Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 5/31/2025 + 1266 more book reviews

John Le Carre has been on my radar for many years and I finally got around to reading probably his most famous novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. First published in 1963, this novel presented a more realistic and grimmer secret agent as opposed to such men of action like James Bond and others who dominated the espionage novels of the 1950s and 60s. This novel was written right at the time when tensions were high as the Berlin Wall goes up during the Cold War. The protagonist of the novel is Alec Leamas, the head of the British Station in Berlin. Leamas's agents in East Berlin are being eliminated by East German intelligence and its head, Hans-Dieter Mundt with the most significant agent being killed near the start of the novel. With no agents left, Leamas returns to London in disgrace and thinks he will be put out to pasture. But one final job is proposed to him: to return to Berlin and bring down Mundt. According to the plan, Leamas purposely becomes down and out, leaving the Service, so he will be recruited by the East Germans. The plan is to make them think Mundt is working for the British in hopes that Mundt will be eliminated. But does all go as planned and is this really the intent of British intelligence?

This was really a superior thriller with the British intelligence service being very manipulative in using its citizens to get what they want. The story was cleverly constructed and the last part of the novel was very surprising and unexpected. At some point, I will be reading more of Le Carre.

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