Charles Cumming has been awarded the Scottish Crime Book of the Year, for his latest spy thriller A Foreign Country. The win was announced at the closing of the inaugural Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival in Stirling.
The judges chose A Foreign Country out of 40 entries, with the chair of the panel Sheena McDonald saying that “A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming is far more than a pacy novel with a satisfactory ending. This book is exciting, imaginative and well-written. It doesn’t simply tick the crime-fiction boxes – it’s simply an outstanding novel.”
A delighted Charles Cumming said, “It’s a huge honour to win such a prestigious award in the first year of this fantastic festival.”
The novel is about the disappearance of the first ever female head of MI6 just weeks before she is 
due to become Chief. Thomas Kell, a former agent who was forced out in the wake of the extraordinary rendition scandal, is tasked with tracking her down. His search takes him to France, North Africa and back to the Britain, unaware that one of the biggest leaks in intelligence history is on the cards…
So a big congratulations to Charles Cumming from everyone here on a very well-deserved win!
