120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

🌸 Our Spring Sale is here! Save on Books, Toys, & Puzzles! With overnight NZ-wide delivery 🎉

The Predicament

By William Boyd
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.3 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 111 ratings, 59 reviews)
Brief Description
The second instalment in William Boyd's elegant espionage series starring Gabriel Dax is a twisting Cold War adventure that takes the reader deep into one of history's most infamous assassinations. Gabriel Dax, travel writer and accidental spy, is back in the shadows. Unable to resist the... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3199
Elsewhere:
$3800
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The second instalment in William Boyd's elegant espionage series starring Gabriel Dax is a twisting Cold War adventure that takes the reader deep into one of history's most infamous assassinations.

Gabriel Dax, travel writer and accidental spy, is back in the shadows. Unable to resist the allure of his MI6 handler, Faith Green, he has returned to a life of secrets and subterfuge. Dax is sent to Guatemala under the guise of covering a tinderbox presidential election, where the ruthless decisions of the Mafia provoke pitch-black warfare in collusion with the CIA.

As political turmoil erupts, Gabriel's reluctant involvement deepens. His escape plan leads him to West Berlin, where he uncovers a chilling realisation—there is a plot to assassinate magnetic young President John F. Kennedy. In a race against time, Gabriel must navigate deceit and danger, knowing that the stakes have never been higher.

The Predicament, the second novel in the bestselling espionage trilogy starring Gabriel Dax, William Boyd weaves a masterful tale of suspense, loyalty, love and the dark temptations of spy craft.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241761144

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 September 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Viking

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 40.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 700g

Pages: 272

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Literary Fiction New Release Fiction Penguin Books Spy & Espionage Thriller The Listener Top 100 William Boyd

About the Author

William Boyd was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana, and grew up there and in Nigeria. He is the author of sixteen highly acclaimed, bestselling novels and five collections of stories. Any Human Heart was longlisted for the Booker Prize and adapted into a TV series with Channel 4. In 2005, Boyd was awarded the CBE. He is married and divides his time between London and south-west France.

