James Wolff’s new spy novel flagged

James Wolff’s new novel *Spies and Other Gods* landed on CrimeReads’ weekly list of 10 new crime books on April 13, one day before its United States release. (crimereads.com) Grove Atlantic lists the novel’s U.S. publication date as April 14, 2026, under its Atlantic Crime imprint, with a 272-page hardcover priced at $27. (groveatlantic.com) The publisher describes a plot centered on an anonymous whistleblower, a British intelligence chief named Sir William Rentoul, parliamentary researcher Aphra McQueen, and the murder of nine Iranian dissidents tied to an assassin called CASPIAN. (groveatlantic.com) CrimeReads highlighted the book as part of this week’s spring crime-fiction slate, and the blurb it quoted from *Publishers Weekly* pointed to the novel’s unusual narrator, identified as the “spirit of spying.” (crimereads.com) That framing fits Wolff’s position in spy fiction: he is a former British intelligence officer writing novels that draw directly on the institutions and habits of espionage. National Public Radio reported on April 13 that “James Wolff” is a pseudonym and that he previously worked as a British intelligence officer. (npr.org) *Spies and Other Gods* is also a break in form for Wolff. The Bookseller reported in February 2025 that he moved to John Murray’s Baskerville imprint for his first standalone novel after the three-book Discipline Files series. (thebookseller.com) That earlier series built his reputation in the genre. Grove Atlantic says *Beside the Syrian Sea* was a *Times* thriller of the month, and *The Man in the Corduroy Suit* was longlisted for the 2023 Crime Writers’ Association Silver Dagger. (groveatlantic.com) The new book is arriving in two markets on different schedules. Blackwell’s lists the John Murray Press edition in the United Kingdom with a February 12, 2026 publication date, while Grove Atlantic lists the U.S. edition for April 14, 2026. (blackwells.co.uk) (groveatlantic.com) Advance notices have leaned on both the book’s tradecraft and its tone. Grove Atlantic quotes *Booklist* calling Wolff “the perfect candidate” to write about spy culture, while *Publishers Weekly* compared the book’s appeal to Mick Herron’s *Slough House* series. (groveatlantic.com) For now, the immediate development is simple: a former intelligence officer’s first standalone spy novel reached U.S. shelves on April 14 after getting a last-minute push from CrimeReads’ weekly roundup. (crimereads.com) (groveatlantic.com)