Hopscotch by Brian Garfield

Winner of the 1976 Edgar Award for Best Novel

Bored with retirement, an ex-spy challenges his old agency to a game

Miles Kendig is one of the CIA’s top deep-cover agents, until an injury ruins him for active duty. Rather than take a desk job, he retires. But the tawdry thrills of civilian life—gambling, drinking, sex—offer none of the pleasures of the intelligence game. Even a Russian agent’s offer to go to work against his old employers seems dull. Without the thrill of unpredictable conflict, Kendig skulks through Paris like the walking dead.

To revive himself, he begins writing a tell-all memoir, divulging every secret he accumulated in his long career. Neither CIA nor KGB can afford to have it in print, and so he challenges them both: Until they catch him, a chapter will go to the publisher every week. Kendig’s life is fun again, with survival on the line.

“Fun and games: that’s what Hopscotch is all about . . . Garfield is one of the best: he writes as well as any crime novelist around.” - New York Times 

“Great fun.” - Otto Penzler

“Once again Garfield shows his genius for weaving history and fiction into a fabric of fast-paced, high-suspense storytelling.” - Robert Ludlum