British writer John le Carré is rightfully considered one of the founders and greatest masters of the spy genre. His books have been translated into 36 languages; many of them brought prestigious literary awards to their creator and were successfully adapted into films. After serving for several years in the legendary MI-6, Le Carré writes not about the fantastic adventures of super-spies, but about the tense, everyday work of real intelligence officers.
The heroes of his new novel “The Most Dangerous Man Alive” are participants and victims in a “war” against terrorism. A young Muslim, half-Chechen, arrives in Hamburg illegally, tortured by beatings in Turkey and Russia’s prisons, and dreaming of studying to become a doctor. Several good people are ready to risk their well-being to give him a chance to start a new life. However, the close attention paid to the young man by several major world special services—each pursuing its own objectives—ruins their plans and maims their fates…