Book #39 Call for the Dead

Call for the Dead by John le Carré
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where it all began, fifty-seven years ago. The first John le Carré book to feature George Smiley. My third read of a modern classic. This was and remains a true reflection of the cold world of espionage. Smiley is required to interview a civil servant, Samuel Fennan. It's a routine security check, but the following day Fennan apparently commits suicide. Or did he? On the very day that Smiley is ordered off the enquiry he receives an urgent letter from the dead man. What, if anything, do the East Germans and their agents know about this man's death? Does the East German Steel Mission have a rôle to play in this gripping tale of deceit?

For those of you who have read the Smiley canon you will know that the Fennan debacle features in future plots. Le Carré was (is) brilliant at following threads through decades of suspense.

These latest editions from Penguin Modern Classics feature wonderful art-deco covers, which alone make them attractive to own.

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Book #38 The Whitstable Pearl Mystery

The Whitstable Pearl Mystery by Julie Wassmer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A delightful, cosy read, combining seafood, murder and the multitasking Pearl Nolan. Set in the small seaside town of Whitstable on the North Kent coast; resonates with me as I was born in a small village not many miles away and know the area well - Seasalter, Tankerton, Whitstable, Cliftonville, Margate. So many locations mentioned like the quirky Walpole Bay hotel where my wife and I spent a memorable holiday a few years ago.

Pearl owns the Whitstable Pearl restaurant specialising with oyster and other seafood dishes. The area is well known for its oyster industry. Pearl is assisted by her vibrant mother, Dolly and the young woman, Ruby. Pearl is a former policewoman and has a mind to start a private investigation service.

Add DCI Mike McGuire and Pearl's son Charlie to the mix and you have the makings of the perfect mystery story. Characters you cannot help but like in a very well written plot.

Oxford had Morse, Brighton has Roy Grace and it appears that Whitstable has Pearl Nolan.

I loved it.

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Book #37 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The jewel in the crown of the espionage canon. I first read The Spy… in the early 70s with a second reading in the 90s, I believe it was. This has been my third reading. Having recently read A Legacy of Spies, which filled in so many pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that had tormented fans for more than fifty years, I just had to revisit the Smiley era.

George Smiley was introduced in Call for the Dead in 1961. He returned in 1962 in A Murder of Quality, his only story set outside the intelligence community. Then, in 1963, comes the masterpiece: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold which remains the best spy story I have ever read (I agree with Graham Greene). It is a recognition of the quality of Le Carré’s writing that I could remember the book so well, almost quoting some passages verbatim.

The story relates a complicated act of deadly triple-bluff created by the British Secret Service against its enemies in the German Democratic Republic, the Abteilung. Alec Leamas is at the centre of the plot - believes he is on a clever undercover mission of revenge but clever British brains have other motives… Le Carré laces the plot with multifarious complexities as Leamas comes to realise that he has been used by his own side - fooled, manipulated and misinformed. Leamas has travelled deep into the heart of Communist Germany, ostensibly to betray his country. Smiley tries to help the woman, Liz Gold, that Leamas has befriended with devastating consequences…

The Spy… is a dark, brutal, totally believable tale of espionage during the Cold War. Spies, summed up by Leamas to Liz Gold: ”What do you think spies are: priests, saints and martyrs? They’re a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists and drunkards, people who play cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten lives. Do you think they sit like monks in London balancing the rights and wrongs…” This is a terminally fatigued Alec Leamas and the ending of the story still leaves me devastated.

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Book #36 After The Party

After the Party by Cressida Connolly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Drawn like a moth to a flame to this intriguing story. A family saga amongst the County Set in Sussex, between the Great Wars. And a piece of political history that I had scant knowledge of, even at my age. Seemingly sensible folk beguiled by the British Alliance, an overt group of fascists.

Phyllis and her husband Hugh return to England after living for several years in Belgium. They stay with sister Patricia in her palladian mansion for a while until sister Nina finds them a place to rent, whilst Hugh searches for a piece of land to build a new property.

It’s 1938. Nina runs summer camps, a cloak for Alliance meetings, and Phyllis with her idealism is captivated by the charismatic Master - Oswald Mosley, who preaches appeasement before war. Women of principle are attracted to the movement, little understanding how they will be ostracised when war does inevitably break out.

One event, at a party will change Phyllis’ life for ever as she recounts in a personal record following her lengthy incarceration. The reason for her time in prison becomes clear as her personal account unwinds.

Difficult to say more without revealing too much. I can say that I became totally immersed in After The Party. It’s different and beautifully written, almost hypnotic. A piece of social and political history that benefits from the revelations in this remarkable book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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Book #35 The Liar's Room

Will be published on 9th August 2018 A cracking, psychological thriller from fellow Brightonian, Simon Lelic. A very clever plot. The writer holds the reader spellbound with a riveting plot that revolves around just three main characters. That takes great skill. Susanna, Adam and Emily, Susanna's daughter. Add Jake to the mix, Susanna's long dead son and you have a complex storyline with plenty of shocks in store. Susanna is a counsellor and thinks she has escaped a dark past. Horrendous events that involved her son Jake. But has she? Does her previous life remain concealed? Adam Geraghty has made an appointment to see Susanna. Who is he? Does Susanna know him? There is something about him.... Does Adam know Susanna? Does he have a dark motive for their meeting? A meeting that takes place in Susanna's office. A meeting full of menace as disturbing facts are revealed. There are chapters where I found myself unable to turn pages quickly enough, breathless... The Liar's Room is a compelling read, with a final momentous twist. Highly recommended. My thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books and Simon Lelic for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Book #34 A Legacy of Spies

A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

John Le Carré is the undisputed master of the espionage novel. I remember reading The Spy Who Came in From the Cold back in the 60s, the book that introduced us to Alec Leamas and Liz Gold and Hans-Dieter Mundt, an assassin of the East German Secret Service, whose diplomatic cover in London is uncovered by George Smiley and Peter Guillam of British Intelligence. We have waited fifty-four years for pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to be completed.

It is present day. The ageing Peter Guillam, now living in Brittany, receives a letter summoning him to London. Cold War ghosts have come back to haunt him. Past misdemeanours are being dissected, deaths that occurred decades ago. There are those who seek retribution, revenge even. What did happen to Leamas and Gold at the Berlin Wall all those years ago?

A Legacy of Spies is a brilliant read, utterly engrossing and a virtual recasting of his earlier masterpiece. I feel like going back and reading the entire Smiley canon once again.

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Book #33 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a delight reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society has been. I did not want it to end. My wife and I saw the film a short while ago and I just had to get a copy of the book. The film is wonderful; the book more so. Seeing the film first kept the characters in the mind's eye as portrayed by well known actors. The book contains so much more than the film script, although the latter is faithful to the overall story line.

I want to join the society. I want all my friends and family to read this book so that we can continue to discuss it. I want it to go on forever. Is that too romantic a notion? I think not. I will probably read it again. This wonderful society that was a refuge for the islanders during the German occupation. Taking the reader out of our time and place and understanding. Stories of deprivation and heartbreaking memories of concentration camps. But, for all that, filled with characters who you come to love and told in correspondence with the writer, Juliet Ashton from members of the society. Juliet's visit to the island that captures her heart. Whose wouldn't be?

I must go back to Guernsey, take the book with me. Immerse myself once again in these utterly delightful pages. The book is a gem and will stay with me for a long time to come.

Highly recommended.

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