Citizen Orlov

A 2024 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medal Winner A 2024 IPPY Award Bronze Medal Winner A 2024 Silver Falchion Award Finalist "[An] enjoyable comic fable . . ." -Wall Street Journal "This auspicious debut announces a bright new voice in comic suspense." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review Not every fishmonger can be a secret agent. Journey to an unnamed mountainous country in central Europe at the end of the Great War. Enter Citizen Orlov, a simple fishmonger and an honest, upright citizen, who answers a phone call meant for a secret agent and stumbles into a hidden world of espionage and secrecy. Recruited by the Ministry of Security, he is sent on assignment to safeguard the king. But Orlov soon discovers that his ministry handler, the alluring femme fatale Agent Zelle, is planning not to protect the king but to assassinate him. Caught in a web of plot and counterplot, confusing loyalties, and explosive betrayals, Orlov finds himself on trial for murder. Given the opportunity to clear his name, he finds that the lives of his friends, mother, and fellow citizens hang in the balance. Short Summary: When a simple fishmonger is unexpectedly invited to join the Ministry of Security, he imagines a new life of danger, daring, and romance. But he discovers that sinister forces at the heart of government are seeking to exploit him, and soon he finds himself on trial for murder. "[An] enjoyable comic fable-one that may cause readers to think twice about ever answering someone else's phone." -Wall Street Journal "The blend of action and picaresque buffoonery flatteringly calls Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard tales to mind, and Payne pulls off a genuinely surprising conclusion. This auspicious debut announces a bright new voice in comic suspense." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "This is the most fun spy thriller we've read in ages . . . First-time novelist Jonathan Payne mixes Franz Kafka's surreal absurdism with the ingenious plotting of Graham Greene's spy novels, then adds a hilarious layer of deadpan comedy. Written in short chapters filled with exciting left turns, Citizen Orlov barrels along. We wouldn't mind at all if this turned out to be the start of a series." -Apple Books Review "Jonathan Payne's Citizen Orlov is a stunning debut! A page turning, down-the-rabbit-hole delight, told with equal measure of wit and suspense. A timeless classic for our current moment; a paranoid and comic thriller with a surprise on every page. I loved it!" -Don Scardino, Producer/Director, 30 Rock, New Amsterdam "A triumph-and an answer to that age-old question of what would have happened had Gogol, Kafka and G. K. Chesterton collaborated on a thriller. A timeless work which will, I fear, be forever timely." -Dixe Wills, author of Places to Hide and New World Order "Highly engaging, and written with an engaging lightness of touch, Citizen Orlov marks the debut of a comic novelist to watch for the future." -Dr. Adam Lively, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing & Programme Leader, MA Novel Writing, Middlesex University "BEING THERE meets CATCH-22 in this by turns raucous, nail-biting and hilarious send-up of government corruption and bureaucratic incompetence. With an assured voice and wit to spare, Jonathan Payne is a writer on the rise." -E.G. Scott, international bestselling author of THE RULE OF THREE

"[An] enjoyable comic fable . . ." -Wall Street Journal, on Citizen Orlov "We wouldn't mind at all if this turned out to be the start of a series." -Apple Books Review, on Citizen Orlov "[An] auspicious debut . . ." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review, on Citizen Orlov Not every fishmonger can be a double agent. Return to an unnamed mountainous country in central Europe on the cusp of civil war. Enter once again Citizen Orlov, a former fishmonger who is now the Minister of Security for a government teetering on collapse. When tensions between the government and revolutionaries erupt, Orlov, hoping to escape the conflict and return to his normal life, is instead recruited by both sides to spy on the other. With war raging around them, the new king and his ministers are whisked away for safety to the highest point in the kingdom, the convent at the peak of Mount Zhotrykaw. But all is not what it seems at the convent, including the nuns, and Orlov discovers a sinister plot that forces him to choose whose side he is on. Short Summary: An unnamed, mountainous kingdom in central Europe at the end of the Great War. When tensions between the government and revolutionaries erupt into civil war, a simple fishmonger finds that the future of the nation is in his hands. "Payne follows Citizen Orlov with a superb sequel . . . Once again, the colorful comedic antics are complemented by shrewd plotting. It's another hugely enjoyable espionage satire from Payne." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Once again, we are dropped head-first into the world of Citizen Orlov, whose misadventures amuse us, yet challenge us to ponder the meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And the ending makes us breathlessly want to know what's next!" -Tom Fontana, Emmy Award winning writer of Oz and St. Elsewhere "Jonathan Payne is in top form with Hotel Melikov, a beautifully orchestrated symphony of glorious mayhem that slyly underscores our current political moment. To miss it would be a sin!" -Elizabeth McCullough Keenan & Greg Wands, international bestselling authors of Trust Issues "[A] flawlessly entertaining read that raises expectations for the third installment in the series." -Kirkus Reviews In an unnamed, mountainous kingdom in central Europe, tensions between the government and revolutionaries erupt into civil war, and a simple fishmonger finds that the future of the nation is in his hands.