Customer Reviews

Spy Hook

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

No other author ever tried so hard -- or succeeded so admirably -- in writing about Cold War spies as human being, as opposed to Automaton (Tom Clancy), UberMan (Ian Fleming) or Captain Angst (John Le Carre). Len Deighton's Bernard Samson actually seems to be a person, juggling the normal burdens of family life with a surreal job situation. It's not great art, or even a great spy novel, but it is superb melodrama.

The fourth of 10 books (nine if you discount Winter), Spy Hook is the high-point of this tautly-written series. The usual characters -- Bernard, Frank Harrington, Tante Lisl, Werner Volkmann, et. al. -- make their appearance with as much charm and skill as Deighton has ever mustered. The espionage is gripping without being overbearing and the characterization more deft and detailed than ever.

To the reader of Game, Set, Match, Spy Hook won't be a revolutionary experience, but it will remind you of how compelling the concept is and how skillful the execution are. It's like returning to an old friend, only he's better than even you remembered.

For new readers -- you will never want to leave.

And if you think Tom Clancy is great, you will hate this series.

The start of the 2nd Trilogy, following on from 'Game, Set and Match'. This story starts with the problem of missing funds (1/2 million pounds). Bernard, ever the gopher and trouble-shooter (or is it just that he get's things done) is sent to Washington to find out what Jim Prettyman can tell London about the missing funds. Jim's not talking. First, he refuses to tell Bernard anything and then, just hours later, is apparently murdered.

We're off. On another Deighton intrigue, this one resolving itself in California. Along the way, Gloria (Bernard's girlfiend) introduces him to Dodo, a Hungarian ex-spook that used to work for the West. He seems to know things - about the money's use, about what's going on in the service, about Bernard's father's intelligence work in WWII. All of this has implications for the plot - perhaps the most convoluted and satisfying of the series.

Bernard's trip to California reveals surprises, by way of persons, thought gone, but whose appearance here helps explain the disappearance of the money and what it is being used for.

This is the first novel of a trilogy that follows the Game, Set and Match trilogy (in which British agent Bernard Samson's wife Fiona defects). Spy Hook begins with the beleaguered Samson asking former agent Jim Pettyman, now working for an American corporation, to return to England to answer questions in the investigation of missing agency funds. After considerable intrigue involving (among other characters), a Hungarian known as Dodo, Samson learns something he isn't supposed to know about Bret Rensselaer, an agent who played an important role (and died) in the Game, Set and Match trilogy. To the consternation of his bosses, Samson keeps nosing into the missing money, following his suspicion that Fiona set up the account. Eventually Samson comes under suspicion (could he be working with his treasonous wife?) and as the noose begins to tighten, we come to a cliffhanger ending.

As some other reviewers note, the sheer number of characters involved in the story can make it a bit confusing, but that complexity is just a reason to pay attention, to look back from time to time, or to take notes, not to dislike the book. The story is fast paced, intriguing, tightly plotted and well written with sharply defined characters. Samson's growing confusion as he defies orders and investigates matters he's supposed to leave alone makes him an appealing, sympathetic character. The supporting characters are often recognizable components of bureaucratic institutions -- the ones who get ahead by knowing the right people and stay there by creatively doing nothing, taking credit for the hard work of their subordinates. I would give this novel 4 1/2 stars if only to distinguish it from the 5 stars I've given the next book, Spy Line, which is even better.

After GAME, SET & MATCH Deighton ups the pace with a much shorter book. Deighton reveals a little more about his characters while our hero becomes increasingly baffled. A terrific hook for the rest of the series

The action follows that of London Match, and I don't think it's giving anything away to say that it ends with a cliffhanger forcing you to read Spy Line, the next in the series.
Samson the wearied but enthusiastic British spy who is the hero of this series, is a rerun of Palmer of the much earlier Ipcress File. Many of the same situations recur. Even the bumbling fellow passenger on the plane is a rerun. The plot, as in all the others, hinges on which British spy will turn out to be a mole working for the Russians. Much of the action takes place in a divided Berlin. This was published in 1988 so the end of the Cold War was about to out-date it in a way, but it's still great entertainment.
One group of Deighton fans regards this series as a falling off from his earlier stories. They are more conventional in a way, but this partly refects that Deighton and Carre were being imitated, rather than that Deighton was yielding to fashion.

Interesting Brit-style spy novel, the first of a three-book series. I was very interested in the topic, yet had a little trouble keeping all the characters straight, making it somewhat convoluted. But there is enough action, and very little offensive language or situations, to keep me interested. I am ordering the next book, "Spy Line," today.

This book flows along nicely but never actually goes anywhere. The book simply ends with no action, and no questions answered. It left me very very annoyed.

After GAME, SET & MATCH Deighton ups the pace with a much shorter book. Deighton reveals a little more about his characters while our hero becomes increasingly baffled. A terrific hook for the rest of the series.

Used book arrived on schedule and was in good, readable condition as advertised by seller.

This is by far the worst book I have ever read. It is dull, boring, and you don't even have a clue as to what is going on until about the 20th chapter (and it only has 22 chapters).