"It's like something you'd read in a novel."

 

That's putting it mildly. Dan Fesperman's latest suspense novel is an entertaining homage to the entire genre of spy novels, as well as being one in its own right, and the combination make this even more entertaining than it might otherwise have been. Let's start with the fact that the advance reader copy of the book (which is due to be published next Tuesday) arrived in one of the most curious packages I have seen. Normally, these advance galleys are simply softcover versions of the eventual hardcover book, printed on lower-grade paper, with no illustrations and often with acknowledgments and other miscellaneous additions missing. Occasionally, the publishers won't even go that far, and will just slap a generic cover onto it with some text or some blurbs from well-known writers. This time, however, Knopf went overboard: the image here, on the right, is what showed up in my mailbox. inside the box from Amazon.

OK, the book itself wasn't really wrapped in brown paper and tied with string, just encased in a wrapper cleverly designed to make it look as if it was. Which is, in itself, a nod to the book's plot, which has protagonist Bill Cage, a middle-aged PR guy in Washington, DC, thoroughly disillusioned with his life, head off to central Europe in an apparently quixotic quest to prove that one of his youthful idols, reclusive spy-turned espionage writer, Edwin Lemaster, may in fact have been a double agent. Once, years ago when Cage was still an ambitious journalist, he had unexpectedly scored an interview with Lemaster, and even more surprisingly winkled out of the novelist the admission that he had contemplated becoming a double. "For the thrill of it. The challenge." When Cage publishes his story, the news becomes a brief sensation, Lemaster becomes still more reclusive and never grants another interview. That's where this particular novel begins, linking Cage, Lemaster and Cage's father in espionage and tales of espionage. But what is reality? It ends up seeming just as difficult for Cage to discern as a mysterious series of letters (written on distinctive paper he keeps locked up in his study at home) spark his investigation and questions swirl about the real meaning of a mysterious series of book sales and exchanges dating back decades -- all of the books wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string.

Fesperman doesn't have the prowess of Ambler or LeCarre, but fans of those iconic figures can still delight in this book as a tribute to their heroes. Segments of classics of the espionage genre are clues, ushering Cage on his way at critical points in his quest to discover the truth about Lemaster. A mysterious handler -- clearly a former "spook" far better versed in CIA tradecraft than is Cage, whose knowledge has been derived from the spy novels he devoured in his youth -- is paving his way, but to what end? And who else might be interested in discovering the truth about Lemaster, or perhaps about other Cold War secrets long buried? Each step Cage takes seems to take him closer to some of those discoveries -- perhaps... -- but also further back into his own personal history. The clues lead him from one to another of the cities he inhabited at the height of the Cold War, a motherless child whose father was posted to U.S. embassies in Belgrade, Budapest, Prague, Vienna and Berlin. Cage's handler seems to know an awful lot about his personal background as well as his interest in Lemaster -- and could Cage have played more of a role than even he suspected in those long-ago events. Is Bill Cage now starring in his own spy novel? And if so, who is the author; who is scripting the action?

There are many entertaining twists and turns here, and even if some of them are slightly predictable, I would have felt churlish complaining about that, given the intricacy of the narrative, as Fesperman entwines his own story with that of the history of the espionage thriller itself. Certainly, watching Cage transform from a former devoted reader of classic spy novels -- a passion he once shared with both his father and Lemaster -- into a participant in the Great Game. Ultimately, it simply didn't matter much to me that this novel isn't as accomplished as many of the classics that Fesperman cites. It was simply a fun read, both in its own right and for the "wink, wink; nudge, nudge" factor as the author drags in one twist after another ripped from the pages of those classics. Fan fiction at its best, and a "thumping good read" in its own right. What is artifice and fiction, and what is reality? Not even the characters seem to know, all the time. "Next you'll think I'm acting like someone in a book, and I'm guessing I won't like the comparison," one character tells Cage midway through the novel, rather bitterly.

The bottom line? If you're looking for nonstop thrills, chills and action, this isn't the book for you. (It's more like Alan Furst's novels than those of Daniel Silva, with the emphasis on character and a gradually increasing sense of tension, rather than violence.) It's a novel about the secrets that spies keep -- both professionally and personally -- and the layers that must be unraveled in order to arrive at something resembling the "truth". I'm giving it 4.5 stars, and recommending it heartily to fans of the genre.

My copy of this book -- complete with the imaginative packaging -- came from the publisher via Amazon.com's Vine reviewer program.

Books to Help Beat the Heat: "Bloodmoney" by David Ignatius

"Revenge," muses one of the protagonists in David Ignatius's excellent summer thriller, Bloodmoney, "comes in different flavors. Sometimes it is a swift act of rage that shatters the mast the oppressor has created for you. Other times it is a slow process in which the mask is an essential shield to cover actions that the oppressor could not imagine." Ignatius's novel is all about revenge; even the title comes from the idea that by paying a sum of money or providing something else of value, it is possible to settle a blood feud in areas of the world like Waziristan, the frontier region of Pakistan that is home to Omar. In the first pages of the thriller, Omar loses his entire family to a missile fired by an unmanned U.S. drone and resolves to take his revenge on those whom he holds responsible.

Flash forward in time, and westward in space, and the reader is catapulted into the world of Sophie Marx, recently named head of "the Hit Parade". It's really not an entertainment business, but a deniable offshoot of the CIA located in Los Angeles, undertaking tasks that the administration really wants done, but doesn't want to know about. But now the Hit Parade's agents abroad -- all of whom should have impeccable, unbreakable covers -- are being assassinated, and it's up to Sophie to figure out why.

In many ways this is a standard thriller, but like most good thrillers, there are bad guys on both sides of the battle, and good guys to be found in some unexpected places. I had a great time following Sophie's efforts to unravel the puzzle of how and why the agents were being detected and eliminated, a process that takes her undercover in a London hedge fund and into harm's way in Pakistan.  True, the whodunnit was well-flagged, given the introductory chapter, but that didn't hamper my enjoyment. After all, just because you know a big loop is coming on a rollercoaster doesn't mean you don't enjoy the ride, does it? And there are plenty of surprises looming in the final pages of this novel, and a few great twists. As a writer of spy thrillers, Ignatius may not rank alongside the caliber of John LeCarre -- but then, how many do? This was a great summertime novel, a "thumping good read" that offers up a bit of food for thought about revenge and honor codes even as it entertains. 4.1 stars, recommended.

Books to Help Beat the Heat: "The Informant" by Thomas Perry

   
    When the weather is hot and muggy and your brain feels too sluggish to focus on the literary classics or the latest prize-winning novels that you know you should be reading, it's time to turn to one of those books often referred to as "beach reads". They're not really that challenging -- the plots are easy to follow, the characters have relatively simple and straightforward motivations, and the story is action all the way, whether it's a chick lit romance or a suspense thriller. The Informant by Thomas Perry falls squarely into the latter category, and while it's not likely to linger in your memory for its deathless prose or pitch-perfect characterizations, you'll certainly forget the fact that your airconditioner is on the blink and your sunburn is making you feel as if you've been sizzling on a griddle as you follow retired hit man Michael Schaeffer as he tries to convince a recalcitrant bunch of Mafia dons that he really is retired, and has no interest in their ongoing turf battles. The problem is, the mob doesn't believe him, and won't let him live in peace with his aristocratic English wife in their rural mansion. So, Schaeffer heads back to the United States, and mayhem ensues.
   
    The story is adequate -- lots of chases, lots of glimpses inside the mind of the "Butcher's Boy" (who has featured in two other Perry novels) as he meticulously plots his actions and out-thinks his enemies -- and lots of bodies piling up. That trail of corpses piques the curiosity of Elizabeth Waring, a Justice Department investigator who has encountered "Schaeffer" before -- and she becomes still more intent on using the former hit man to rein in the mob when he appears in her home in the middle of the night, not to murder her, but to try and figure out what's going on. Before long, Waring is trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare, trying to co-opt Schaeffer as an informant and stop him from following what he considers to be the logical path to protect himself -- killing anyone who might be a threat. Sure, there are plenty of holes in this kind of plot, and you'll need to put your skepticism on hold while you read, but being skeptical and critical takes a lot of energy in the hot weather, doesn't it?
   
    I've read the prior novel in this series, and while it's fun to see how Perry's characters formulate their plans and act on them to outwit the law, I still prefer reading about someone who does it for a good reason, like Jane Whitfield, the heroine of Perry's other series. She's half-Seneca Indian, and uses tribal lore and 20th/21st century smarts to help innocent people in peril of their lives get to a place of safety and build new lives -- she's a guide, of sorts. Needless to say, each time she does this life gets more complicated than she imagines and to keep her charges safe, she goes to extraordinary lengths. While The Informant is an entertaining if rather violent (in a matter-of-fact way) suspense novel, the Jane Whitfield books (which include titles like Dance for the Dead, Vanishing Act and Blood Money) are much, much better -- great suspense reads at any time of the year. Some of his stand-alone books are also well worth looking for, notably Death Benefits. Try those first, then if you like Perry's style, it's time to take a look at this 3.7 star book.

Full disclosure: I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley.