneous patriotism can incite, the full-time author and part-time spy is thrown into a roiling cauldron of deceit, desperation, and duplicity.
Boyd has always succeeded in maintaining a mesmerising and almost messianic hold over his readers. Never one to conflate plot with ponderousness, and enthusiasm with egregiousness, he is an absolute master in triggering taut nerves, unpredictable chills, and involuntary nail shortening using teeth as unsuspecting accomplices.
Dax is a helpless albeit inevitable blend of vulnerability and self-preservation. He is the Holden Caulfield who is relentlessly searching for his personal bildungsroman, without realising that the novice has long made the transition to a veteran. While he may not boast a finesse that is the prerogative of le Carré’s Smiley, or lay claims to the ferocity of Len Deighton’s Palmer, he sure can keep Ludlum’s Bourne honest.
Dax is by no stretch of imagination a paragon of virtue. But he is no philanderer either. Firmly in possession of principles to the extent necessary, he manages his excesses methodically and gives vent to his vices in gradation, all the while never forgetting the cardinal tenet of placing his feet firmly on the ground. License to thrill and kill purely on a need to perform basis. Terra Firma when not on unsavoury business.
Cold Sunset is impeccably and refreshingly ‘Boydian’. A wicked juxtaposition of humour and heightened tension, an ingenious blend of caution and carelessness, and an uncanny meeting of the predictable with the startling. In the simplest of terms, an imprimatur of vintage William Boyd. Beginning in the idyllic settings of a sparsely populated village in an English country, traipsing through bustling Indianapolis, making indelible pitstops in Moscow, Leningrad, and Oslo, before finally careening to a thundering stop at picturesque Ikarios in the Island of Corfu, Boyd weaves a tapestry of subterfuge, suspicion, and stellar spy craft.
Cold Sunset – leaves the reader craving for another riveting sunrise!
Gabriel Dax is roused out of his sublime abode that is Rose Cottage, set in a panoramic landscape of rural England, to embark on a journey across the Atlantic to establish a rendezvous with the poet F.T. Falkner. The ravage of a terminal illness finds Falkner at the doorstep of death. The dying man, however, brings to life an explosive revelation involving a former colleague at Bletchley Park, and currently a professor at Carlsen University, Indianapolis, Angus Fairford. Ordered by Faith Green to get to the bottom of things, Dax takes Fairford unawares by springing himself upon the Professor after an insipid lecture on Molière. What Dax learns, more than just stirs a hornet’s nest. There has been an insidious infiltration of the MI6, the nature of which is grave enough to rival the treachery of defectors such as the Cambridge Five.
Before he can realise, the unwitting dilettante is coopted, nay, dragged into an extremely dangerous operation, that involves amongst other things, an intricate process of exfiltration. Partly egged on by his ambivalent feelings for Faith. Partly by the sheer exhilaration spontaneous patriotism can incite, the full-time author and part-time spy is thrown into a roiling cauldron of deceit, desperation, and duplicity.
Boyd has always succeeded in maintaining a mesmerising and almost messianic hold over his readers. Never one to conflate plot with ponderousness, and enthusiasm with egregiousness, he is an absolute master in triggering taut nerves, unpredictable chills, and involuntary nail shortening using teeth as unsuspecting accomplices.
Dax is a helpless albeit inevitable blend of vulnerability and self-preservation. He is the Holden Caulfield who is relentlessly searching for his personal bildungsroman, without realising that the novice has long made the transition to a veteran. While he may not boast a finesse that is the prerogative of le Carré’s Smiley, or lay claims to the ferocity of Len Deighton’s Palmer, he sure can keep Ludlum’s Bourne honest.
Dax is by no stretch of imagination a paragon of virtue. But he is no philanderer either. Firmly in possession of principles to the extent necessary, he manages his excesses methodically and gives vent to his vices in gradation, all the while never forgetting the cardinal tenet of placing his feet firmly on the ground. License to thrill and kill purely on a need to perform basis. Terra Firma when not on unsavoury business.
Cold Sunset is impeccably and refreshingly ‘Boydian’. A wicked juxtaposition of humour and heightened tension, an ingenious blend of caution and carelessness, and an uncanny meeting of the predictable with the startling. In the simplest of terms, an imprimatur of vintage William Boyd. Beginning in the idyllic settings of a sparsely populated village in an English country, traipsing through bustling Indianapolis, making indelible pitstops in Moscow, Leningrad, and Oslo, before finally careening to a thundering stop at picturesque Ikarios in the Island of Corfu, Boyd weaves a tapestry of subterfuge, suspicion, and stellar spy craft.
Cold Sunset – leaves the reader craving for another riveting sunrise!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
William Boyd has done it again. With Cold Sunset, the third installment in his Gabriel Dax series, he delivers a spy novel that feels less like genre fiction and more like literature.
