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The Marionette

A Novel

Author Terry Fallis
Paperback
$20.00 US
McClelland & Stewart
5-5/8"W x 8-1/4"H | 12 oz | 24 per carton
On sale Oct 07, 2025 | 336 Pages | 9780771021114
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Bestselling and beloved author Terry Fallis' tenth novel, The Marionette, introduces readers to a new hero, James Norval: a world-famous thriller writer whose life takes an unexpected turn from the pages of his novels into the perilous world of espionage.

James Norval has built a successful career crafting the thrilling adventures of his fictional hero, Hunter Chase, a character admired by readers and movie-goers worldwide. But despite his fame and fortune, Norval has always harboured a secret dream of living the life he only writes about—a life as a field operative for CSIS, Canada's Security Intelligence Service. In fact, nearly thirty years earlier, he washed out of the CSIS recruitment program, and it's haunted him ever since.

But that long-held dream becomes a reality when a series of unfortunate events lands Norval in a foreign prison. Rescued by CSIS, he is given an unexpected opportunity: to use his unique position as the favourite writer of Mali's newly installed president to assist in a delicate and dangerous mission. With the help of agent Lauren Cooper, Norval must infiltrate the Malian government and execute a daring plan to exfiltrate fifteen Canadian nationals before the corrupt powers that control the country uncover their true intentions. 

The Marionette is a comic thriller by a master of the craft. Full of Terry Fallis' signature wit and combined with an exhilarating high-stakes plot, this is a must-read for fans of espionage and intrigue.
Advance praise for The Marionette:

"The Marionette is a funny, fast-paced romp of a thriller. Terry Fallis has given us an unforgettable new action hero in James Norval—a bestselling thriller writer and aspiring spy who finally gets his chance to go undercover. I loved every page. More Norval, please!"
—Susan Juby, bestselling author of Contemplation of a Crime

“Seldom has a Canadian spy mission to the West African country of Mali been this much fun. Just like what Terry Fallis did with Canadian politics in his first novel, The Best Laid Plans, he does the impossible once again, making something inherently unfunny into an amazingly delightful adventure. Someday I want to grow up and write like Terry Fallis.”
—Drew Hayden Taylor, author of Cold

"Canada’s favourite humourist returns with a high-stakes comic thriller that managed to make me both laugh out loud and gasp in suspense. Bright, savvy, and dangerously funny, The Marionette delivers from start to finish. Terry Fallis is a legend."
—Ali Bryan, author of Coq, and two-time finalist for the Leacock Medal

"In a world shrouded in darkness and shadow, Fallis remains a shining light of decency and big-hearted humour. In his latest novel The Marionette, a fast-paced, feel-good thriller, he combines laughter and suspense to weave a masterful tale of international intrigue and Canadian ingenuity."
—Rod Carley, award-winning author of RUFF

"Terry Fallis' The Marionette is a welcome reminder that fiction can be both artful and engaging. It's a comic thriller—a thromedy?—that teems with Fallis' trademark wit: a narrator, for instance, who says he's so hungry he could eat a sandwich made of a horse splayed out between two mattresses. But the thrills of the thriller are there as well in this tale of a Canadian writer, James Norval, who dives headlong into the middle of a coup in the West African country of Mali. Norval's voice is the most endearingly irksome one I've heard in quite some time. Fallis pulls off the feat of blending genres with elan, aplomb, and pure pizazz!"
—Wayne Johnston, author of Jennie's Boy, winner of the 2023 Leacock Medal for Humour

"Narrative surprises are a constant and the humour bubbles along as a Canadian thriller writer is conscripted into palace intrigue in a foreign land, then accepts a rescue mission that sends him on a daring high-wire escape to freedom in Terry Fallis’ rousing novel, The Marionette. A great yarn."
—Trevor Ferguson, aka John Farrow, author of City of Ice
© Tim Fallis
TERRY FALLIS grew up in Toronto and earned an engineering degree from McMaster University. Drawn to politics at an early age, he worked for cabinet ministers in Ottawa and at Queen’s Park. His first novel, The Best Laid Plans, began as a podcast, then was self-published, won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, was re-published by McClelland & Stewart to great reviews, was crowned the 2011 winner of CBC’s Canada Reads as “the essential Canadian novel of the decade,” and was adapted as a CBC Television series and a stage musical. His next two novels, The High Road and Up and Down were finalists for the Leacock Medal, and in 2015, he won the prize a second time, for his fourth book, No Relation. His other novels include Poles Apart, One Brother Shy, Albatross, and Operation Angus, and were all national bestsellers. A skilled public speaker, he lives in Toronto with his wife, and blogs at www.terryfallis.com. Follow @TerryFallis on Twitter and subscribe to his newsletter at https://terryfallis.substack.com. View titles by Terry Fallis

About

Bestselling and beloved author Terry Fallis' tenth novel, The Marionette, introduces readers to a new hero, James Norval: a world-famous thriller writer whose life takes an unexpected turn from the pages of his novels into the perilous world of espionage.

James Norval has built a successful career crafting the thrilling adventures of his fictional hero, Hunter Chase, a character admired by readers and movie-goers worldwide. But despite his fame and fortune, Norval has always harboured a secret dream of living the life he only writes about—a life as a field operative for CSIS, Canada's Security Intelligence Service. In fact, nearly thirty years earlier, he washed out of the CSIS recruitment program, and it's haunted him ever since.

But that long-held dream becomes a reality when a series of unfortunate events lands Norval in a foreign prison. Rescued by CSIS, he is given an unexpected opportunity: to use his unique position as the favourite writer of Mali's newly installed president to assist in a delicate and dangerous mission. With the help of agent Lauren Cooper, Norval must infiltrate the Malian government and execute a daring plan to exfiltrate fifteen Canadian nationals before the corrupt powers that control the country uncover their true intentions. 

The Marionette is a comic thriller by a master of the craft. Full of Terry Fallis' signature wit and combined with an exhilarating high-stakes plot, this is a must-read for fans of espionage and intrigue.

Praise

Advance praise for The Marionette:

"The Marionette is a funny, fast-paced romp of a thriller. Terry Fallis has given us an unforgettable new action hero in James Norval—a bestselling thriller writer and aspiring spy who finally gets his chance to go undercover. I loved every page. More Norval, please!"
—Susan Juby, bestselling author of Contemplation of a Crime

“Seldom has a Canadian spy mission to the West African country of Mali been this much fun. Just like what Terry Fallis did with Canadian politics in his first novel, The Best Laid Plans, he does the impossible once again, making something inherently unfunny into an amazingly delightful adventure. Someday I want to grow up and write like Terry Fallis.”
—Drew Hayden Taylor, author of Cold

"Canada’s favourite humourist returns with a high-stakes comic thriller that managed to make me both laugh out loud and gasp in suspense. Bright, savvy, and dangerously funny, The Marionette delivers from start to finish. Terry Fallis is a legend."
—Ali Bryan, author of Coq, and two-time finalist for the Leacock Medal

"In a world shrouded in darkness and shadow, Fallis remains a shining light of decency and big-hearted humour. In his latest novel The Marionette, a fast-paced, feel-good thriller, he combines laughter and suspense to weave a masterful tale of international intrigue and Canadian ingenuity."
—Rod Carley, award-winning author of RUFF

"Terry Fallis' The Marionette is a welcome reminder that fiction can be both artful and engaging. It's a comic thriller—a thromedy?—that teems with Fallis' trademark wit: a narrator, for instance, who says he's so hungry he could eat a sandwich made of a horse splayed out between two mattresses. But the thrills of the thriller are there as well in this tale of a Canadian writer, James Norval, who dives headlong into the middle of a coup in the West African country of Mali. Norval's voice is the most endearingly irksome one I've heard in quite some time. Fallis pulls off the feat of blending genres with elan, aplomb, and pure pizazz!"
—Wayne Johnston, author of Jennie's Boy, winner of the 2023 Leacock Medal for Humour

"Narrative surprises are a constant and the humour bubbles along as a Canadian thriller writer is conscripted into palace intrigue in a foreign land, then accepts a rescue mission that sends him on a daring high-wire escape to freedom in Terry Fallis’ rousing novel, The Marionette. A great yarn."
—Trevor Ferguson, aka John Farrow, author of City of Ice

Author

© Tim Fallis
TERRY FALLIS grew up in Toronto and earned an engineering degree from McMaster University. Drawn to politics at an early age, he worked for cabinet ministers in Ottawa and at Queen’s Park. His first novel, The Best Laid Plans, began as a podcast, then was self-published, won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, was re-published by McClelland & Stewart to great reviews, was crowned the 2011 winner of CBC’s Canada Reads as “the essential Canadian novel of the decade,” and was adapted as a CBC Television series and a stage musical. His next two novels, The High Road and Up and Down were finalists for the Leacock Medal, and in 2015, he won the prize a second time, for his fourth book, No Relation. His other novels include Poles Apart, One Brother Shy, Albatross, and Operation Angus, and were all national bestsellers. A skilled public speaker, he lives in Toronto with his wife, and blogs at www.terryfallis.com. Follow @TerryFallis on Twitter and subscribe to his newsletter at https://terryfallis.substack.com. View titles by Terry Fallis

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