Elly Conway’s debut novel, Argylle (Bantam Press), comes weighted with great expectations. It’s being adapted for the cinema by director Matthew Vaughn, who calls it the start of “the most incredible and original spy franchise since Ian Fleming’s books”. There are all sorts of fun mysteries about Conway herself: who is this secretive author? (One rumour links her to Taylor Swift, which seems unlikely.)
The title’s protagonist is young and handsome Aubrey Argylle, who is chilling in Thailand when he sees a plane go down over the jungle and stages a daring rescue. His actions bring him to the attention of the CIA and he’s recruited for a deadly mission. Two things you need to know: as Argylle was raised by nomadic, drug dealer parents, he is fluent in all sorts of languages and brilliant at martial arts. His mission: to stop a supervillain Russian from getting his hands on “a priceless treasure of unrivalled opulence” stolen by the Nazis – the recovery of which would make him the most powerful man in the world.
