A Legacy of Spies by John le CarréMy 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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