David McCloskey’s new thriller London Station follows tensions between the CIA and MI6

David McCloskey's new spy thriller London Station, published this week, centres on a Trump-like US president appointing a property tycoon as CIA director to overhaul America's relationship with British intelligence. The timing is strikingly topical given current US-UK tensions over tariffs, the Iran conflict, and this week's withdrawal of US bombers from RAF Fairford. McCloskey's credibility stems from years as a CIA analyst in Middle Eastern field stations, lending authentic tradecraft detail to his espionage narrative.

The novel features CIA station chief Artemis Aphrodite Procter (5ft tall) making her fourth appearance in McCloskey's fiction, alongside the Daily Mail newspaper, whose fictional scoops drive much of the plot. The newly appointed CIA director's first move is cutting aid to British intelligence during a critical operation. McCloskey's previous novel, Damascus Station, won endorsement from General David Petraeus as "the best spy novel I have ever read," whilst The Times called his thrillers "among the best for years."