A Delicate Truth by John le Carré

June 14, 2014August 28, 2021Leave a comment

A delicate truth by John Le Carre

After 9/11 the gloves came off in the espionage field and in the war on terror as Western governments grappled with this new and brutal threat from al-Qaeda.

A Delicate Truth is John le Carré’s 23rd and novel and details the conflicts between conscience, duty and the murky wworld of government cover-ups.

Toby Bell, a decent young man and private secretary to a British foreign minister, hears of a counter-terrorism operation on the crown colony of Gibraltar.

Codenamed Wildlife, the operation is being mounted in Britain’s most important colony. The plan is to capture and abduct a top jihadist arms-buyer. Toby is not cleared for it due to it’s high level secrecy and it is planned by a Foreign Office Minister and a private defence contractor.

Throughout the book there is a whiff of le Carré and his own journey through life.

The book shows the change in the world of espionage since 9/11 and it’s increasing militarisation.

The espionage novel follows Toby as he tries to do the right thing while the plot dances around the Foreign Office corridors.

John le Carré at his best.

Syyskuun 11. päivän jälkeen käsineet irrotettiin vakoilualalla ja terrorismin vastaisessa sodassa, kun länsimaiset hallitukset kamppailivat tämän uuden ja raa’an al-Qaidan uhan kanssa.

Herkkä totuus on John le Carrén 23. ja romaani, ja siinä kerrotaan omatunnon, velvollisuuksien ja hallituksen peiton hämärän maailmansodan välisistä ristiriidoista.

Toby Bell, kunnollinen nuori mies ja Ison-Britannian ulkoministerin yksityinen sihteeri, kuulee terrorismin vastaisesta operaatiosta Gibraltarin kruununsiirtokunnassa.

Koodinimi Wildlife, operaatio asennetaan Britannian tärkeimpään siirtokuntaan. Suunnitelmana on kaapata ja siepata ylimääräinen jihadistinen aseiden ostaja. Tobylle ei myönnetä lupaa sen vuoksi, koska se on korkean tason salassapitovelvollisuus, ja sen suunnittelevat ulkoministeriö ja yksityinen puolustusurakoitsija.

Koko kirjassa on le Carré ja hänen oma elämänsä matka.

Kirja osoittaa vakoilumaailman muutoksen syyskuun 11. päivän jälkeen ja lisää militarisointia.

Vakoiluromaani seuraa Tobyä hänen yrittäessään tehdä oikein, kun juoni tanssii ulkoministeriön käytävillä.

John le Carré parhaimmillaan.

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The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth

June 14, 2014August 28, 2021Leave a comment

The kill list by Frederick Forsyth

What can I say about Forsyth!….a giant of a writer who’s meticulous research just oozes out of the pages. I live in expectant anticipation for each new novel. Frederick Forsyth is a true master of the thriller genre.

The Kill List is highly topical, scarey and cleverly plotted. A terrorist who delivers online radical sermons and who has come to be known as The Preacher has incited some Muslims to carry out assassinations. A retired US Marine general is one of their victims, but his son is a terrorist hunter.

The terrosit hunter enlists the helps of a teenage computer geek with Asperger’s Syndrome. The young man never leaves the loft of his family home though he is a genius when it comes to the internet.

The novel races between the USA and Somalia with detailed subplots involving warlords, pirates and special forces.

Forsyth has an intense knowledge of all he writes of which is ever evident.

Frederick Forsyth is at his best in this fiction novel and shows the true mastery he has attained through skill and exceptional hard work.

Don’t miss out on this great fiction novel.

Wat kan ik zeggen over Forsyth!…een reus van een schrijver wiens nauwgezette onderzoek gewoon uit de pagina’s druipt. Ik leef vol verwachting uit naar elke nieuwe roman. Frederick Forsyth is een ware meester van het thrillergenre.

The Kill List is zeer actueel, eng en slim geplot. Een terrorist die online radicale preken houdt en die bekend is komen te staan als The Preacher, heeft sommige moslims ertoe aangezet om moorden te plegen. Een gepensioneerde generaal van de Amerikaanse mariniers is een van hun slachtoffers, maar zijn zoon is een terroristenjager.

De terrosietenjager roept de hulp in van een tienercomputernerd met het syndroom van Asperger. De jonge man verlaat nooit de zolder van zijn ouderlijk huis, hoewel hij een genie is als het om internet gaat.

De roman racet tussen de VS en Somalië met gedetailleerde subplots met krijgsheren, piraten en speciale troepen.

Forsyth heeft een intense kennis van alles wat hij schrijft, wat altijd duidelijk is.

Frederick Forsyth is op zijn best in deze roman en toont het ware meesterschap dat hij heeft bereikt door vaardigheid en uitzonderlijk hard werken.

Mis deze geweldige fictieroman niet.

