London Match [Paperback]

Len Deighton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 1995

Long-awaited reissue of the final part of the classic spy trilogy, GAME, SET and MATCH, when the Berlin Wall divided not just a city but a world. The spy who's in the clear doesn't exist! Bernard Samson hoped they'd put Elvira Miller behind bars. She said she had been stupid, but it didn't cut any ice with Bernard. She was a KGB-trained agent and stupidity was no excuse. There was one troubling thing about Mrs Miller's confession - something about two codewords where there should have been one. The finger of suspicion pointed straight back to London. And that was where defector Erich Stinnes was locked up, refusing to say anything. Bernard had got him to London; now he had to get him to talk!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Winding up the tense story begun in Berlin Game and continued in Mexico Set, Deighton's new thriller follows British intelligence agent Bernard Samson as he careens between troubled spots in Berlin and London. Bernard's recent triumph is persuading the KGB's renowned spy Erich Stennis to defect to England but, since Samson's wife Fiona has gone over to the Russians, he isn't entirely trusted by his colleagues. Now suspicions that another mole has been planted among the operatives in London exacerbate Samson's fears, mostly for his small children, if he is accused. Determined to protect himself from his own fellow workers and the wily plots of Fiona and the KGB, Samson plunges into harrowing situations, climaxing in a bloody battle which both sides claim they've won. Actually, as Samson reveals, everybody loses in the deadly game of espionage. 100,000 first printing; Literary Guild selection. January 3
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this conclusion to his spy trilogy, Deighton's preoccupation is defection and betrayal, just as it was in the popular earlier volumes, Berlin Game and Mexico Set. But readers need not be familiar with those books to enjoy this one. The plot centers on whether a KGB defector is actually a Soviet plant, and whether there is another Russian mole hidden high up in British Intelligence. Deighton can be a master at creating a tingly sense of deepening tension in the cold and dark of Berlin or in the equally dangerous but deceptively polite office politics of London Central. The suspense tightens steadily to the final showdown, which unfortunately is something of a disappointment. Not quite on the level of Le Carre's Smiley trilogy, with its similar themes and plot twists, but surely essential reading for all espionage fans. Literary Guild main selection. Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: Grafton (July 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0586066357
• ISBN-13: 978-0586066355
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 7.6 x 4.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,146,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mole hunting, May 28, 2002

By 

D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: London Match (Mass Market Paperback)

It's one of those hall-of-mirrors British spy stories in which the puzzle is to figure out who is working for whom, and who is double-crossing whom.
I was rereading my Len Deightons, partly to see how much impact they still have post-cold war, and I picked this one up out of order. After the first few pages I remembered that this was third in the Bernard Samson series, set in the 1970's and 80's, but it has close affinities to the Harry Palmer series of the 60's, especially Funeral in Berlin. (This has a 1985 publication date). If you're completely new to Len Deighton I'd start with those, and of course you should read Berlin Game and Mexico Set before this.
Some people think Deighton deteriorated in the later spy books. They contain fewer wisecracks and less descriptive scene- setting. In compensation there's a lot of subtle humor in the portrayal of the Dilbert-like atmosphere of office politics, and the plots are more sharply focussed and draw naturally to a climax. The earlier books tend to jump from episode to episode with a tidying up of plot in the last chapter.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wheels within wheels, February 19, 2001

By 

"michaeleve" - See all my reviews

This review is from: London Match (Mass Market Paperback)

Previously, in two preceeding Bernard Samson books we found out that Fiona was a deep KGB plant in MI6. 'Game' went to her. Bernard, her husband was the one who exposed her and then got his own back at the KGB by helping with the defection of Fiona's deputy. 'Set' to Bernard. The concluding book in the trilogy and the decider of the 'match' is appropriately enough the most complex plot of the three.

It's bad enough that Bernard has not quite won back the full confidence of MI6, still smarting over Fiona's sting; they're naturally enough still suspicious of her husband. What's worse is that Bernard uncovers evidence that there is another 'mole' within MI6. Evidence points to Bret Rensselaer. It could not get more awkward for Bernard. Bret is his supervisor. Bernard suspects him of having had an affair with Fiona, and now that he is under investigation, Bret turns to Bernard as the only person who can clear him.

The book brilliantly puts all of this human emotion and drama into play as well as other domestic issues pressing in on Bernard. Fiona may try to take away their children, to live with her in East Berlin. Fiona's father, wealthy, better able to provide, and a doting grand-dad also wants the children and Bernard fears he may attempt a legal move. It's left to Bernard to deal with all of this and still find out who is the mole in MI6.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dynamite ending that will keep the reader hungry for more., July 5, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: London Match (Mass Market Paperback)

Bernard finaly confronts his betrayer over the fate of their children and the consequences of it show that the story of Bernard and Fiona Sampson is far from over. Don't read this unless you have read the two previous novels.