A Spy's Life (Large Print) (Paperback) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Henry Porter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2004

Moments after a mysterious air crash at La Guardia Airport, a cell phone rings out from the wreckage in the East River. Stunned and half dead from cold and drowning, the lone survivor, Robert Harland, wades to the remains of an airline seat where his old friend from the CIA lies dead. He snatches the phone from the body, knowing that it is his only hope of being rescued from the rising tide. This is the first act in a journey of survival for the former British spy who, in the twelve years since he was tortured during the Velvet Revolution, has made a new life for himself. The crash of the UN plane wrenches him back to his past. Was it sabotage, and if so, was Harland the target or someone else?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The mysterious crash of a private UN plane at New York's La Guardia airport gets this second spy novel by British author Porter (Remembrance Day) off to a rousing start. The only survivor is former British spy Robert Harland, who wakes up to find himself floating in the freezing East River. Harland, once an MI6 rising star, is now a water specialist for the United Nations, doing good and honorable work for a change. After he survives the crash of the U.N. plane, he is suddenly the target of harassment, threats, assault; then somebody tries to kill him. When a nervous young man named Tomas Rath shows up, claiming to be Harland's son, the ex-spy finds himself caught up in a multigovernment dragnet intended to plug intelligence leaks, a grisly expos‚ of a brutal Bosnian war criminal and a confrontation with a painful piece of his past he would prefer to forget. While being hounded by Walter Vigo, a ruthless British spymaster, Harland tries to unravel the mystery of his son, his former Czech lover and the elusive Lipnik, a Serb mass murderer thought to be dead, but actually very much alive and under the odd protection of several Western powers. This is a spy yarn full of suspense, action, unexpected plot twists and the fascinating detail of covert spy operations where everyone is a liar, even the good guys. Porter has the deft touch of a spy handler, manipulating the plot with skill and never letting up on the risk, tension and uncertainty that come with intelligence activity and danger. Agent, Georgina Capel. (Mar.)Forecast: Porter, the British editor of Vanity Fair, writes frequently for numerous publications in the U.K. Similar exposure in the U.S. (he lives part-time in New York) would help him build his rep here, but spy novel aficionados should find their way to his work regardless.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Robert Harland, a water inspector for the United Nations, is the sole survivor of an airplane crash at New York's La Guardia Airport. His seatmate, Alan Griswald, had been investigating Bosnian atrocities for the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, and the UN secretary-general asks Harland to continue Griswald's investigation. Before he gets far, a young man shows up, claiming to be his son, and Griswald's former boss in British intelligence tracks him down. Harland's shadowy past as a spy begins to intersect with his search for a war criminal, who has ties to the intelligence agencies of Western powers. Harland must unravel the mysterious jet crash, fight accusations of treason, find out what his son is involved in, and locate a former lover, all while avoiding murder plots and struggling with the haunting memories of his own Cold War experiences. This entertaining second novel by Porter (Remembrance Day) never flags despite a labyrinthine plot whose action extends from the United States to England and on to Eastern Europe. Recommended for all public libraries. Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: The Large Print Book Company (October 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596880333
• ISBN-13: 978-1596880337
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,318,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Complex Spy Yarn, April 7, 2002

By 

Brett Benner (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Spy's Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

I read the synopsis for this book in Vanity Fair, which highly recommended it. It was only after I had started it I learned the author is the editor for British vanity Fair. That being said it is for the most part an enjoyable espionage thriller. When Robert Harland's U.N. plane crashes in the waters right beside LaGuardia airport he is the sole survivor. Rescued by a bizarre technological stroke of luck, he has only just returned home, when a man show up on his doorstep claiming to be his son; The result of an affair he'd had years before with a Czech woman when he was a spy for the British. What this man has to tell him combined with the crash which Harland believes may have been sabotage,begins to unravel an unsettling and intricately plotted novel that moves from Manhattan to the streets of London, to the war torn fields of Bosnia. I thought Henry Porter created some wonderfully drawn characters, mainly Harland's caring sister, and the brilliant Tomas. I think plot wise I was just expecting a non stop fast paced thriller and instead this is a much more complex political chess game with bursts of action. But if you're a fan of authors like Robert Ludlam you'd probably really enjoy this.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent espionage thriller, March 1, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Spy's Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

When the UN plane crashed near LaGuardia Airport, Robert Harland quickly realizes he is in great danger of drowning, as the rescuers have no idea he was dumped into the nearby East River. He struggles over to where Alan Griswold reclines in a busted up seat, but finds his friend is dead. Robert's personal luck continues when Alan's cell phone rings. This enables Alan to inform the caller where he is. Robert takes Alan's wallet with him before the rescuers save his life.

As Robert recovers from his one in a fifty billion chance of survival, he learns what happened. Transportation blames it on physics, but the FBI hints at sabotage. UN Secretariat Jaidi asks Robert to learn why someone destroyed a plane, murdering officially ten people and unofficially eleven in order to kill Alan. Apparently, Alan had damaging information on someone. A former espionage agent, Robert agrees to uncover the truth even as a young man Tomas Rath comes into his life claiming to be his son through a liaison over two decades ago with Czech Eva Houresh.

Rarely does a novel start off as exciting as a SPY'S LIFE does. Henry Porter never eases up on the throttle from his first page in the East River to the final overseas confrontation. The espionage thriller is very complex though it appears to contain an unnecessary spin or two too many. The cast is developed so that readers appreciate Robert as a fabulous lead character while those who seem on the hero's side and his enemies round out a strong tale of international intrigue.

Harriet Klausner

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wildy implausible plot, June 20, 2002

By 

"giraffenecktie" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Spy's Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

Perhaps I'm just getting old and jaded but with this novel I felt that I not only had to suspend my disbelief, I had to take my disbelief out behind the shed, bind it, gag it and inject a tranquilizer. The first half of the novel lurches from one improbable scene to the next. I can forgive a novelist for one or two amazing coincidences or unlikely plot developments but on nearly every page of the first half of this book I found myself saying "A real spy wouldn't do that" or "That would never happen". The second half, however, settles into a conventional but competent thriller.
In all, a modestly enjoyable conspiracy-driven thriller.