Brian Freemantle

Brian Freemantle is an accomplished English author, best known for his spy thriller novels. Born in Southampton, England, he began his career as a journalist and later became a foreign correspondent and editor for newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Daily Sketch. His journalistic career took him to 30 countries around the world, giving him a wealth of experience and knowledge that would later be reflected in his writing.

One of Freemantle's most notable accomplishments came in April 1975, during the Fall of Saigon. He organized an airlift rescue of South Vietnamese civilians, helping to evacuate 100 orphans in what was the only British-led airlift rescue during the conflict. This experience, along with his background in journalism, provided him with a unique perspective and understanding of international politics and espionage, which he would later bring to life in his fiction.

Freemantle is perhaps best known for his Charlie Muffin series, which has a cult following in the United States. The character of Charlie Muffin, a British spy, has been featured in 18 novels. Freemantle has also written two trilogies, Red Star Rising and Red Star Falling, and several standalone novels. In total, he has written 85 books throughout his career, with only five dealing with fictional events. The rest of his work is based on his experiences as a journalist and the stories that were shared with him by spies and intelligence agents. In addition to his work as a novelist, Freemantle has also written for television and film. He is a respected and prolific writer in the thriller genre, with a reputation for creating complex and engaging characters and stories.
Charlie Muffin Books
# Title Year
1 Charlie Muffin / Charlie M 1977
2 Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie / Here Comes Charlie M 1978
3 The Inscrutable Charlie Muffin 1979
4 Charlie Muffin's Uncle Sam / Charlie Muffin U.S.A. 1980
5 Madrigal For Charlie Muffin 1981
6 Charlie Muffin and Russian Rose / The Blind Run 1985
7 Charlie Muffin San / See Charlie Run 1987
8 The Run Around 1988
9 Comrade Charlie 1989
10 Charlie's Apprentice 1993
11 Charlie's Chance / Bomb Grade 1996
12 Dead Men Living 2000
13 Kings of Many Castles 2002
14 Red Star Rising 2010
15 Red Star Burning 2012
16 Red Star Falling 2013
Cowley and Danilov Books
# Title Year
1 The Button Man / In the Name of a Killer 1992
2 No Time for Heroes 1994
3 The Watchmen 2002
4 Triple Cross 2004
Sebastian Holmes Books
# Title Year
1 The Holmes Inheritance 2004
2 The Holmes Factor 2005
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 The Touchables 1969
2 Goodbye To An Old Friend 1973
3 Face Me When You Walk Away 1976
4 The Man Who Wanted Tomorrow 1976
5 The November Man 1976
6 H.M.S. Bounty / Hell's Paradise / Hell's Fire 1977
7 The Mary Celeste 1979
8 The Solitary Man / The Iron Cage 1980
9 Misfire / Target 1980
10 Deaken's War 1982
11 Chairman of the Board / Takeover / At Any Price 1982
12 Midas Men / The Sagomi Gambit / Gold 1983
13 Rules Of Engagement 1984
14 Monopoly / Kremlin Correction / The Kremlin Conspiracy 1984
15 The Kremlin Kiss / The Lost American 1984
16 The Laundryman / Dirty White 1985
17 The Choice of Eddie Franks / To Save a Son 1987
18 The Bearpit 1988
19 Betrayals 1989
20 O'Farrell's Law 1990
21 Little Grey Mice 1991
22 The Profiler / Mind / Reader 1998
23 The Predators 1998
24 A Mind to Kill 1998
25 Gold 1998
26 Washington White 1999
27 Takeover 1999
28 The Return 1999
29 Ice Age 2002
30 Two Women 2003
31 Dead End 2004
32 Time to Kill 2006
33 The Namedropper 2007
34 The Cloud Collector 2015
Short Story Collections
# Title Year
1 The Factory 1990
Non-Fiction Books
# Title Year
1 KGB 1982
2 CIA 1985
3 The Fix 1987
4 The Steal 1987
5 Octopus 1996
Brian Freemantle Anthologies
# Title Year
1 MAINSTREAM: An Anthology of Stories from the Edges 2021