Charlie Muffin Books In Order

Publication Order of Charlie Muffin Books

Brian Freemantle is a nonfiction and English thriller writer best known for the 1977 novel Charlie M. As a highly recognized author, he has written under the pseudonyms of Jonathan Evans, John Maxwell and also Richard Grant. Freemantle was born on the 10th of June 1936 in Southampton. Despite having an immense amount of love for writing, it took him more than 30 years before he became a full time. Before becoming a full time writer he used to work as a newspaper editor with the daily Sketch and the Daily Mail. Currently, he has published more than 87 books and out of this 18 have been featured in his anti-hero novel, Charlie Muffin series which was published in the year 2013. In the year 1986 Charlie was nominated by the Mystery writers of America for the Edgar Allan Poe award.

Charlie M

Since this is the first installment in the Charlie Muffin series, we are introduced to one Charlie Muffin. Charlie is a rumpled, experienced and an attractive working class agent. Due to his accent and appearance, Charlie is always irritating his fellow agents and his boss. Nonetheless he is still great at his job and usually gets the job done. After he narrowly escaped death while crossing into Berlin, Charlie becomes more convinced that the department he works for has decided that he has become expandable. After arriving in London, Charlie meets two agents who are now working in his office. He also discovers that his desk has been moved into the secretaries’ room. It does not take time before the two in-experienced agents who have been preferred over him, mess up forcing Charlie into action once more.

Later on, Charlie decides to visit a Russian spy that he had previously caught. Since he has a likeable personality, Charlie gets along with the spy very easily. Things begin to heat up when a highly ranked Russian General decides to send out feelers. Charlie in turn feels that something is not right. He decides to warn the Britons that the Russians might be trying to setup someone, so that they can be able to exchange him with their spy. However his superiors refuse to listen. Eventually, the Americans decide to follow up on the case because the Russian General has some information that they really want badly.

Here Comes Charlie M

As the second installment of the Charlie M series, Here Comes Charlie M takes off where the first installment left off. In this book, Charlie is still not yet free from the British intelligence. But unlike in the first book, Charlie is not in disgrace but rather the young snobs who are in charge. At this point, they are now looking for viable ways to cover up the mistakes they did in the past. And at the center of their plan is Charlie Muffin. The officers in charge convince themselves that Charlie was the one responsible for the demise of the British Intelligent finest operatives. Additionally, they also believe that he was the mastermind behind the Russian spy network. The officers in charge were also exceedingly angry because Charlie had made them look like clowns, hence the department is now seeking revenge. Later on in the book, Charlie is flushed out from his hiding spot in Zurich. He now knows that his dear life is in danger. Is Charlie going to outwit them for the second time? Only time will tell.

It goes without saying, that the second book in the Charlie Muffin series was more entertaining than the first novel. It was not only fast paced but also very clever. It had endearing hero and the love story aspect was very real. All in all, this story was a suspenseful tale of a man against an exceedingly powerful corrupt system.

The Inscrutable Charlie Muffin

Since his life is in danger, Charlie ends up hiding at a friend’s place in Hong Kong. Rupert Willoughby is Charlie Muffin’s only friend and defender. It does not take long before Rupert also ends up in danger. Rupert has invested more than 6 million in a gigantic ocean liner but his ship is destroyed by enemies. His ship is burned to ashes at the Hong Kong harbor. The previous owners of the ship blame Chinese agents but Rupert senses that something is not right. Charlie decides to investigate the matter so as to establish what is really going on. It does not take long before Charlie discovers that the matter at hand is more dangerous than he had previously thought. Additionally, he also learns that his good deed might be his very last.

With that being said, the Inscrutable Man is an exceptional read that is wonderfully twisted. In this book, Charlie once again proves that he is an amoral user. Whenever he tries to do something good or assist someone, he always fails.

Uncle Sam

In this book, Charlie has managed to find a new job. But once again this job has kept him at crossroads with a ruthless American drug lord. Ever since he faked his death, Charlie has managed to live exceedingly well. He has been on the run for many years, but when a death declaration is finally brought forth, he once again becomes a free man. Charlie decides to put his espionage skills use when he decides to work for an Insurance company. His work at the insurance company involves ensuring that the Romanov Stamps are safe at all times. The Romanov stamps are a priceless collection which were assembled many years before the Russian Revolution. The stamps managed to survive because the Bolveshiks had failed to recognize their real value

At this point, the American Government wants to use the Romanov stamps as bait. They are keen on luring an exceedingly brutal drug lord. The drug lord is also keen on acquiring the stamps but Charlie must do everything within his means to stop the drug lord from acquiring the stamps. This means that even if he is going to get killed for the stamps so be it. All in all, Uncle Sam is a wonderful read from Brian Freemantle. If you are a of spy novels, then the Charlie M series should be at the top of your reading list.