Market regulators at the International Petroleum Exchange may need a little light summer reading these days to distract them from their investigation into dealings on the exchange, which was rocked last week by allegations of price manipulation.

A Spy by Nature (published by Penguin at £9.99), the debut novel by Charles Cumming that hit the shelves last week, should fit the bill nicely. A gripping tale of international industrial espionage, it is all about oil.