A sting in the tale.
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You might think that all that could possibly be said about the Bernard Samson saga had been covered by the first two trilogies, "Game, Set and Match", and "Hook, Line and Sinker". Not so however. As with the first two trilogies, Deighton manages to convey a tremendous sense of both place and time, as well as portraying its main protagonist as a man haunted by his Berlin childhood. It reminds us just how much of the political and social structure of modern Europe has its roots in German National Socialism and the consequent Second World War. Few people can surpass Deighton for complexity of plot, and added to this there is a deeply cynical sense of betrayal when the background behind the espionage "sting" is revealed. Although now a little dated, this trilogy (especially when read, as it should be, after the first two) brings to a close, some of the very finest espionage writing there has ever been - in my humble opinion.
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Extremely readable, highly entertaining.
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This book continues Deighton's style of introducing new sub-plots to advance the main long-running story with customary skill and flair. The story continues to reveal the many sought-after details of the "true" events of "Spy Line", in a manner which will satisfy the most demanding reader, but still leave them hungry for the final installment "Charity". The dialogue is crisp and witty, the plot inpsired, and Deighton's skill for descriptive narrative and the scenes and images of bleak Eastern Europe he creates are rivalled only by Samson's long suffering tolerance of his superior as Dicky continues to amuse and frustrate in equal measure. In all, an indispensable addition to the superb Bernard Samson stories, but best read as part of the whole series, as despite claims that each book can "stand alone", if read in this manner the overall impact of the story will be reduced and the attention to detail, which is part of these book's brilliance, will go unnoticed.
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