Publishers Weekly
★ 04/24/2023
Set in an unnamed central European kingdom at the end of WWI, Payne’s stellar debut pokes hilarious fun at spy fiction through the exploits of a fishmonger named Orlov. Taking a shortcut through an alley one day, Orlov becomes concerned that the phone he hears ringing in a government office remains unanswered. He enters the room it’s in through an open window, picks up the call, and gets a cryptic “life and death” message he’s told to convey to someone named Agent Kosek. When Orlov sets off through the building to look for Kosek, he’s mistaken for a potential operative himself and, despite being wholly clueless, is paired up with another agent on a covert assignment to protect the king from assassins. As their mission progresses, the well-meaning but bumbling Orlov finds himself enmeshed deeper and deeper in plots he doesn’t understand. 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. (June)
From the Publisher
[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
