The Deceiver (novel)

The Deceiver is a novel by English writer Frederick Forsyth, about a retiring agent of the British SIS named Sam McCready. He is the head of Deception, Disinformation and Psychological Operations, and his maverick but brilliant successes have led to his nickname "The Deceiver." The stories had previously been filmed as Frederick Forsyth Presents, a miniseries for British television, in 1989 and 1990, with McCready played by Alan Howard. The outlines were conceived by Forsyth, with the majority of the scenarios and scripts done first by screenwriter Murray Smith for filming. He and Forsyth split the profits on the television series. The book followed in 1991 with Forsyth doing the majority of the work, with profits split under the same arrangement. It appeared in The New York Times's list of the best-selling books for eight weeks, and its peak was #6.