Death by Espionage: Intriguing Stories of Betrayal and Deception [Hardcover]

Martin Cruz Smith (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing on the long history and cosmopolitan membership of the International Association of Crime Writers, the author of the Arkady Renko thrillers has stitched together a crazy quilt of 19 spy stories set in locales as far-flung as Israel, Cuba and Thailand. Smith's selections include works by major 19th-century figures such as Guy de Maupassant and Mark Twain, as well as tales by lesser-known modern practitioners, including Carmen Iarrera and Jean-Hughes Oppel. There are also entries from authors whose fame lies in other genres: John D. MacDonald's "Betrayed," Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" and John Jakes's "Dr. Sweetkill." The result is an intriguing mix of classic stories and new, post-Cold War points of view that often subvert the James Bond archetype. Ambrose Bierce's excellent account of a meeting between a noble Confederate spy and a Union captain, "The Story of Conscience," demonstrates the affection a man can feel for his enemy. Arnaldo Correa's solid entry, "Spy's Fate," features a Cuban master spy whose demanding job has destroyed the happiness of his family. Jose Latour's compelling "Golam" describes an Israeli agent who decides to write his memoirs in order to gain recognition for his secret feats. There are some disappointing selections, and many modern giants are missing (Ian Fleming, Eric Ambler, Graham Greene among them), but Smith's compilation can wear a sturdy cloak and shining dagger with honor. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A memorable collection of 16 stories, edited with an insightful introduction by the accomplished Smith(Havana Bay, p.480, etc.), who also recently won the Hammett Prize from the International Association of Crime Writers for his novel Rose. The group of distinguished, well-published, and, in most cases, well-known authors represented here includes the likes of Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, and Maupassant, going on to John D. MacDonald, John Jakes, John Lutz, Jean-Hugues Oppel, and Michael Collins. Just as varied as the talent, of course, are the adventures and their settingsthe Adirondacks during the Reagan-period Cold War years; Los Angeles and the Tommy Dorsey swing era on the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor; or Prussian-occupied Colombes, France, at the time of WWI, where Maupassant takes us fishing with two temporarily noncombatant foot soldiers. Mark Twain writes of a galloping case of what Smith describes as ``spy fever'' during the Civil War, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary crime sleuths, Holmes and Watson, lend their prodigious powers of detection to solving the puzzle of missing intelligence plans that in the wrong hands could threaten the British Admiralty. A timeless potpourri and hours of great reading in digestible portions for professional and amateur spy-meisters alike. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 415 pages
• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581820402
• ISBN-13: 978-1581820409
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,350,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Grave Disappointment of Cruz Smith, March 14, 2001

By 

Robert Carignan "Bob Carignan, artist/photogr... (Korsør, Vestsjælland Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death by Espionage: Intriguing Stories of Betrayal and Deception (Hardcover)

I am more than an avid fan of Mr. Martin Cruz Smith. I own a complete collection of his works. Either I read the book hype wrong or else I have mis-judged Mr. Cruz Smith's ability as a writer. Except for the excerpts by established time honored writers: Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Guy de Maupassant, I find the book mundane, deplorable and a disappointment that Mr. Cruz Smith attached his name to it. I found bad usage of grammar, stories that lost the development of the plot, confusion of character identification (Frederick ?)and just poor mystery writing overall.Amaturism personified. Mr. Cruz Smith, did you read the book before you affixed your name to it? I will gladly sell it if I thought I could recoup my costs. This shakes my confidence in Mr. Cruz Smiths future writings and whether or not I may purchase them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad at all, January 6, 2008

By 

Prairie Pal (Winnipeg, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death by Espionage: Intriguing Stories of Betrayal and Deception (Hardcover)

All collections of short stories are going to have their hits and their near-misses. Fans of Sherlock Holmes will welcome the inclusion of the "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans", though it's not one of Conan Doyle's best. Ed Hoch leaves a hard-boiled little "noir" twist at the end of his "Enemy Territory" and Guy de Maupassant is at his Frenchified best in "Two Fishers". In his introduction Martin Cruz Smith says that the espionage story has entered a golden age and these tales show flashes of that.