Also by William Boyd

View all
  • The Romantic
    From one of Britain's best-loved and bestselling writers comes an intimate yet panoramic novel set in the 19th century. Born in 1799, Cashel Greville Ross experiences myriad lives—joyous and devastating, years of luck and unexpected loss. Moving from County Cork to London, from Waterloo to Zanzibar, Cashel seeks his fortune across continents in war and in peace. He faces a...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Mirror and the Road: Conversations with William Boyd
    Acclaimed author Alistair Owen interviews one of the best-loved writers of modern times about his life and work. In this probing series of exclusive interviews, Alistair Owen talks to William Boyd about his works and the life which has inspired them. The conversations which emerge are a deep-dive into film, art, theatre, literature, and the life of a writer. This...
    By William Boyd and Alistair Owen
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Any Human Heart
    The classic novel spanning every decade of the 20th century, available as a Penguin Essential for the first time. Every life is both ordinary and extraordinary, but Logan Mountstuart's—lived from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century—contains more than its fair share of both. As a writer who finds inspiration with Hemingway in Paris and Virginia Woolf in...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Love is Blind
    A sweeping tale of love, revenge and music from one of Britain's best-loved novelists. When Brodie Moncur, a young Scottish musician, is offered a job in Paris, he seizes the chance to flee Edinburgh and his tyrannical clergyman father and begin a wildly different new chapter in his life. In Paris, a fateful encounter with a famous pianist irrevocably changes...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Trio
    From the bestselling author comes a transporting new novel about the secret lives of a film crew in Brighton, 1968. Trio features a producer, a novelist, and an actress. It is summer in 1968, the year of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. While the world is reeling, our trio is involved in making a rackety Swingin'...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Gabriel's Moon
    In his most exhilarating novel yet, Britain's greatest storyteller transports you from the vibrant streets of sixties London, as an accidental spy is drawn into the shadows of espionage and obsession... Gabriel's Moon tells the story of Gabriel Dax, a young man haunted by the memories of a tragedy—every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Predicament
    Gabriel Dax returns in this elegant, twisting mystery of espionage and obsession and takes the reader deep into one of history's most infamous assassinations. Gabriel Dax, travel writer and accidental spy, is back in the shadows. Unable to resist the allure of his MI6 handler, Faith Green, he has returned to a life of secrets and subterfuge. Dax is sent...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    $2800
    Backorder
    Ships Unknown - Contact Us
  • New Release
    Cold Sunset
    Cold Sunset, the third novel starring accidental spy Gabriel Dax, takes you deep into a shadow-drenched world where loyalty blurs, motives darken, and every step could be fatal, in a tautly woven mystery from acclaimed bestseller William Boyd. The new stylish mystery from acclaimed bestseller William Boyd takes you deep into a shadow-drenched world where loyalty blurs, motives darken, and...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Any Human Heart
    On publication of William Boyd's new hardback, a fresh new look for his classic novel spanning every decade of the 20th century. Every life is both ordinary and extraordinary, but Logan Mountstuart's—lived from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century—contains more than its fair share of both. As a writer who finds inspiration with Hemingway in Paris and...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Gifts of Reading
    With contributions by: William Boyd, Candice Carty-Williams, Imtiaz Dharker, Roddy Doyle, Pico Iyer, Robert Macfarlane, Andy Miller, Jackie Morris, Jan Morris, Sisonke Msimang, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Michael Ondaatje, David Pilling, Max Porter, Philip Pullman, Alice Pung, Jancis Robinson, S.F.Said, Madeleine Thien, Salley Vickers, John Wood and Markus Zusak'This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. The gift,...
    By Candice Carty-Williams and William Boyd and Imtiaz Dharker and Roddy Doyle and Robert Macfarlane and Chigozie Obioma and Philip Pullman and Pico Iyer and Andy Miller
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Gabriel's Moon
    In his most exhilarating novel yet, Britain's greatest storyteller transports you from the vibrant streets of sixties London, as an accidental spy is drawn into the shadows of espionage and obsession. Gabriel's Moon introduces us to Gabriel Dax, a young man haunted by the memories of a tragedy—every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Nat Tate
    The infamous literary hoax that fooled the art world, with a new introduction by William Boyd. On January 8, 1960, artist Nat Tate set out to burn his entire life's work. Four days later, he jumped off a Staten Island ferry, killing himself. His body was never found. When William Boyd published his biography of Abstract Expressionist Nat Tate, tributes...
    By William Boyd
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Fourth Wing
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NUMBER ONE GLOBAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON! DON'T MISS OUT ON THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'This book contains an addictive, drug-like essence that will make you relinquish all responsibility until the very last word. Do not say I didn't warn you' Glamour 'I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, and when I finished, I...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Iron Flame
    The instant number one Sunday Times bestseller and thrilling sequel to the global phenomenon, Fourth Wing! DON'T BE THE LAST TO DISCOVER THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'Yarros is the true inheritor of Harry Potter and inspires Hunger Games levels of devotion' Guardian 'Fear not, levels of fighting, rebelliousness and all-round sexiness are still sky-high' Daily Mail...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses
    The first instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON and TikTok sensation, from multi-million selling and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan – Time Harry Potter magic, Taylor Swift sass, Fifty Shades-level athleticism – The Sunday Times With bits of Buffy, Game of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl
    The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    New Release
    Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series—now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition. Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever feline...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • A Court of Silver Flames
    The latest instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan - Time Think Game of Thrones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a drizzle of E.L. James – Telegraph Spiced with slick plotting and atmospheric world-building...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Kneel Before Me
    New Release
    Kneel Before Me
    Daphne never meant to want him - the monster who could destroy her... and the only one who never would. Now they're both caught between Their duties and their love. Daphne Verus never planned to compete for the prince. Now she's expected to trade the safety of her village for the caves beneath the mountain and be trained by Kronos...
    By Lindsay Straube
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Insatiable
    **THIS PAPERBACK EDITION FEATURES BRAND-NEW EXCLUSIVE CHARACTER ARTWORK, AS WELL AN ICONIC QUOTE ON THE INSIDE COVER!** From USA Today bestselling author and TikTok sensation comes the gripping, steamy dark romance series that everyone is talking about!'Filled with TENSION, HEARTBREAK and ELECTRIC CHEMISTRY. This one will tear your heart right out of your chest before tossing it back in and...
    By Leigh Rivers
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    20% off
    New Release
    The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...
    By Sarah A. Parker
    Hardback
    $4800
    Usually:
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Daggermouth
    New Release
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Daggermouth
    Daggermouth is one of the best dystopian romances I've ever read." Clio Evans, author of Broken Beginnings. He Is Her Ruin. She Is His Rebellion. The first thing you'll learn in New Found Haven is mercy no longer exists. Showing mercy is a weakness, and weakness will get you killed. The second thing is this — the Veyra are always...
    By H. M. Wolfe
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all