It is 1964, and Cold War Moscow is doing what Cold War Moscow does best: simmering with paranoia, secrets, and the constant threat of exposure. Gabriel Dax, that most reluctant of spies — a travel writer who somehow keeps finding himself in the killing business — is tasked with delivering a mysterious Blanco drawing to Kit Caldwell, a celebrated triple-agent living large as a Hero of the Soviet Union. Caldwell, convinced the KGB is closing in, wants Gabriel to do the unthinkable: smuggle him across the Russian border to Finland. With his enigmatic handler Faith Green pushing him forward, Gabriel is once again pulled into a world where loyalty is a moving target and trust is a luxury no one can afford.
Readers who came to Boyd through le Carré will feel right at home here. Cold Sunset inhabits the same shadow-drenched moral universe as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy — all Cold War fog and psychological tension, with precious little in the way of gadgets or car chases. This is character-driven espionage at its most literary, and Boyd's storytelling genius is on full display. The prose is elegant, the atmosphere immersive, and the ethical murk that surrounds Gabriel genuinely uncomfortable in the best possible way.
As for Gabriel himself — three books in, he is now a three-time killer, which sits uneasily on a man who never asked for any of this. He is no James Bond. He does not sip martinis shaken not stirred; he drinks whatever he can lay hands on, and plenty of it. He shares his bed with three women in the course of this story, yet there is nothing glamorous about it. Boyd resists the seductions of the spy fantasy at every turn, keeping Gabriel grounded, flawed, and utterly human. That is precisely what makes him such compelling company.
My only caveat — and it is less a complaint than an observation — is that the ending is deliberately ambiguous, the kind of conclusion that leaves threads dangling rather than tying them off. It is both satisfying and maddening at once, clearly designed to presage, if not outright demand, a fourth and possibly final book to close things out properly. Consider yourself warned, and consider yourself hooked.
A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#ColdSunset #NetGalley
It is 1964, and Cold War Moscow is doing what Cold War Moscow does best: simmering with paranoia, secrets, and the constant threat of exposure. Gabriel Dax, that most reluctant of spies — a travel writer who somehow keeps finding himself in the killing business — is tasked with delivering a mysterious Blanco drawing to Kit Caldwell, a celebrated triple-agent living large as a Hero of the Soviet Union. Caldwell, convinced the KGB is closing in, wants Gabriel to do the unthinkable: smuggle him across the Russian border to Finland. With his enigmatic handler Faith Green pushing him forward, Gabriel is once again pulled into a world where loyalty is a moving target and trust is a luxury no one can afford.
Readers who came to Boyd through le Carré will feel right at home here. Cold Sunset inhabits the same shadow-drenched moral universe as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy — all Cold War fog and psychological tension, with precious little in the way of gadgets or car chases. This is character-driven espionage at its most literary, and Boyd's storytelling genius is on full display. The prose is elegant, the atmosphere immersive, and the ethical murk that surrounds Gabriel genuinely uncomfortable in the best possible way.
As for Gabriel himself — three books in, he is now a three-time killer, which sits uneasily on a man who never asked for any of this. He is no James Bond. He does not sip martinis shaken not stirred; he drinks whatever he can lay hands on, and plenty of it. He shares his bed with three women in the course of this story, yet there is nothing glamorous about it. Boyd resists the seductions of the spy fantasy at every turn, keeping Gabriel grounded, flawed, and utterly human. That is precisely what makes him such compelling company.
My only caveat — and it is less a complaint than an observation — is that the ending is deliberately ambiguous, the kind of conclusion that leaves threads dangling rather than tying them off. It is both satisfying and maddening at once, clearly designed to presage, if not outright demand, a fourth and possibly final book to close things out properly. Consider yourself warned, and consider yourself hooked.
A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#ColdSunset #NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The best and final Gabriel Dax story.
"Cold Sunset" is the final part of the Gabriel Dax trilogy, featuring the reluctant spy of the same name. It opens in March 1964, and finds Dax in California, on another job for MI6's Faith Green, while also carrying out research for his latest book. His job is to meet with a reclusive author, an MI6 asset who has news of a Russian double-agent living in America. Dax follows up on this and ends up interviewing the agent, Angus Fairford, who admits to feeding vital information from Bletchley Park to the Russians during the war. Afterwards Dax rewards himself with a visit to Parker Baumgarten, with whom he worked on a previous job.