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Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

December 3, 2013August 28, 2021Leave a comment

The eye of the needle by Ken Follett

The Eye of the Needle is a WWII spy thriller written by Ken Follett. The fiction novel was first published in 1978 by Penguin and was originally called Storm Island. This book was Follett’s first success and in 1979 he won the Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. The novel was made into a film in 1981 with Donald Sutherland.

During WWII the Allies tried to convince the Nazis that the D-Day landings were to be at Calais and not in Normandy. They made up a fictitious First United States Army Group (FUSAG) to this end, with fake tanks, buildings and dummy radio traffic to give the impression of an army ready to land at Calais. In 1940 London Henry Faber is a German spy, called the needle, die Nadel’ in German, named for the stilleto knife he uses to kill people. Faber kills his landlady after she catches him making a radio call to Germany. The espionage novel tells of David and his wife Lucy. He is an ex-RAF pilot who is diabled and they have moved to Storm Island off the coast of Scotland.

MI5 has recruited or hanged all German spies except Faber who is very cunning. Godliman and his assistant Bloggs work for MI5 and are trying to catch him.

Faber is sent by the Nazis to check FUSAG is real and he finds in fact that it is a deception. Faber then heads to Scotland to rendevous with a German Uboat to escape with the information back to Germany. Faber is tracked to Scotland by MI5. After stealing a boat to get to the sub he is shipwrecked on Storm Island. David and Lucy care for him but he kills David after he finds out about him being a spy. Lucy, who was unhappy in her marriage is getting out of the bath and about to put on her lingerie when Faber walks in and sees her naked. After this they fall for each other and Lucy sleeps with Faber Lucy finds her husband’s body and realizes that Faber has killed him. Faber tries to radio the Nazis information about FUSAG but Lucy blows the electricity in the cottage to cut the radio. Unable to send a radio message and unable to kill Lucy who he now loves, Faber tries to escape down the cliff to swim to the waiting U-boat. Lucy throws a rock down on him and after one hits him he falls to his death.

The RAF then attack the Uboat. MI5 send a false radio message with Faber’s call sign to trick the Germans into believing that the invasion will be at Calais. Bloggs comforts the Lucy and then eventually gets married to her.

Ken Follett is an enthrawlling writer and I would strongly recommend his novels to you.

If you enjoy The Eye of the Needle then try See Glass by Ido Graf on Amazon. One of the best espionage books.

The Eye of the Needle hè un thriller spia di a Seconda Guerra Mundiale scrittu da Ken Follett. U rumanzu di fizzione hè statu publicatu per a prima volta in u 1978 da Penguin è era chjamatu à l’origine Storm Island. Stu libru hè statu u primu successu di Follett è in u 1979 hà vintu u Premiu Edgar per a Migliore Novella di i Scrittori Misteri di l’America. U rumanzu hè statu fattu in un filmu in u 1981 cù Donald Sutherland.

Durante a Seconda Guerra Mondiale l’Alliati anu pruvatu à cunvince i Nazis chì l’atterrissimi di u ghjornu D avianu da esse in Calais è micca in Normandia. In questu scopu, anu fattu un fittiziu Primu Gruppu di l’Armata di i Stati Uniti (FUSAG), cù falsi serbatoi, edifici è trafficu radio fittiziu per dà l’impressione di un’armata pronta à sbarcà in Calais. In u 1940 Londra Henry Faber hè un spia tedescu, chjamatu agulla, more Nadel ‘in alimanu, chjamatu per u cultellu stilleto ch’ellu usa per tumbà a ghjente. Faber tomba a so padrona di casa dopu ch ella u chjappi fendu una chjama à a radiu in Germania. U rumanzu di spionaghju conta di David è di a so moglia Lucy. Hè un ex-pilotu di a RAF chì hè diablatu è si sò trasferiti in Storm Island à a costa di a Scozia.

MI5 hà recrutatu o impiccatu tutti i spii tedeschi eccettu Faber chì hè assai astutu. Godliman è u so assistente Bloggs travaglianu per MI5 è cercanu di cattallu.

Faber hè mandatu da i Nazis per verificà chì FUSAG hè reale è trova in fattu chì hè un ingannu. Faber poi si dirige in Scozia per rendevous cun un Uboat tedescu per fughje cù l’infurmazioni in Germania. Faber hè tracciatu in Scozia da MI5. Dopu avè arrubatu una barca per ghjunghje à u sottumessu hè naufragatu in Storm Island. David è Lucy si primuranu di ellu ma ellu tomba à David dopu ch’ellu hà sapiutu ch’ellu era un spia. Lucy, chì era infelice in u so matrimoniu, esce da u bagnu è hè in traccia di mette a so biancheria quandu Faber entra è a vede nuda. Dopu questu si lampanu l’uni per l’altri è Lucy dorme cun Faber Lucy trova u corpu di u so maritu è capisce chì Faber l’hà tombu. Faber prova à trasmette l’infurmazioni naziunali nantu à FUSAG ma Lucy soffia l’elettricità in a casetta per taglià a radio. Incapace di invià un missaghju radio è incapace di tumbà Lucy chì avà ama, Faber prova à scappà per a scogliera per natà finu à l’U-boat chì aspetta. Lucy lancia una roccia nantu à ellu è dopu à unu u colpisce, cade à morte.

