Customer Reviews

There Are No Spies

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Another installment of the November Man series, Bill Granger really holds his own in the spy genre. Borrowing from such literary styles as Trevanian, John Le Carre and William Goldman, Granger is able to entertain the reader with solid prose and visual description. This story begins in Switzerland as American agent Devereoux (code name November) has been retired from the spy game, only to be brought back by the game itself...(I think this is how most spy books begin, the main character is retired and forced into returning). The story carries an interesting government conspiracy and elements of suspense. And my favorite, a plot twist at the end that you won't see coming. An entertaining read, I strongly recommend this book just for the fun of it all.

Bill Granger's November Man series in the 80's was the pinnacle of espionage fiction at that time. Having read all 7 of his books featuring R Section agent Deveroux, code name November, this one was the best yet. A tightly woven plot focusing on the forced institutionalization of Section Operations head Hanley draws November back into The Game which he thought he had successfully disappeared from in the last novel, "Hemingway's Notebook". Hanley's knowledge of NUTCRACKER, a spy exchange program has made him expendable to those in power. With a cryptic phone call to Deveroux, Hanley's strange message that "there are no spies" causes Deveroux's new life to unravel, forcing him to seek out old ally/nemesis, Denisov in order to find out what is going on. With beautiful Russian assassins and Traitors in his own government, November must rescue Hanley and put the pieces together in this puzzle of international intrigue. Once again Granger's concise characterizations carry the day as thia fast moving story reaches it's exciting conclusion. Also, there is a surprising twist at the very end involving one of Deveroux's most hated enemies. Spy fiction at it's best by the underappreciated but always dependable Bill Granger. His best.

The plot of There Are No Spies by Bill Granger takes the form of a complex puzzle. The reader knows that something disconcerting is happening. But the who, what, why and how of it remain a complete mystery to the reader until the very end.

The novel's protagonist, Devereaux, a retired American spy (code named November), suddenly finds himself the center of unwanted attention as his former intelligence agency, the highly secretive R Section, is about to implode. As Devereaux is pursued by trained assassins from either side of the Iron Curtain, R Section's Director of Operations is involuntarily committed to a sinister psychiatric hospital hidden in the far reaches of Western Maryland.

Using strong, forceful writing, Granger succeeds in imbuing There Are No Spies with a pervasive feel of impending disaster. A feel made all the more effective because the source, substance and purpose of the threat are kept hidden from the reader. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.

THERE ARE NO SPIES by Bill Granger is my first by this author and I must go back and acquire the others in the November series. Fast paced with just enough foul-ups to be believable as bureaucrats on both sides fight for power and survival.
Devereaux (November), Hanley (Spy-master), Alexa (amoral killer for KGB) and Denisov (retired KGB) join forces for a price to stop the Nutcracker. Betrayals of country and honor makes this a terrific read in the spy/espionage/thriller category. If you haven't met Bill Granger's characters they are well worth the read.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.