The Sandpit

'A remarkable contemporary thriller... A triumph' WILLIAM BOYD A journalist becomes embroiled in a world of secrets and paranoia when a nuclear scientist goes missing. When John Dyer returns to Oxford from Brazil with his young son, Leandro, he expects a quiet life. His time living on the edge as a foreign correspondent is over. But these rainy streets turn out to be just as treacherous as those he used to walk in Rio. Leandro's schoolmates are the children of powerful people, and a chance conversation with another father, Iranian scientist Rustum Marvar, sets Dyer onto a truly dangerous path. Then Marvar disappears. Soon, sinister factions are circling, and become acutely interested in what Dyer knows about Marvar's world-changing discovery... 'An absorbing thriller with shades of John le Carré' Evening Standard 'Exciting... A page-turner' Daily Telegraph 'a Remarkable Contemporary Thriller – With Shades Of Graham Greene And Le Carré About It – But Also A Profound And Compelling Investigation Of A Hugely Complex Human Predicament. Brilliantly Observed, Captivatingly Written, Grippingly Narrated – A Triumph' William Boyd When John Dyer Returns To Oxford From Brazil With His Young Son, He Doesn't Expect To Find Them Both In Danger. Every Day Is The Same. He Drops Leandro At His Smart Prep School And Walks To The Library To Research His New Book. His Time Living On The Edge As A Foreign Correspondent In Rio Is Over. But The Rainy Streets Of This English City Turn Out To Be Just As Treacherous As Those He Used To Walk In The Favelas. Leandro’s Schoolmates Are The Children Of Influential People, Among Them An International Banker, A Russian Oligarch, An American Cia Operative And A British Spook. As They Congregate Round The Sports Field For The Weekly Football Matches, The Network Of Alliances And Covert Interests That Spreads Between These Power Brokers Soon Becomes Clear To Dyer. But It Is A Chance Conversation With An Iranian Nuclear Scientist, Rustum Marvar, Father Of A Friend Of Leandro, That Sets Him Onto A Truly Precarious Path. When Marvar And His Son Disappear, Several Sinister Factions Seem Acutely Interested In Marvar’s Groundbreaking Research At The Clarendon Lab, And What He Might Have Told Dyer About It, Given Dyer Was The Last Person To See Marvar Alive.