Spy Line [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Len Deighton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1990

British agent Bernard Samson finds himself inexplicably hunted as a traitor, forced to abandon his life, his job, his position, and plunge into hiding in the most dangerous and darkest corner of Berlin. What is happening? What has he done? Nothing makes sense until Samson discovers that the Secret Service has known all along where he is. In fact, they have never taken him off the payroll. And now they are prepared to return his freedom and good name -- but there are strings attached, strings that begin to tighten around his neck even before his plane lands in Vienna . . .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Deighton's novels Berlin Game , Mexico Set and London Match initiated the stories about British secret agent Bernard Samson, whose wife Fiona has defected to the U.S.S.R. As narrated by Samson, the three tales are intensely exciting, a quality that continued at high pitch in Spy Hook , the first volume in the new trilogy. This is the second, opening with Samson in Berlin, a fugitive from England where the intelligence service accused him of spying for the Soviets. With the CIA and KGB also menacing him, Samson is suddenly cleared of the charge of treason and returned to London and to warm welcomes from colleagues, his lover Gloria and his children. The situation changes, however, when he's sent on a "simple" mission to Vienna and a deep-cover meeting with Fiona. In the resulting events, the loyal agent's safety becomes even more tenuous than it was during his darkest days in Berlin. Maintaining unrelenting tension and chronicling an escalation of intrigue and violent death, the new thriller will make readers eager for the answers in the next. 200,000 first printing; BOMC selection.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

'Spy Line is vigorous and sleazy, psychologically complex and action-packed. It is always exciting' Daily Mail 'This is vintage Deighton' Sunday Times 'For sheer readability he has no peer' The Standard 'No one can evoke the city of Berlin better than Deighton' Sunday Telegraph 'Deighton's grip on the tensions of espionage grows ever tighter' Mail on Sunday --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 447 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Pr (November 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896219925
• ISBN-13: 978-0896219922
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,299,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the trilogy, October 13, 2010

By 

TChris (Tzer Island) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Spy Line (Hardcover)

Spy Line -- the middle installment in the Hook, Line, and Sinker trilogy -- picks up where Spy Hook left off. Samson's loyalty is questioned, he isn't getting answers to his own questions about his wife's defection, people are dying, and people who seemed to die in the past aren't staying dead. More I cannot say without spoiling the intricate plot.

Spy Line has more action than the previous novel. Samson proves himself an adept field agent even after years behind a desk. But he isn't a James Bond type superhero; he's a dedicated public servant who wants to uncover the truth even if his superiors would prefer that the truth be kept secret. The minor characters in Spy Line really shine: they bumble, they seduce, they act shamefully or unselfishly -- in short, they behave as inconsistently and unpredictably as real people, and real people is what they feel like. Deighton does a masterful job of bringing every character to life in this book. He also does a remarkable job of establishing a sense of place -- the reader feels present in (what was then) East Germany, feels the repression, the fear, the history. And he does a satisfying job of tying together the loose threads, of resolving all the outstanding plot lines.

The story is compelling (even shocking) but this novel stands out for Deighton's portrayal of Samson as a man torn apart by his love for a treasonous wife, for his live-in girlfriend, and for his country (which doesn't treat him well at all). This novel is nearly as good as John Le Carre at his best.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great entry in the series...if you want a series...., May 20, 2002

By 

Rottenberg's rotten book review (nyc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spy Line (Mass Market Paperback)

Its just another day in the espionage war in a divided Europe. The wall hasnt come down, and its an unending game of Spy v. Spy on both sides. At the outset of Spyline British agent Bernard Samson is in hiding in a dingy section of the divided and espionage-ridden city of Berlin. Why hes in exile isnt exactly clear to him, even as he does have some friends, or at least some human resources on which he can rely. He feels it may have something to do with his wife, Fiona, who disappeared after going over to the Russians. Allowed to return home to his new wife, Gloria, Samson thinks his problems are behind him. Instead, he soon realizes that something is brewing, something that will send him back across the wall, to tangle with a psychotic American who kills for any side that will hire him, and to finally confront his wife.

Its clear that Spy Line is an entry in a larger series, one that began with Spy Hook (which it immediately followed) and culminated in Spy Sinker  the complex relationships and their continuity are obviously much larger than any single book. (The Spy books themselves are also part of a much larger continuity  one including the trilogies of Game-Set-Match, as well as Charity, Hope and Faith, as well as the WWII epic Winter). Line is also dwarfed by its shortness (for the quality of its writing, its not a long read; also the plot covers a brief span of time) and by the loose ends it creates (Fionas sister insists on accompanying Bernard into The East  with disastrous results; and how will Bernard explain everything to Gloria?) without resolving them. Deighton is less concerned with resolving problems than in artfully describing the pain they cause. Unfortunately, that makes the book seem painfully unstructured  like an episode of a TV show. Line like most of Deightons books, is worth reading for the quality of prose alone. However, the plot details  which take Bernard from Berlin to London, and to Vienna, meeting stamp collectors, historians, ex-spies and freelance murderers  seems above the book, implying that youll have to read all the Samson books. Its almost like a prison sentence, and clearly one that has taken its toll on poor Samson. In short  a good book, but only great book if youre willing to read a dozen more.

4.0 out of 5 stars 5th in the series, November 22, 2008

By 

D. K. Stokes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spy Line (Paperback)

I've always enjoyed spy stories, but I don't read all that many of them. As a result, when I run across one by a familiar author, I buy it and don't pay attention to chronology. Spy Line is the 5th in Deighton's Bernard Samson series. I'm pretty sure I read the 4th book, but have no clue about the others.

British secret agent Bernard Samson's life has just become even more dangerous and confusing. Apparently, Spy Line picks up where Spy Hook leaves off, with Bernard on the run in Berlin, suspected of being a double agent.

He starts putting information together from the bits and pieces he learns from various sources, and makes his way home to his girlfriend and children.

Then he discovers it was all a setup, and that it has to do with his wife Fiona, who'd defected to the Soviet Union years earlier.

Spy Line has a nice balance of exciting spy adventure and emotional turmoil. I particularly enjoyed Bernard's mixed emotions regarding Fiona.

Len Deighton's writing isn't quite as obscure as John LeCarre's, but it's not all that straightforward, either. I'm not sure if I think that having to read between the lines a bit fits the subject matter, or if it's just that I'm used to reading spy novels by these two. Still, I think I'd have enjoyed it more if it had been written in a clearer style.

One of these days, I need to make myself a checklist and read these books in order so I get more out of them.