Returning home, Dax is debriefed, before getting down to work on his book, but it isn't long before Faith imposes on him again - the spy, Kit Caldwell, currently in Russia, wants to be brought home, and he only wants Gabriel Dax to do it. And so, with three or four story arcs already in motion, the reader and Gabriel are thrown into a fast-moving and complex story of betrayal, revenge, and conspiracy. His adventures in Russia are particularly well told, and the threads of the piece are nicely brought together. . Once again, real-life events are woven into the story, and there's an authentic 60's vibe to the prose - William Boyd is certainly a master of the set scene. As with the previous books, Gabriel's home life, his relationships, and his work are nicely balanced with the complicated double life he leads- how he manages to push out best selling travel books is a mystery.
Fans will be glad to know that old faces are back - Gabriel's gorgeous uncle, Aldous, Russian spy Varvara, and ex-girlfriend Lorraine and her brother Tyrone all have parts to play. Plus there's his analyst, Dr Haas, who really needs a fuller part. The final third of the book is also worth mentioning - Faith and Gabriel have the chance to live the life they might have had, if not for all the spying stuff, and while the ending might make the reader assume there's another book coming, as it is, it's a fitting close to their story.
This is by far the most satisfying book in the trilogy, with lots of action, plenty of cloak-and-dagger, and the usual satisfying storytelling that only William Boyd can fit into 250 pages.
Highly recommended.
"Cold Sunset" is the final part of the Gabriel Dax trilogy, featuring the reluctant spy of the same name. It opens in March 1964, and finds Dax in California, on another job for MI6's Faith Green, while also carrying out research for his latest book. His job is to meet with a reclusive author, an MI6 asset who has news of a Russian double-agent living in America. Dax follows up on this and ends up interviewing the agent, Angus Fairford, who admits to feeding vital information from Bletchley Park to the Russians during the war. Afterwards Dax rewards himself with a visit to Parker Baumgarten, with whom he worked on a previous job.
Returning home, Dax is debriefed, before getting down to work on his book, but it isn't long before Faith imposes on him again - the spy, Kit Caldwell, currently in Russia, wants to be brought home, and he only wants Gabriel Dax to do it. And so, with three or four story arcs already in motion, the reader and Gabriel are thrown into a fast-moving and complex story of betrayal, revenge, and conspiracy. His adventures in Russia are particularly well told, and the threads of the piece are nicely brought together. . Once again, real-life events are woven into the story, and there's an authentic 60's vibe to the prose - William Boyd is certainly a master of the set scene. As with the previous books, Gabriel's home life, his relationships, and his work are nicely balanced with the complicated double life he leads- how he manages to push out best selling travel books is a mystery.
Fans will be glad to know that old faces are back - Gabriel's gorgeous uncle, Aldous, Russian spy Varvara, and ex-girlfriend Lorraine and her brother Tyrone all have parts to play. Plus there's his analyst, Dr Haas, who really needs a fuller part. The final third of the book is also worth mentioning - Faith and Gabriel have the chance to live the life they might have had, if not for all the spying stuff, and while the ending might make the reader assume there's another book coming, as it is, it's a fitting close to their story.
This is by far the most satisfying book in the trilogy, with lots of action, plenty of cloak-and-dagger, and the usual satisfying storytelling that only William Boyd can fit into 250 pages.
Highly recommended.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Kim Philby, the third “Cambridge Spy” defected in 1963. A year later, Gabriel Dax is in LA meeting a contact who might identify the “Fourth Man”. Gabriel is a professional Travel writer and an occasional, reluctant, MI6 asset, i.e. he’s not an actual agent of MI6, but can do a bit of spying while travelling the world. Back in the UK, he is MI6’s link to Moscow based, deep penetration agent, Kit Caldwell, although the KGB believe that Kit is their spy and Gabriel is his source. At times he wonders how he got into this mess, while acknowledging that being in love with Faith Green the head of a covert MI6 unit may be the reason. It now looks like Kit’s role as a double agent is compromised, because there is a new spy on the block. Kit need to get out of the USSR before he is exposed and then killed. Gabriel, on the pretext of writing a chapter about Moscow, is sent to help him exfiltrate.
This is the third book in what was flagged as a Trilogy. It works perfectly well on its own, although understanding Gabriel will benefit from reading the earlier books. It is well-written and plotted, although I did feel that the plot mechanics were a bit obvious. As usual, it is immersed in the real world of the time, its culture and its politics – Philby’s defection rocked the SIS. This is the world of the later Bond Books and the early Smiley Books, and it feel at home with these, though it is more Smiley than Bond. The last fifty pages or so seem to be setting up a different dynamic and presage a sequel, so perhaps it isn’t just a Trilogy after all.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
This is the third book in what was flagged as a Trilogy. It works perfectly well on its own, although understanding Gabriel will benefit from reading the earlier books. It is well-written and plotted, although I did feel that the plot mechanics were a bit obvious. As usual, it is immersed in the real world of the time, its culture and its politics – Philby’s defection rocked the SIS. This is the world of the later Bond Books and the early Smiley Books, and it feel at home with these, though it is more Smiley than Bond. The last fifty pages or so seem to be setting up a different dynamic and presage a sequel, so perhaps it isn’t just a Trilogy after all.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Cold Sunset this is the third book featuring Gabriel Dax the reluctant spy. I really enjoyed the first two and this book is written in the same style which is good news.
