Spies like us – review of Kate Atkinson’s Transcription
Fiction writers are liars by trade and spy novelists are the biggest liars of all. Their entire genre is based on deception and betrayal of trust. And I don’t just mean the characters. As with…
Collateral damage – review of Berta Isla by Javier Marías
Last month I reviewed the latest, possibly last, novel by one of the giants of spy fiction, Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré. Today a very different, indeed very unusual, spy novel.…
John le Carré’s new novel Agent Running in the Field – review
There’s something about books written by masters of their craft towards the end of their careers. It’s a kind of poise, an ease, that you can see in (say) Philip Roth’s late books. (Which isn’t…
Review: Joe Country by Mick Herron
Publishers, agents and readers love a running series. Like a fast food outlet a good series promises a regular supply of what you love. A McNovel. Mick Herron hit a rich vein of dark spy…
Join the washed-up spooks in Spook Street
Spook Street: Spies, it seems, come in distinct and recognisable flavours. There’s the glamorous-sexy (Bond), the depressive-tragic (The Spy Who Came In From The Cold). The dumped-on-by-the-boss (The Ipcress File). The intellectual-self-effacing (Smiley). And, of…