The author of the critically acclaimed book ‘The Day of Jackel’ who lives in Buckinghamshire has confirmed he is making a writing comeback at the age of 86.
Frederick Forsyth, who has been living just outside Beaconsfield since moving to the area in 2010, has revealed that he will team up with fellow novelist Tony Kent to pen a sequel for 'The Odessa File', which was first released in 1952.
Called ‘The Revenge of Odessa’, this will be a landmark thriller, about the dangers of ignoring our past.
Forsyth’s longstanding publisher Bill Scott-Kerr and Editorial Director Finn Cotton acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to one novel, excluding Canada, from Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis Brown.
Tom Colgan, Vice President and Editorial Director at Berkley acquired US rights.
The Revenge of Odessa will be published on August 28, 2025, in the UK and on September 2 2025 in the US.
Set in the summer of 2025, the novel features Forsyth’s original hero Peter Miller’s grandson, Georg, a successful podcaster living in Berlin.
He stumbles across evidence that the Odessa – a Nazi network whose goal is to return the Nazis to power and resume their murderous regime – has resurfaced.
And their next attack could change the course of history.
Forsyth said: ‘While The Odessa File was a product of my imagination over 50 years ago, the political realities it describes are still very much with us.
“I’ve been toying with an idea for a sequel for a few years now and happily, working with the very talented Tony Kent, we’ve been able to conjure an exciting new contemporary story which brings the story up to date and points out the sad reality that some things just never go away.’
Scott-Kerr added: ‘I was entranced by The Odessa File when I read it as a conspiracy-hungry teenager many years ago so when Freddie proposed this new book, The Revenge of Odessa, I leapt at the chance to revisit its characters and themes.
“I’ve been working with him over the course of many books and I’ve always been struck by his matchless ability to take contemporary events and weave a thrilling story about them.
“This new adventure is set to be no exception. Its pages will not only hold a mirror to the modern world but will entertain thoroughly at the same time.”
Created in collaboration with Tony Kent, Forsyth’s books have sold more than 75 million copies worldwide.
After retiring from writing in 2018, he watched the rise of the far right in Germany and felt the time had come to revisit the world of Odessa.
The news comes in the same week when his critically acclaimed book, ‘The Day of Jackel’ was launched in the form of a TV show, starring Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne.
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