Despite always bemoaning how his handler Faith Green keeps manipulating him into simple jobs that are nothing but , he is becoming more and more accomplished as a spy. The main thrust of this book is in helping to exfiltrate a double agent from Russia back to England and safety. Again his main job as a travel writer gives him some cover and excuse for being in foreign lands. Towards the end of the book Gabriel realises his life is in danger and escapes for a while. He seems quite content with his solitary basic existence for months and seems to have no wish to return to England. However his past catches up with him again and he is forced to leave so we never know if he could stayed there forever. Back in England there is still the question as to the identity of a new double agent although the writer seems to have hinted strongly as to who it could be but Gabriel does not consider this.
I am not sure if this is the final book in the series but I think that it would be a good time to end it. There was time when helping Kit Caldwell to escape when I wondered if I had read this before as it felt similar to an escapade in one of the earlier books.
But overall I really enjoyed the series with delightful writing an interesting plot and a very interesting Gabriel .
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Despite always bemoaning how his handler Faith Green keeps manipulating him into simple jobs that are nothing but , he is becoming more and more accomplished as a spy. The main thrust of this book is in helping to exfiltrate a double agent from Russia back to England and safety. Again his main job as a travel writer gives him some cover and excuse for being in foreign lands. Towards the end of the book Gabriel realises his life is in danger and escapes for a while. He seems quite content with his solitary basic existence for months and seems to have no wish to return to England. However his past catches up with him again and he is forced to leave so we never know if he could stayed there forever. Back in England there is still the question as to the identity of a new double agent although the writer seems to have hinted strongly as to who it could be but Gabriel does not consider this.
I am not sure if this is the final book in the series but I think that it would be a good time to end it. There was time when helping Kit Caldwell to escape when I wondered if I had read this before as it felt similar to an escapade in one of the earlier books.
But overall I really enjoyed the series with delightful writing an interesting plot and a very interesting Gabriel .
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
July 6, 2026
Cold Sunset by William Boyd
The third instalment of the series about Gabriel Dax, travel writer and part time spy, is another superb offering by the superlative William Boyd. If you enjoyed the last two in the series you will love this novel. Set in 1964 during the Cold War Gabriel is tasked with interviewing a poet in America who has information in relation to someone who worked as a spy during the second World War. He duly carries out this duty and then returns to Britain and his countryside cottage only to discover that Dean Furlan might be hot on his heels and wanting revenge.
Faith Green then gives him another task, the exfiltration of a double agent. He sets off for Russia and then on to Norway. His insomnia is troubling him and his drinking is becoming excessive, but when Faith Green asks him to carry out a task he is unable to refuse. We learn about his innermost feelings through interactions with his psychoanalyst.
This is a wonderfully well written story which engages the reader form the outset. The book immerses you in the atmosphere of the 1960’s and it is a joy to accompany Gabriel on his adventures. Over the course of the series Gabriel has become more ruthless and I wonder where another outing will take him but I would love to join him on the journey. I will be recommending this novel at all of my book groups. Many thanks to William Boyd, the publishers and to Net Galley for the opportunity to read the novel in return for an honest review.
The third instalment of the series about Gabriel Dax, travel writer and part time spy, is another superb offering by the superlative William Boyd. If you enjoyed the last two in the series you will love this novel. Set in 1964 during the Cold War Gabriel is tasked with interviewing a poet in America who has information in relation to someone who worked as a spy during the second World War. He duly carries out this duty and then returns to Britain and his countryside cottage only to discover that Dean Furlan might be hot on his heels and wanting revenge.
Faith Green then gives him another task, the exfiltration of a double agent. He sets off for Russia and then on to Norway. His insomnia is troubling him and his drinking is becoming excessive, but when Faith Green asks him to carry out a task he is unable to refuse. We learn about his innermost feelings through interactions with his psychoanalyst.