Dopu a RAF attacca u Uboat. MI5 manda un falsu missaghju radio cù u segnu di chjama di Faber per ingannà i tedeschi à crede chì l’invasione serà in Calais. Bloggs cunsuleghja Lucy è dopu si marita cun ella.

Ken Follett hè un scrittore appassiunante è vi raccomanderei vivamente i so rumanzi.

Se vi piace L’Ochju di l’Aguila allora pruvate See Glass di Ido Graf nant’à Amazon. Unu di i migliori libri di spionaggio.

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There’s no escape by Ian Serraillier

October 17, 2013August 27, 2021Leave a comment

Best thriller book

Ian Serraillier was born on 24 September 1912 and died on 28 November 1994. He was a British fiction novelist and also a poet. Probably best known for his children’s books, he also wrote thriller novels for adults such as There’s no escape which was published in 1956. . He was born in London and in 1918 his father died in the flu pandemic when he was six years old. He went on to be educated at Brighton College and next took his degree at St Edmund Hall, Oxford and becoming an English teacher. He was granted conscientious objector status in World War II because he was a Quaker. His first children’s novel was published in 1946 and was quickly followed by several more adventure stories. His best known work,

In There’s no escape Maclaren, who is the chief of secret agents, arranged to parachute Peter into war-torn Silvania (nominally an unspecified county in the Balkans), where he was tasked with rescuing Dr Helpmann before the enemy caught him and extracted information about his new discoveries. Peter agreed to go reluctantly.

This is a fast-moving adventure story by Ian Serraillier, set in wartime Europe with a dark cloud hanging over it. The book is an easy read which has a taut plot featuring parachutes, inventions and secret codes. One of the first novels I ever read and many times since, re-read.

Ian Serraillier 生于 1912 年 9 月 24 日，死于 1994 年 11 月 28 日。他是英国小说家和诗人。最著名的可能是他的儿童读物，他还为成年人写了惊悚小说，如 1956 年出版的《无路可逃》。他出生在伦敦，1918 年他的父亲在他六岁时死于流感大流行。他继续在布莱顿学院接受教育，然后在牛津大学圣埃德蒙霍尔获得学位并成为一名英语教师。由于他是贵格会教徒，他在第二次世界大战中被授予依良心拒服兵役者身份。他的第一部儿童小说于 1946 年出版，随后又出版了几部冒险故事。他最著名的作品，

在密不可分的麦克拉伦 (Maclaren) 中，特工首领安排将彼得空降到饱受战争蹂躏的西尔瓦尼亚（名义上是巴尔干半岛的一个未指明的县），在那里他的任务是在敌人抓住他并提取有关他的信息之前营救 Helpmann 博士他的新发现。彼得勉强同意去。

这是 Ian Serraillier 的快速冒险故事，背景是战时的欧洲，乌云笼罩着它。这本书通俗易懂，情节紧凑，包括降落伞、发明和密码。我读过的第一本小说之一，此后多次重读。
Ian Serraillier shēng yú 1912 nián 9 yuè 24 rì, sǐ yú 1994 nián 11 yuè 28 rì. Tā shì yīngguó xiǎoshuō jiā hè shīrén. Zuì zhùmíng de kěnéng shì tā de értóng dúwù, tā hái wéi chéngnián rén xiěle jīngsǒng xiǎoshuō, rú 1956 nián chūbǎn de “wú lù kě táo”. Tā chūshēng zài lúndūn,1918 nián tā de fùqīn zài tā liù suì shí sǐ yú liúgǎn dà liúxíng. Tā jìxù zài bù lái dùn xuéyuàn jiēshòu jiàoyù, ránhòu zài niújīn dàxué shèng āi dé méng huò ěr huòdé xuéwèi bìng chéngwéi yī míng yīngyǔ jiàoshī. Yóuyú tā shì guì gé huì jiàotú, tā zài dì èr cì shìjiè dàzhàn zhōng bèi shòuyǔ yī liángxīn jù fú bīngyì zhě shēnfèn. Tā de dì yī bù értóng xiǎoshuō yú 1946 nián chūbǎn, suíhòu yòu chūbǎnle jǐ bù màoxiǎn gùshì. Tā zuì zhùmíng de zuòpǐn,

zài mì bùkěfēn de màikè lā lún (Maclaren) zhōng, tègōng shǒulǐng ānpái jiāng bǐdé kòng jiàng dào bǎo shòu zhànzhēng róulìn de xī ěr wǎ ní yǎ (míngyì shàng shì bā’ěrgàn bàndǎo de yīgè wèi zhǐmíng de xiàn), zài nàlǐ tā de rènwù shì zài dírén zhuā zhù tā bìng tíqǔ yǒuguān tā de xìnxī zhīqián yíngjiù Helpmann bóshì tā de xīn fāxiàn. Bǐdé miǎnqiáng tóngyì qù.

Zhè shì Ian Serraillier de kuàisù màoxiǎn gùshì, bèijǐng shì zhàn shí de ōuzhōu, wūyún lóngzhàozhe tā. Zhè běn shū tōngsú yì dǒng, qíngjié jǐncòu, bāokuò jiàngluòsǎn, fāmíng hé mìmǎ. Wǒ dúguò de dì yī běn xiǎoshuō zhī yī, cǐhòu duō cì zhòngdú.

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The Salzburg Connection by Helen MacInnes

October 22, 2012June 5, 2022Leave a comment

A great thriller novel with style

The book begins near to Salzburg, Austria, when a photographer called Richard Bryant dives into the Fintersee Lake, high in the mountains, to retrieve a large chest that had lain there for many years. Unknown to him, he is observed by others. This sets off a deadly chain of events.

Sometime later a lawyer, called William Mathison, to Bryant’s photography shop to ask about a photo book of the Austrian lakes that is said to be commissioned by Bill’s client, the publisher James Newhart. Anna, Bryant’s wife gives Bill correspondence from Eric Yates who previously claimed to be Newhart’s representative. Soon after Bill leaves, Anna’s brother Johann Kronsteiner is told, by family friend Felix Zauner, that Bryant has been killed in an accident. Bill finds that he is being followed. A desperate tale involving Austrian Intelligence, Mossad, Chinese Communists, CIA, Nazis and the KGB ensues. The secrets that lay hidden in the chest since the war were explosive.

This political thriller novel, by Helen MacInnes is one of my favourites. The start of the novel is very evocative and the suspense continues throughout the book. The story was written in 1968 and took inspiration from true life events. It had been suspected for many years that, near the end of the war, elite Nazis had trekked into the Austrian mountains and had hidden gold in the depths of many of the remote lakes. The most famous lake being Lake Toplitz which began to give up some of it’s long lost secrets in the late 1950s as divers searched its depths.

One of the best fiction thriler novels of high intrigue, assassination, spies and Neo Nazis and a very good read – particularly on a European skiing holiday on a dark night.

Photo by Nathalie Stimpfl on Unsplash

If you like this novel then try See Glass by Ido Graf which is a book with similar themes of neo-Nazis and espionage.

Le livre commence près de Salzbourg, en Autriche, lorsqu’un photographe du nom de Richard Bryant plonge dans le lac Fintersee, haut dans les montagnes, pour récupérer un gros coffre qui gisait là depuis de nombreuses années. Inconnu de lui, il est observé par les autres. Cela déclenche une chaîne mortelle d’événements.

Quelque temps plus tard, un avocat, appelé William Mathison, s’est rendu au magasin de photographie de Bryant pour poser des questions sur un livre de photos des lacs autrichiens qui aurait été commandé par le client de Bill, l’éditeur James Newhart. Anna, la femme de Bryant, donne à Bill la correspondance d’Eric Yates qui prétendait auparavant être le représentant de Newhart. Peu de temps après le départ de Bill, le frère d’Anna, Johann Kronsteiner, apprend, par un ami de la famille Felix Zauner, que Bryant a été tué dans un accident. Bill découvre qu’il est suivi. Une histoire désespérée impliquant les services secrets autrichiens, le Mossad, les communistes chinois, la CIA, les nazis et le KGB s’ensuit. Les secrets cachés dans le coffre depuis la guerre étaient explosifs.

Ce roman policier d’Helen MacInnes est l’un de mes préférés. Le début du roman est très évocateur et le suspense perdure tout au long du livre. L’histoire a été écrite en 1968 et s’est inspirée d’événements réels de la vie. On soupçonnait depuis de nombreuses années que, vers la fin de la guerre, des nazis d’élite s’étaient rendus dans les montagnes autrichiennes et avaient caché de l’or dans les profondeurs de nombreux lacs reculés. Le lac le plus célèbre est le lac Toplitz qui a commencé à dévoiler certains de ses secrets à la fin des années 1950 alors que les plongeurs fouillaient ses profondeurs.

L’un des meilleurs romans de fiction de haute intrigue, d’espions et de néo-nazis et une très bonne lecture – en particulier lors de vacances de ski européennes par une nuit noire.

Si vous aimez ce roman, essayez See Glass par Ido Graf qui est un livre avec des thèmes similaires de néo-nazis et d’espionnage.