A truly remarkable month for espionage thrillers with David McCloskey confirming his position in the very top ranks of the genre and a massively impressive debut by Michael Idov. But also some perky romcom crime, sardonic, murderous comedy from Germany, a Japanese UFO, Shakespeare on the sleuthing trail, a touch of the occult, the final bow of a much-loved character and so much more. The year begins well.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
David McCloskey/THE SEVENTH FLOOR (Swift)
We are truly in the midst of a new Golden Age of espionage thrillers, what with recent tomes by I.S. Berry, Paul Vidich, Joseph Kanon, Merle Nygate, Dan Fesperman, Nick Harkaway inhabiting his father John Le Carré’s world with surprising assurance, and so many others all delivering absolute corkers, many of them moving away from the Cold War era and exacting frightening contemporary resonance to their geopolitical games of cat, mouse and death. And David McCloskey’s third novel masterfully tops his two outstanding debuts by a mile, reintroducing us to maverick CIA operative Artemis Procter following her return to the US after the part debacle of DAMASCUS STATION. With a knowing nod to the classic mole hunt by Smiley in the Karla books, McCloskey seizes the classic trope of a cunning Russian infiltrator in the higher ranks of the American spying hierarchy and its Moscow-based handler/manipulator by the scruff of the neck. Friendships betrayed, loyalties questioned, colleagues cynically sacrificed on the altar of political and operational necessity litter this breathless race against time with truly scary insights into today’s intrigues along the corridors of power in both opposing camps. Outstanding characterisation that draws the reader in to root in succession for every possible character suspected of being the mole, and emotional manipulation driving a pace that never relents. A true genre masterpiece for our times and indispensable reading.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Michael Idov/THE COLLABORATORS (Simon & Schuster)
Yet another contemporary espionage thriller that hits the mark in top gear and seldom let’s off, Idov’s debut is both cinematic and full of highly believable characters. Ari Falk is an American CIA agent covertly based in Latvia whose remit is to cultivate anti-Russian assets and gather intelligence. After a commercial plane flight is illegally diverted and some of its passengers spirited away, one of his main sources is killed and his office attacked in a lethal operation and close colleagues executed, he is forced to go on the run and task in the shadows. In parallel, Maya Chou, a failed actress and heiress in the USA and the daughter of an exiled financier hostile to the Moscow regime has unanswered questions when her father disappears, presumed dead. The two protagonists’ paths soon cross and they bond both operationally and semi-romantically and so begins a breathless investigative adventure that will criss-cross the globe with few they can trust to support or believe them. On paper, the plot is a functional one and not unfamiliar from movies and previous similar incarnations, but Idov breathes fresh air into it through wonderfully-evoked settings, an ear well-attuned to today’s political reality and a strong sense of place and cleverly involves the reader from the off. A sparkling new voice in spy thrillers.
Asia Mackay/A SERIAL KILLER’S GUIDE TO MARRIAGE (Wildfire)
A diverting romp where romcom meets crime in a mischievous tale of crossed lovers with both an agenda and a sinister past who clearly love each other dearly but increasingly find it unsure whether they can trust their other half. A cheeky variation on the perennial ‘Mr and Mrs. Smith’ pattern of domestic secrets and lies, this races along at a jolly rate, witty, conspiratorial and feather light. Both Hazel and Fox have been serial killers from an early age, although without evil or malevolence involved; their personal mission is to eliminate even worse criminals, bad men who elude the established authorities. Hazel is the impulsive one and Fox is the planner. But when they have a child, they agree to momentarily pause in their activities for a while and try and be normal. But Hazel’s instincts inevitably take over and she commits one somewhat justifiable murder and mistakenly keeps it secret from her partner, triggering an avalanche of suspicion. Comedic thrills with both their narrative voices alternating in telling the tale, eliciting sympathy and opprobrium, but also explaining their increasingly bizarre comportments as the reader is obliged to favour one or the other. Great fun and a most pleasing genre-combining debut, in the vein of Bella Mackie and Maz Evans, this will keep you smiling all through the joyful ride.
Karsten Dusse/MURDER MINDFULLY (Faber & Faber)
This major bestseller both in its native Germany and elsewhere offers a deft comic touch with echoes of Carl Hiaasen or Antti Tuomainen in the tale of a mild man taking progressive steps on the slippery slope into crime and more. When lawyer Björn is given an ultimatum by his wife Katharina to adjust his life balance and devote more time to their family life, threatening to move away and take his daughter along, and less to his work, he embarks on a wellness course to reach a sardonic sense of detachment and awareness which promptly provokes him into killing one of his clients, notorious crime boss Dragan Sergowicz, when the latter infringes on his newly-found sense of serenity. The matter-of-fact first-person narrative effortlessly moves up the gears as Björn remarks that it’s taken him 42 years to commit his first murder but takes to the craft like a duck to water and promptly embarks on a killing spree in overdrive while maintaining a Zen-like state of mindfulness. Both something of a breathless thriller and a sharp satire of modern middle-class mores, this proves a great jolly with a murderous twinkle in its eye and will have many laughing out loud if your personal sense of humour has an element of the perverse.
Uketsu/STRANGE PICTURES (Pushkin Vertigo)
Not many books come up with different concepts or moods to surprise me these days, but this patchwork of crime and horror from Japan certainly did, straight from the wonderfully warped brain of an author who despite his success still remains anonymous in Japan where he always appears in a white mask on YouTube. To compound the gratification, there are two further volumes to follow, presumably similarly smoothly translated by Jim Rion. Initially, it appears to be three tales of mystery and the imagination (yes, there is a nod of sorts to Poe) whose connections are slowly unveiled as you dig deeper into the complex puzzle on show, punctuated by curious but vital illustrations, delivering a surfeit of twists and bizarre links that often stretch credibility but also land so accurately in classic puzzle territory and tradition. While the initial tale of a mysterious blog hints at horror and is presented in the form of a child psychology professor lecturing students about it draws the reader into a discombobulating world with echoes of Sherlock’s ratiocinations and even locked room mystery elements, the later tales introduce further disparate strands only to conjure up a devilish web of commonality. Think Manga meets Golden Age meets Murdle and more! Innovative it certainly is!
Howard Linskey/A SERPENT IN THE GARDEN (Canelo)
British author Howard Linskey yet again switches genre with consummate ease, with a page-turner of a historical crime novel featuring none other than William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth 1st’s notorious spymaster notorious Robert Cecil and a plethora of well-known real-life characters from the tumultuous period from both the high ends and lower reaches of society. Considering some of Linskey’s previous books were accomplished police procedurals and WW2 thrillers, this is another impressive addition to his genre skillset. Shakespeare, still early in his playwriting career, has witnessed the success of HENRY VI but still feeling he is in the shadow of Christopher Marlowe, is tasked by Cecil to spy on his would-be patron, the Earl of Southampton whom the spymaster suspects of having caused the death of his cousin Lady Celia. Quickly William is faced by conflicting loyalties as he becomes enamoured with Celia’s companion Rosalind; not a convenient place to find himself in, what with a wife and two children of his own! A great feel for the Elizabethan period, familiarity with many of the historical protagonists, subtle references to Shakespeare’s later plays and known life all make for a delicious tapestry of intrigue and adventure.
Kate van der Borgh/AND HE SHALL APPEAR (4thEstate)
Yet another promising debut by a graduate of the Faber Academy (where I have actually taught a course and seen one of my own students break into print since, albeit not with a crime book!). At the turn of the millennium, the young unnamed narrator, a sometimes-earnest Northerner with music in his blood, arrives at Cambridge to study for a degree, where he is drawn, SALTBURN-like, into a new environment full of wealth, privilege and temptations. Drifting into a friendship with the charismatic and rich Bryn Cavendish who dominates his circle of friends and is reputed for his magic tricks, and his penchant for occultism, alongside his alluring girlfriend Alexa, the plot soon mutates from a tale of academic class warfare into a more unsettling story of dangerous attraction in a setting that borders on the fantastical. With familiar elements of the aforementioned movie but also touches of THE SECRET HISTORY with added paranormal elements and a creepy sense of dread throughout. Stylishly written, this is powerful stuff, blending psychology, a profound love of music (in which the author has been professionally involved) and a subtle dance of attraction and repellence between the two main characters. So much more than a dark academia spin-off and one that will leave a deep mark on the receptive reader.
Jacqueline Winspear/THE COMFORT OF GHOSTS (Alison & Busby)
And so the most enjoyable cosy saga of Maisie Dobbs comes to an end after 18 volumes; it began with the eponymously titled volume in 2003 which I still remember reviewing for the Guardian then and has spanned the tumultuous years between WW1 and WW2 in the footsteps of the working-class English girl who worked as a housemaid and then a nurse during the great conflict and transformed herself into a private investigator cum psychologist with a strong sense of ethics, her cases reflecting the social movement of the times. This final volume, set in 1945 with Britain still in a state of shock and heavy disrepair sees many loose ends tied up and Maisie tackling the instance of four shell-shocked adolescents who survived the war and the bombings now squatting in a Belgravia Mansion, and discovering they are not what they seem and might even have a close connection to the unsolved mystery of her first husband’s disappearance when he was an airman in wartime. In addition to accurately X-raying a country’s social evolution over the course of several decades, Winspear has gathered a group of familiar secondary characters (and a dog) in Maisie’s wake and this odd community is one the guilty pleasures of her series which she cannily wraps up rather poignantly here. The fans will be sad, but the ending is pitch perfect.
Holly Watt/THE LAST TRUTHS WE TOLD (Raven Books)
A first stand-alone thriller from a British writer hitherto known for her series featuring journalist Casey Benedict, a spunky heroine who invariably got mixed up in foreign intrigues and insistent and worthy social agendas. I must confess that series never convinced me as, although well written and pacey, I found the message and coincidences niggling at me constantly, even though I was in a minority and TO THE LIONS won a CWA award. Watt now has a more appealing go at breathing new life in a classic premise, which Agatha Christie originated, of a group of characters reuniting after a long period to examine how their lives have evolved, only to find that one of the nine once students from 20 years earlier has since died in suspicious circumstances and that any of them could have been criminally involved in her death, although Lily had mysteriously attempted to contact journalist Maggie before her demise with hints of danger afoot. It’s a classic premise with a variety of characters all suspecting each other and Watt comes up with a suitable amount of twists and lingering suspicions, but yet again the author’s insistence in making the main protagonist a crusading journalist (like herself) irked, as if she is incapable of coming up with a different type of heroine. On the other hand, many of the characters/suspects are well-drawn with a fascinating glimpse of how they became successful or less so since their university days and predictions. Decent thrills but by the numbers.
Sam Blake/THE KILLING SENSE (Corvus)
An impeccably taut thriller that keeps the pulse going throughout, Sam Blake’s latest novel ticks many boxes. Kate Wilde is a single mum recovering from an abusive marriage and, to her profound surprise, wins a competition which she didn’t recall even having entered, with a 5 day stay in Paris to study the art of perfumery as a prize, although it entails leaving her young daughter back home in the care of her sister. Soon after her arrival in the French capital, Kate however senses the presence of her husband, against whom she has a restraining order, and intimations of danger loom, soon confirmed by the existence of a serial killer targeting red-headed women in the city. The scene is promptly set for a cat-and-mouse intrigue in which layers of apprehension and danger are gradually unpeeled, Kate is assisted by French student Agathe, whose friend has gone mysteriously missing and Daniel Langton, a wealthy British ex-soldier she met on the Eurostar. Fast-paced and relentless, the plot sees danger multiply in Kate’s path, including an evocative segment set in the Paris sewers as the clever plot unfolds, resorting to various narrative voices but never faltering. Gripping stuff.