This is a wonderfully well written story which engages the reader form the outset. The book immerses you in the atmosphere of the 1960’s and it is a joy to accompany Gabriel on his adventures. Over the course of the series Gabriel has become more ruthless and I wonder where another outing will take him but I would love to join him on the journey. I will be recommending this novel at all of my book groups. Many thanks to William Boyd, the publishers and to Net Galley for the opportunity to read the novel in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
‘Cold Sunset’ has definitely been worth the wait. This is possibly the best of the Gabriel Dax trilogy. Gabriel realises that he is slowly becoming more of a spy than a travel writer even though the latter continues to be his profession. He recognises that ‘…something colder and harder [was] growing in him, a carapace forming. Were unsuspected transformations in his nature occurring after all the jeopardy and violence he’d gone through …?’ Boyd is clearly interested in exploring the psychological and emotional price that must be paid when one enters a world where nothing is as it may seem.
In this novel, Gabriel is sent first to the States to hear the confessions of an MI6 traitor and then to Russia to help extricate defector Kit Caldwell. As ever, his handler Faith Green is the puppeteer, expertly ensuring that Gabriel dances to her tune. However, Gabriel has also developed skills to be able to fend for himself when he becomes a target. As ever, William Boyd creates a convincingly murky world in which thinking several steps ahead is mandatory for survival. And what an ending – so apposite. This is a really well written and superbly paced spy novel. William Boyd promised us a trilogy; Gabriel Dax will be sorely missed if he really does disappear for good.
My thanks to NetGalley and Viking for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
In this novel, Gabriel is sent first to the States to hear the confessions of an MI6 traitor and then to Russia to help extricate defector Kit Caldwell. As ever, his handler Faith Green is the puppeteer, expertly ensuring that Gabriel dances to her tune. However, Gabriel has also developed skills to be able to fend for himself when he becomes a target. As ever, William Boyd creates a convincingly murky world in which thinking several steps ahead is mandatory for survival. And what an ending – so apposite. This is a really well written and superbly paced spy novel. William Boyd promised us a trilogy; Gabriel Dax will be sorely missed if he really does disappear for good.
My thanks to NetGalley and Viking for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I remember that Gabriel Dax got on my nerves already in the last book I read featuring him. He is, I believe, in his late 20s. But he is anything but a mature adult. Apparently, he is a travel writer. And he has got lots of good ideas, I give him that. However, he also doubles as a spy. And he is kind of in love with an older woman, named Faith. But then, he also loves to have sex with his ex-darling Lorraine, and other women. Actually, he loves booze - he is drinking all the time, worse than Don Draper in Madmen -, he smokes Gitanes, and hundreds of those per day, and he has sex with every woman he needs, if possible, i.e. if they consent. As you can see from my long introduction, not much else is happening in this novel. Good guys, bad guys, spy guys, and girls, various locations and killers shit dead. I don’t understand Dax’s obsession with Faith, I don’t see the sense in including transcripts from his conversations with his psychoanalyst, and the whole style reminds me rather of a “Let’s write a little book” therapy, than of a real novel. I am not sure, whether Boyd really is a crime or spy novel writer. I liked his former works better. I received a pre-copy of this one thanks to NetGalley, and exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This enjoyable, engrossing spy novel has the intriguing storyline of travel writer/spy, Gabriel Dax, who has a talent for survival, on an assignment to Russia to play a major part in the exfiltration of a double agent. This is the first book I have read of the series of three, so I had not met Gabriel or the enigmatic Faith before and knew little of their history together, but luckily this story works well as a stand alone.
Boyd’s descriptive writing is pitch perfect as he paints the scenes in your mind and everything comes to life. As to place, I especially liked the episode on Corfu. Agents and double agents, I enjoyed the puzzle of trying to work out who, if anyone, was telling the truth and was who they claimed to be.
I thought the ending somewhat unsatisfactory, leaving a huge question unanswered - although I think the pointers were there. I am aware that this is the last of the series but it is almost as if the way has been left open for another outing for Gabriel!
Many thanks to William Boyd, Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy it is much appreciated.
Boyd’s descriptive writing is pitch perfect as he paints the scenes in your mind and everything comes to life. As to place, I especially liked the episode on Corfu. Agents and double agents, I enjoyed the puzzle of trying to work out who, if anyone, was telling the truth and was who they claimed to be.
I thought the ending somewhat unsatisfactory, leaving a huge question unanswered - although I think the pointers were there. I am aware that this is the last of the series but it is almost as if the way has been left open for another outing for Gabriel!
Many thanks to William Boyd, Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy it is much appreciated.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is the third Gabriel Dax novel by acclaimed British novelist William Boyd. The stories are set in a similar world to Le Carre's Smiley Circus, written from the perspective of Dax who acrobatically balances his "real" life as a travel writer with an evolving role as a secret agent, cum duplicitous Soviet double agent.
I find these an easier read than the older classic tales, whether that's because I read them in my youth when I knew little of what was before me or because Boyd's style is more to my liking is hard to tell, but the story telling here is certainly not burdened with the minutea of international spy craft procedure and technique...we learn as Dax learns and he's never going to be sinking deep into that detail - just enough to get the job done and I for one like that.
This tale takes us across the USA, through the mystery of mid-sixties Moscow and onto the Mediterranean delights of an as yet under developed island idyll...stopping off frequently at his established playgrounds of Southern England and the not quite swinging London.
It's a good read, ending on a note that implies more might be to come....for which I will be happy to receive
I find these an easier read than the older classic tales, whether that's because I read them in my youth when I knew little of what was before me or because Boyd's style is more to my liking is hard to tell, but the story telling here is certainly not burdened with the minutea of international spy craft procedure and technique...we learn as Dax learns and he's never going to be sinking deep into that detail - just enough to get the job done and I for one like that.
This tale takes us across the USA, through the mystery of mid-sixties Moscow and onto the Mediterranean delights of an as yet under developed island idyll...stopping off frequently at his established playgrounds of Southern England and the not quite swinging London.
It's a good read, ending on a note that implies more might be to come....for which I will be happy to receive
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.
3.5* rounded up. This is the third in the series about hapless double agent and travel writer Gabriel Dax, and it refers back to the first two novels a fair amount. Once again Gabriel is sent on missions which allegedly require his travel writer cover. I enjoy these very much, but they are really 'cozy' spy novels. Gabriel leads a charmed life and here again emerges unscathed from perilous adventures.
I felt the descriptions of Gabriel's sex life took up more page space than was really merited (Lorraine appeared briefly in this book solely so that Gabriel could sleep with her) and his obsession with Faith, his boss, is very school-boyish. The shape of the narrative was odd - it seemed to me that it should have ended after the Norway section, but instead there was a lengthy chunk in Greece which wasn't terribly interesting initially. The ending was more unresolved than I like, but I look forward to the next instalment.
3.5* rounded up. This is the third in the series about hapless double agent and travel writer Gabriel Dax, and it refers back to the first two novels a fair amount. Once again Gabriel is sent on missions which allegedly require his travel writer cover. I enjoy these very much, but they are really 'cozy' spy novels. Gabriel leads a charmed life and here again emerges unscathed from perilous adventures.
I felt the descriptions of Gabriel's sex life took up more page space than was really merited (Lorraine appeared briefly in this book solely so that Gabriel could sleep with her) and his obsession with Faith, his boss, is very school-boyish. The shape of the narrative was odd - it seemed to me that it should have ended after the Norway section, but instead there was a lengthy chunk in Greece which wasn't terribly interesting initially. The ending was more unresolved than I like, but I look forward to the next instalment.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This series gets better each time. This third in the Gabriel Dax novels sees Gabriel, newly returned from his adventures in Berlin (the subject of the second novel), tasked with helping a triple agent escape from Moscow where he apparently defected some years ago.
Our reluctant and slightly bumbling spy is becoming more and more accomplished. I very much enjoy the 1960s settings - the lack of technology makes it much easier to be a bumbler in the spying world, and the nods to Bond. Like Bond has many affairs, and his drinking and smoking are both prodigious. There is an island interlude which did remind me a little of Bond's memory gap sojourn in Japan.
Shooting and killing are becoming more pedestrian for Dax but his obsession with Faith Green continues unabated. I do hope to see more of Dax, the hints about the yet to be exposed double agent working in MI5 are worth completion.
Definitely a recommended read, it does stand alone but is better read as the third in the sequence. Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.
Our reluctant and slightly bumbling spy is becoming more and more accomplished. I very much enjoy the 1960s settings - the lack of technology makes it much easier to be a bumbler in the spying world, and the nods to Bond. Like Bond has many affairs, and his drinking and smoking are both prodigious. There is an island interlude which did remind me a little of Bond's memory gap sojourn in Japan.
Shooting and killing are becoming more pedestrian for Dax but his obsession with Faith Green continues unabated. I do hope to see more of Dax, the hints about the yet to be exposed double agent working in MI5 are worth completion.
Definitely a recommended read, it does stand alone but is better read as the third in the sequence. Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The books keep getting better and better!
This instalment in the Gabriel Dax series shows that, despite still earning his living as a travel writer, he is developing spying skills and survival instincts.
His lover and boss sends him to the United States to hear the confessions of an MI6 traitor, and then to Russia to assist in the extraction of a defector. Throughout this tale, the travel writing evokes a strong sense of each location he finds himself in.
Gabriel's experience helps develop his survival instincts when he himself becomes a target. Expertly paced and crafted to create a rich novel with a unique atmosphere, tension, and memorable events.
The ending left a loose thread, so I hope there will be another outing for Gabriel to see whether people are the honest patriots they claim to be.
I have read many of William Boyd's novels over the years, and they keep getting better. The Drax trilogy has been superb, and I hope another one comes along. Another 5-Star read.
This instalment in the Gabriel Dax series shows that, despite still earning his living as a travel writer, he is developing spying skills and survival instincts.
His lover and boss sends him to the United States to hear the confessions of an MI6 traitor, and then to Russia to assist in the extraction of a defector. Throughout this tale, the travel writing evokes a strong sense of each location he finds himself in.
Gabriel's experience helps develop his survival instincts when he himself becomes a target. Expertly paced and crafted to create a rich novel with a unique atmosphere, tension, and memorable events.
The ending left a loose thread, so I hope there will be another outing for Gabriel to see whether people are the honest patriots they claim to be.
I have read many of William Boyd's novels over the years, and they keep getting better. The Drax trilogy has been superb, and I hope another one comes along. Another 5-Star read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It is 1964, and Gabrial Dax, travel writer, and reluctant spy/double agent, a is settling back into his life in the country after his adventures in Berlin.
However Faith Green his handler/lover has other ideas, and he is soon off to sunny California to make contact with an English writer who may be a traitor. This meeting leads to further complications and a trip to Moscow to renew his acquaintance with Kit Caldwell.
Needless to say, that trip does not go as planned and he becomes very aware how dangerous his life has become.
Gabriel gives the impression of an innocent abroad, never in control of his life, even when he thinks he is, and Faith is always hovering in the background.
I enjoyed the book immensely, but the ending made me feel that there is a lot more on the way for Gabriel, and it felt unfinished.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for the opportunity to read this book.
However Faith Green his handler/lover has other ideas, and he is soon off to sunny California to make contact with an English writer who may be a traitor. This meeting leads to further complications and a trip to Moscow to renew his acquaintance with Kit Caldwell.
Needless to say, that trip does not go as planned and he becomes very aware how dangerous his life has become.
Gabriel gives the impression of an innocent abroad, never in control of his life, even when he thinks he is, and Faith is always hovering in the background.
I enjoyed the book immensely, but the ending made me feel that there is a lot more on the way for Gabriel, and it felt unfinished.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for the opportunity to read this book.
June 5, 2026
This is the third of William Boyd‘s Gabriel Dax novels that I’ve read and this one was just as good as the first two. Gabriel Dax is a reluctant spy who ends up in dangerous situations despite really just wanting to get on with his travel writing. The fact that he is a travel writer gives him a useful alias allowing him to travel to cities and in this particular book Moscow and St Petersburg feature.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Just to sayWilliam Boyd is a great writer. Sometimes I wish Gabriel had fewer sexual encounters. Is he really that irresistible? Touch of James Bond here. He is also annoyingly naive at times.
I highly recommend this series of books. I raced through reading this one and was disappointed when it finished. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publishers for which I’m grateful.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Just to sayWilliam Boyd is a great writer. Sometimes I wish Gabriel had fewer sexual encounters. Is he really that irresistible? Touch of James Bond here. He is also annoyingly naive at times.
I highly recommend this series of books. I raced through reading this one and was disappointed when it finished. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publishers for which I’m grateful.
June 5, 2026
I read this latest Gabriel Dax spy novel in a couple of days and couldn’t put it down. William Boyd is clearly having great fun writing this series, indulging his affection for James Bond. Like Ian Fleming’s hero, Dax is fond of alcohol and women and, like Bond, attractive women throw themselves at him wherever he goes.
This story opens with Dax enjoying life in California, producing another of his travel books, but he is dragged back into the world of espionage by the enigmatic Faith Green, his boss, and lover, in MI6. He then is sent to Russia on a mission which of course leads to more adventures.
It’s all great fun with plenty of scope for the details of the period in fashion, cars and so on.
Thanks to the publisher Penguin Random House and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.
I greatly enjoyed it and can’t wait to read another Gabriel Dax book.
This story opens with Dax enjoying life in California, producing another of his travel books, but he is dragged back into the world of espionage by the enigmatic Faith Green, his boss, and lover, in MI6. He then is sent to Russia on a mission which of course leads to more adventures.
It’s all great fun with plenty of scope for the details of the period in fashion, cars and so on.
Thanks to the publisher Penguin Random House and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.
