The Umbrella Murder

The Hunt for the Notorious Cold War Killer

Ulrik Skotte

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

W H Allen
07 August 2025

True crime; Criminal investigation & detection; Politics & government

A revealing, page-turning story of the most iconic Cold War spy killing of all time, for fans of Ben Macintyre, Henry Hemming and the novels of John Le Carre and Mick Herron.

'A masterly investigation ... exposes an assassin worthy of James Bond' -Observer, Book of the Week

London, 1978- exiled Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is murdered on Waterloo Bridge with what appears to be a poison-tipped umbrella. It would become the most infamous unsolved killing of the Cold War.

Many years later, young journalist Ulrik Skotte is approached with explosive new information about a man alleged to be responsible for Markov's death - a spy code-named Piccadilly who worked for the Bulgarian secret service. This meeting launched Skotte into a hunt for the killer lasting more than a quarter of a century, bringing him face to face with eccentric conspiracy theorists, a washed-up former dictator, ageing Danish spooks - and, ultimately, with Agent Piccadilly himself.

Drawing on an incredible cache of original documents, interviews and archive material, The Umbrella Murder provides jaw-dropping answers to questions that have persisted for nearly five decades- who killed Georgi Markov? And who has been protecting the assassin ever since?

By: Ulrik Skotte
Imprint: W H Allen
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 35mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9780753560181
ISBN 10: 0753560186
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 07 August 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ulrik Skotte is a Danish journalist who has been chasing the truth about the Umbrella Murder and the mysterious Agent Piccadilly for more than 25 years. He eventually managed to track down Piccadilly and met him face to face in an apartment in Austria in 2021. Shortly after, Piccadilly was found dead in the same apartment. Ulrik Skotte lives in Copenhagen and owns the TV company Doceye, which produces documentaries for the Scandinavian and European markets.

Reviews for The Umbrella Murder: The Hunt for the Notorious Cold War Killer

'This masterly investigation, spanning 30 years, into the assassination of a cold war dissident, Georgi Markov, in London in 1978 exposes an assassin worthy of James Bond' * Observer, Book of the Week * The value of The Umbrella Murder lies in Skotte having known many of those caught up in the killing, its fascination in his psychologically astute portraits of them… Sebastian Faulks once lamented that the failing of biography is that the author never quite gets in the room with their subject. Skotte’s great coup is that, undeterred by official silence, he does do that, tracking down Gullino in 2021 to a squalid flat in Austria... A month later, he was dead. * The Times * An engaging account... a description of the author’s 30-year search for Markov’s killer, culminating in a confession on camera. It is a model for every would-be investigative journalist, a triumph of teamwork, persistence and essential record-keeping. * Spectator *