“Even” by Andrew Grant. (Minotaur Books $24.95, 352 pages. Hard cover.) http://www.andrewgrantbooks.com/
The first in what Grit-Lit hopes will be an ongoing series. David Trevellyan has survived the byzantine world of British Royal Navy Intelligence.

He’s worked undercover, on both sides of the line. Sucked into a huge international conspiracy (details of which you will not learn here because we are not going to spoil the excellent plot) Trevellyan is in trouble and suddenly his superiors forget he exists.
Here are the opening lines.
“When I saw the body, my first thought was to just keep on walking. This one had nothing to do with me. There was no logical reason to get involved.”
“I managed two more steps. If the alleyway had been a little cleaner, there’s a chance I might have kept on going. Or if the guy had been left with a little more dignity, the scene might not have bothered me so much. But the way he’d been discarded—dumped like a piece of garbage—I couldn’t let it pass.”
“Even” starts out great and keeps getting better and better.
So here’s how I see the future—it’s gonna be two+ months of maximum strength No-Doze and lots of missed work. I’m gonna need some new excuses for calling in sick.