I greatly enjoyed it and can’t wait to read another Gabriel Dax book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
William Boyd has turned out some mighty fine novels in the past. Unfortunately, this isn't one of them. The third in the espionage series that seems to be having a good run is mostly by-the-book in the vein of John LeCarre. Not nearly as dense as LeCarre, Cold Sunset is an easy, breezy read, dotted with lots of detail on clothing and furnishings, which may be too much for some readers. The basic problem with the series is that the lead character, reluctant spy Gabriel Dax, isn't all that interesting. The second book in the series, The Predicament, depite a blah title, had a number of interesting elements to it around the assassination of JFK. Cold Sunset has none of that. The so-called MacGuffin is of only mild interest. Further, Dax's handler and one time lover remains annoyingly opaque and under developed. All in all, an "I'm okay, Jack" book. But that's not enough.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I found my love for spies in the mid 80s as early teen when a friend invited me to go see “For Your Eyes Only”. I think I have ordered my Coca-Cola “shaken, not stirred” ever since. I haven’t really tried to go back and read Ian Fleming’s work. They came out before I was born. Reading “Cold Sunset” gave me the since of being able to live in that time period and read them as they were released.
William Boyd’s “Cold Sunset” was so much fun. Gabriel Dax was an enjoyable spy to get behind. Reading his thoughts and his gut-wrenching emotions was a huge plus when reading this book.
I hope there are many more novels in this series to come.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.
William Boyd’s “Cold Sunset” was so much fun. Gabriel Dax was an enjoyable spy to get behind. Reading his thoughts and his gut-wrenching emotions was a huge plus when reading this book.
I hope there are many more novels in this series to come.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The third book featuring travel writer and reluctant spy, Gabriel Dax. If you want an action packed thriller, this isn't the book for you. The pace is very gentle as Gabriel negotiates his way through his mission. The book is well written and I really enjoyed the descriptions of the places that Gabriel visits but overall I found the book somewhat underwhelming. The ending was disappointing but left the possibility of resolution in a further book. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, the second was also entertaining but unfortunately this one fell short.
I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest and unedited review.
I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest and unedited review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Gabriel Dax is rapidly becoming my favourite spy. Using his profession as a travel writer as cover he assists MI6 in communicating with assets in various countries. Gabriel begins to realise he increasing becoming more drawn into the world of espionage and the risks of killing and being killed are becoming second nature.
He desperately wants a relationship with Faith Green, his boss, and from looking in on Dax I can’t help thinking she is manipulating him.
There is at least one more book in this series I am sure and can’t wait.
I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
He desperately wants a relationship with Faith Green, his boss, and from looking in on Dax I can’t help thinking she is manipulating him.
There is at least one more book in this series I am sure and can’t wait.
I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This series just gets better and better and proves that wonderful writing, great characterisation and a more thoughtful approach can work just as well as all action derring-do.
Like the first two books and it does help to have read them first - and anyway if you don’t you’re denying yourself a real treat - this is a slow burner that takes its time to develop but is an exceptionally good and worthwhile read.
Dax is certainly the thinking man’s James Bond who always gets into and out of the scrapes his hard bitten handler gets him into.
Like the first two books and it does help to have read them first - and anyway if you don’t you’re denying yourself a real treat - this is a slow burner that takes its time to develop but is an exceptionally good and worthwhile read.
Dax is certainly the thinking man’s James Bond who always gets into and out of the scrapes his hard bitten handler gets him into.
Read
June 7, 2026Cold Sunset by William Boyd is the third book in the Gabriel Dax world. The book is published by Grove Atlantic Publishing.
Gabriel Dax's accidentally profession is becoming a spy and his latest case leads him on a dangerous goose chase. Complicated, complex, intense and mysterious, exceptionally well written, the story had me in suspense from start til the twisty and unexpected end.
5 stars.
Gabriel Dax's accidentally profession is becoming a spy and his latest case leads him on a dangerous goose chase. Complicated, complex, intense and mysterious, exceptionally well written, the story had me in suspense from start til the twisty and unexpected end.
5 stars.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you Atlantic Crime for an ARC. This is such a page-turner, and the writing is striking. Gabriel is an interesting character, caught in a life of espionage that he doesn’t really want to live. I didn’t love all of his romantic entanglements, but the compelling writing style kept me reading. The plot was constantly on the move, as was Gabriel, from LA to England to Russia and more.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The third novel with travel writer accidental spy Gabriel Dax.
Set in the early 60's and the world of Philby, Russia and double spies, it is a well written thriller with wonderful characters and shifting loyalties.
Set in the early 60's and the world of Philby, Russia and double spies, it is a well written thriller with wonderful characters and shifting loyalties.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The third and final instalment of the trilogy and yet another brilliant stylish spy thriller. The reluctant spy Gabriel Dax continues to intrigue and create tension. This is sharp and rich with detail making for an enthralling read. Highly recommended.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Very entertaining spy thriller by a master. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I love the Dax series they are so much fun. I felt deflated by the ending I think a bit more space should have been given to the final twist personally. But I will read every one of these Boyd writes
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars
Full review to come
Full review to come
July 15, 2026
5* Cold Sunset - William Boyd. A superb end to the brilliant Gabriel Dax trilogy. Review to follow.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews