I’m going to review this under the assumption that the reader has read the first book in Len Deighton’s Game, Set, Match trilogy. If you have not, I encourage you to do so (it’s very good!) and skip this review until you have.
I liked this one almost as much as Berlin Game, perhaps even more! I love how Len Deighton writes books where he ratchets up the tension just by having people talk. It’s fun. His dialogue is great and it works well to building the story.
I also like Bernard. He reminds me of a typically frustrated Le Carré character but with a background from — and a love of — Germany. It’s entertaining to watch him operate.
However, you need to accept two ridiculous premises in order to make these books work for you…
- Bernard would still work for MI-6 after his colleague wife is outed as a Soviet agent. There’s just no way in humanity that anyone in even the worst espionage outfits in the world would still be employed by them, much less someone operating at the front lines of the Cold War. It drives me nuts because Bernard’s colleagues are understandably skeptical of him. And even though I believe his good intentions…it’s very much a stretch.
- Bernard might not be very good at his job. There are a few times here when he does things or does not do things that would get him fired for sure or shipped to man radar towers in the Pitcairn Islands.
But I can deal with those because Deighton is a great writer. I love these books and I can’t wait to read London Match.