Escape and Evasion - Softcover

Wakling, Christopher

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571239250 ISBN 13: 9780571239252

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2018

Synopsis

'Escape and Evasion reads like a Network for the Bitcoin era.' Tony Parsons

City banker Joseph Ashcroft has stolen £1.34 billion from his own bank.

He has given it - untraceably - to impoverished strangers worldwide, and has fled.

Why has he done this? And will he get away with it?

Joseph knows that if he leaves the country, he will easily be tracked down. So he opts for hiding close by - first in the city, then in the woods near the home of his estranged family. An ex-soldier, he's adept at the art of camouflage.

On Joseph's trail is Ben Lancaster, the bank's head of security and, as it happens, a former army friend with whom he shares a violent, guilt-ridden past.

The hunt is on.

Escape and Evasion is a tragicomic tale of buried secrets, the lengths a man will go to win back those he loves, and the fallout from a monumental change of heart.

About this title

Review

Praise for Wakling's debut novel, The Immortal Part:

'One of the year's key debuts. Subtle and intense, it sucks you in like a dream and holds you
like a nightmare.' Lee Child

'An accomplished and page-turning thriller.' The Guardian

Praise for The Devil's Mask:
'The Devil's Mask is that rare thing: a book that is not only page-turning
but also beautifully crafted.' Jane Harris

'A fascinating, morally complex tale of greed and murder.' Sunday Times, Books of the Year

(Guardian)

A ferociously smart, high-octane thriller about a rogue banker who plays Robin Hood and then runs for his life. Joseph Ashcroft is mad as hell and not going to take it any more and Escape and Evasion reads like a Network for the Bitcoin era. A big-hearted book about the rage for revenge, the bonds of friendship and the eternal pull of home. (Tony Parsons)

A brilliant, gripping and important take on masculinity and responsibility, ingeniously plotted and beautifully written. I couldn't put it down, totally sucked into Joseph's downward spiral. (Erin Kelly)

Christopher Wakling has done it again. Escape and Evasion is both page-turning and heart-warming, with touches of comedy, a characterful narrative voice and a brilliant final twist. (Jane Harris)

The story of a bank heist, a break-up and a break-down, it's funny, tense, moving and wise - like a cross between Falling Down and Rogue Male, but much better than both. (Tobias Jones)

Loved the framing urgency, and the kindness, and the sad sweet theme of running away but circling home. A thriller but also a thoughtful book about masculinity. (James McConnachie)

Compelling, disturbing, profoundly moving. The real sense of jeopardy is that dangerous character we can never escape from: the self. (Jake Arnott)

Compelling from the start - a thrilling story about a disappearance and a deeper one about courage and morality, fear and love. (Jane Shemlit)

I was expecting a pure thriller, but this was something else. . . Not only a great read but a fascinating exploration of different manifestations of masculinity, racked with tension and sprinkled with humour. (Ros Barber)

'It's incredibly well written; funny and poignant, deals with some dark issues and races along at a pace that can be quite breathtaking at times. . . There's humour, and sadness and tension that absolutely grips the reader throughout.' (RandomThingsThroughMyLetterbox)

About the Author

Christopher Wakling is a novelist and travel writer whose previous books include On Cape Three Points, The Undertow and Towards the Sun.

Born in 1970, he was educated at Oxford, and has worked as a teacher and lawyer. He lives in Bristol with his wife and children.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0571239250
• ISBN 13: 9780571239252
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400