About Adrian
Adrian de Hoog, educated at the universities of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Oxford, joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1974.
Over a thirty year career as a Canadian diplomat he had postings in countries as varied as Kenya and Germany and contributed to Canada's international interests by working on issues such as international development, nuclear non-proliferation, and the global environment.
De Hoog retired from the foreign service in 2004.
His fourth novel, Saul Burg: A Man of Many Parts (2025) explores the abrasive interplay between terrorist acts and humanitarian interventions.
The three previous novels:
The Berlin Assignment (2006), a story of Cold War espionage in Berlin shortly after the fall of the Wall.
Borderless Deceit (2007), a preview of the limitless potential of cyberspace spying well before it became commonplace.
Natalia’s Peace (2011), a tale of a secret diplomatic negotiation in The Hague intended to bring more peace to the world that is hijacked by the global forces that make money from war.
He lives in Ottawa.
books
Books by Adrian
Saul Burg
In 1954, deep in Israel’s Negev Desert, Palestinian fedayeen massacred the occupants of a bus trundling through the hills between Eilat and Beersheba. The sole survivor, eight-year-old Saul, suddenly orphaned, was placed with a German kibbutz in Galilee, growing up in a rich cultural envelope. As he matured and rationalised the moment his parents were killed, a contempt for terrorists accompanied him into adulthood.
Borderless Deceit
A virus destroys the communication network of the Canadian diplomatic service. Both Carson Pryce, a reclusive intelligence analyst, and Rachel Dunn, a brilliant diplomat with a glowing track record for humanitarian interventions, become suspects. Carson's secret obsession with Rachel leads him to initiate a cover-up, but soon events spiral out of control and both are forced to go into hiding. In a world where privacy has disappeared, where hackers circle each other in cyberspace, and where a mouse click can orchestrate deceit in faraway places, is there space for a rekindling of humanity’s enduring values?
The Berlin Assignment
Not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with a new order in full swing, Canada’s new consul Anthony Hanbury arrives to assume his diplomatic duties. He quickly develops contacts, makes friends, and rises in Berlin society. But is his progress as innocent as it seems? Cold War spies still active in the city assemble a dossier, and the suspicions which accumulate soon threaten to destroy the consul.
Natalia's Peace
Just north of the city a private plane crashes in a dense North Sea fog. The sole passenger, though badly injured, survives. His calling card identifies him, but it shows only his name and an acronym: P.E.A.C.E. That same week a secret diplomatic initiative is launched in The Hague. Its objective is to identify far-reaching, new international initiatives to advance global peace.