Gabriel's Bureau

Author: Mikka Haugaard

Cover illustration: Ben Mitchell  

A deliciously twisted tale of darkness, espionage and murder. A gripping read, with an edginess so often hard to find in a debut novel.

BJ in Buzz Magazine

Haugaard has a vivid and quirky imagination.

S.B.Kelly in Scotland on Sunday

As much as you'd think being a spy would have its perks, Gabriel's Bureau illustrates the all consuming pressure of the job and the danger that follows from knowing a little bit too much. Having previously worked for Soviet intelligence, Gabriel has used his contacts to set up his own detective agency and when an acquaintance from the past seeks his help he finds himself unable to say no. The consequences are immense as he investigates the seedy London underworld of art dealings where he learns power is money and death is inevitable when art changes dirty hands. As we follow his quest for the truth, the story focuses on the complex life of Gabriel himself, bringing together his past, his present and his intriguing relationship with his wife and the man 'who is Russia', Oleg. The prose is fluid and poetic... Likewise, there are a few gems in the storyline that throw up a great deal of mystery and intrigue. A seemingly cold and unfeeling novel, which perhaps isn't a million miles away from the life of a private investigator.

Angela Singh Big Issue in the North

A very good and interesting writer

Jill Paton Walsh

A book of greys and muted colours. Reading it on the train I became infused with the gentle melancholy you get when reading a John Le Carre and it would be near perfect read for a wet Sunday with a bar of chocolate and the gas-fire on. Harking back to Cold War spy novels, with a lone hero, who used to work for the KGB and is now based in London with his invalid wife, Gabriel's Bureau is full of puzzles and enigmas, with an intriguingly labyrinthine plot, played out against the backdrop of a seedy underworld… an intricate and thoughtful book.

James Nash in The Leeds Review