Synopsis
Amidst thawing East-West relations, British intelligence officer Derek Smailes oversees the defection of a Soviet arms control expert, only to be accused himself of murder and treason
Reviews
Although somewhat less complex than The Cambridge Theorem , Cape's second excursion into the world of international intrigue retains enough intricacy to satisfy fans of le Carre or Deighton. Hero Derek Smailes is now working for British Intelligence at the U.N. and, through a series of coincidences and strokes of luck, becomes the point man on an operation designed to get a Soviet arms-control expert to defect just as the U.S. and U.S.S.R. are about to conclude a demilitarization treaty that greatly worries the British and French governments. But there is treachery afoot and Smailes finds himself in over his head. Trusted friends and fellow agents are being murdered, and it is more and more difficult to trust anyone--even the beautiful woman Smailes loves. Accused of murder and incarcerated, Smailes must escape and act on his own to expose a nefarious plot to ruin the Cold War accords, humiliate British Intelligence and seize power in Russia. A slam-bang finish uncovers double agents and double-crosses galore, leaving readers both satisfied and eager for the next Derek Smailes adventure.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Cape (The Cambridge Theorem, 1990) again proves that the Cold War thriller has legs by showing the inner workings of a fresh locale, the British Mission to the UN in New York--and piling on the plot twists till the mind boggles. Perhaps it should be called the Coolish War, since the story is set in an imagined post-Gorbachev period when the Yanks and their allies are negotiating with the Soviet Union over a demilitarized zone across Europe. But some unreconstructed Commies will never learn. Derek Smailes, the hero of Cape's first thriller as a Cambridge detective sergeant, is now a junior security man at the Mission, living in Brooklyn and romancing a comely Brit several social cuts above him, whom he sees as a designer socialist who would faint at a glimpse of polyester. The author makes much of New York and its ways seen through the eyes of an Englishman who was half in love with America before he crossed the pond. Cape also seems to know spycraft and the activities of the Mission from the inside, providing the sort of details that lesser writers neglect. The description of how a Russian is encouraged to defect, and then used, is of sustained interest. In general, however, Cape's Russians come across as strictly stock characters in their clich‚d milieu. But the games they play are what counts in this genre, and their wiles keep the hero jumping. There is still a touch of the methodical policeman in Smailes's makeup, which adds to his believability but may make him a little sobersided for readers who like dash in their heroes. An excellent spy yarn--with a modestly engaging British hero snarled in a complex plot. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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