Eye of the Needle

‘Tense, marvellously detailed’ – The Sunday TimesEye of the Needle, Ken Follett’s breakthrough international bestseller, is a heart-racing, exciting tale about the fate of the Second World War as it rests in the hands of a master spy, his opponent and one brave woman.Written when he was only twenty-seven, it launched the career of master storyteller Ken Follett, and was later adapted for the screen by Richard Marquand, starring Donald Sutherland.***VICTORY HANGS IN THE BALANCE1944. In the weeks leading up to D-Day, the Allies are disguising their invasion plans with elaborate decoy ships and planes. If they can land a force on mainland Europe, they will gain the upper hand in a war that has ravaged the world for years, and can then take the fight to the Nazi menace.A COLD-BLOODED KILLERHis weapon is the stiletto; his code name: The Needle. He is Hitler’s prize undercover agent – a ruthless, professional murderer. In England, he uncovers the Allies’ D-Day plans, but his cover is blown in the process.A DEADLY CHASELeaving a trail of bodies in his wake and with MI5 on his tail, The Needle ruthlessly races to a U-boat that is waiting to convey him and his critical message to Germany. But he hasn’t planned for a storm-battered island and the remarkable young woman who lives there . . .***‘Really thrilling’ – The New York Times Book Review‘An absolutely terrific thriller, so pulse-pounding, so ingenious in its plotting and so frighteningly realistic that you simply cannot stop reading’ – Publishers Weekly‘Top-notch suspense . . . a terrific thriller . . . spellbinding’ – Miami Herald‘Great . . . one of the twelve best thrillers from the last fifty years’ – Rocky Mountain News‘Extraordinarily satisfying . . . a truly suspenseful novel . . . heart-stopping, nerve-freezing terror’ – Los Angeles Times ‘A spy novel of the highest order’ – The Baltimore Sun

Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales. Barred from watching films and television by his parents, he developed an early interest in reading thanks to a local library. After studying philosophy at University College London, he became involved in centre-left politics, entering into journalism soon after. His first thriller, the wartime spy drama Eye of the Needle, became an international bestseller and has sold more than ten million copies. He then astonished everyone with his first historical novel, The Pillars of the Earth, the story of the building of a medieval cathedral, which went on to become one of the most beloved books of the twentieth century. One of the most popular authors in the world, his many books including the Kingsbridge series and the Century trilogy – a body of work that together chronicles over a thousand years of history – and his latest novel Never – which envisages how a Third World War could happen – have sold more than 188 million copies. A father and husband, Ken lives with his wife in England and enjoys travelling the world when he can.