British agent James Tristram sets out to stop counterspies in England and Russia who are bent on toppling the government of the Soviet Union's progressive General Secretary, earning some Russian and English enemies of his own in the interim

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How to write a Cold War spy thriller in these days of perestroika ? Sebastian sustains what might have seemed an endangered genre, abetted by a last-minute postponement of publication date that allowed him to update the book in light of the political changes in Eastern Europe. The result is an extraordinarily timely and engaging story. James Tristram is an aging secret operative constructed on the George Smiley model--soft of body but sharp of mind. Sent by English spymaster Cornish to aid an uprising against the Polish government and its Russian sponsors, Tristram discovers the mission is a ploy. The real plot, concocted by Russian Stalinists with the aid of a long-time mole in the British secret service, aims to discredit the government of the Gorbachev-like general secretary of the Russian Communist Party. Appalled, Tristram sets out on a lonely effort to prevent the destruction of the Polish underground and the discrediting of the reformers. Sebastian, a BBC correspondent and author of the well-received The Spy in Question , delivers a gripping, literate thriller with the punch of a headline and the texture of real life.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The author spent many years as a journalist in Soviet bloc countries until he was expelled from Moscow on spying charges. He currently works in Washington, D.C., as a BBC correspondent cum spy novelist. Make of that what you will: both his first novel, The Spy in Question (LJ 7/88), and this one relate convincing sagas about British agents battling Soviet subterfuge. In Spy Shadow , updated to reflect the breaking down of the Berlin wall, agent James Tristram skulks from Warsaw to Moscow to London trying to unravel a murderous plot to overthrow the Polish government. Earthy settings are effective backdrops for the nonglamorous brand of espionage found in this well-plotted intrigue. Recom mended for public libraries.
- Will Hepfer, SUNY at Buffalo Libs.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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