November 9, 2021 Silverview by John le Carré Reviewed by Basil Ransome-Davies John le Carré, eh? Can’t do credible working-class dialogue, draws sympathetic female characters but rather abstractly, plots convoluted and full…
January 17, 2019 Berta Isla by Javier Marías Translated by Margaret Jull Costa Review by Anna Hollingsworth I’m not one for classic spy stories: I don’t care if the martinis come shaken…
October 23, 2018 Transcription by Kate Atkinson Reviewed by Harriet ‘Don’t let your imagination run away with you, Miss Armstrong. You have an unfortunate tendency to do that. Iris isn’t real’….
October 24, 2017 A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré Review by Basil Ransome-Davies However deeply the irony may have entered his soul, John le Carré has no reputation as a jester. An element…
December 8, 2016 Real Tigers by Mick Herron Review by Annabel Herron is one of my favourite author discoveries of recent years. Real Tigers is the third of Mick Herron’s ‘Jackson Lamb’…
October 12, 2016 Slow Horses by Mick Herron Paperback review by Annabel If you’ve not yet encountered Mick Herron, you are in for a treat with Slow Horses. Recently reprinted, it’s the…
January 19, 2016 The Long Room by Francesca Kay Reviewed by Harriet A gripping story of obsession and spies set in eighties London. So says the blurb on the back of this truly…
