Reading in Reykjavík

Year of publication: 1915 Series and no.: Richard Hannay # 1/5 Genre: Thriller Setting & time: England and Scotland, contemporary Richard Hannay, having grown up in Rhodesia and now living in London, is bored to distraction by his life in England and seriously considering going back to Africa when his neighbour seeks his help. The man, it turns out, is a spy or an associate of spies, and has important information that will be of no use until a certain date. Until then he must stay alive. This he fails to do and Hannay finds him murdered in his apartment and has to go on the run, under suspicion for the murder and chased by the police and spy gang who killed his neighbour. This is one of the early espionage thrillers in the modern mold, and as such, one can recognise many of the traits of the modern spy thriller in it. A review or discussion I read of this novel said that in modern retrospect Hannay comes across as somewhat of a cliché, so I took care to read the book ...

I suddenly realised that I had not yet posted my review of Deighton’s trilogy, so here it is: While I listed these books separately on my TBR list, the trilogy is listed as one book in the CWA list, so I will be reviewing them all together. Each book gets a brief synopsis and a very short review, and then I will review the common points together. I will try not to drop serious spoilers in the synopses, so they will necessarily be rather telegraphic, but if you have not yet read these books you probably should avoid this review anyway. Published: 1983-5. Genre: Espionage thriller. Type of investigator: MI6 agent. Title: Berlin Game: Setting & time: London and Berlin, contemporary. Story: Agent Bernard Samson has been doing desk work for 5 years but his superiors in MI6 want him to go out back in the field to convince a frightened spy in East Germany to stay in place for a while longer. The man is convinced that Stasi or the KGB are about to discover his identity, and the only ...

Year of publication: 1903. Genre: Thriller, espionage novel. Type of mystery: Military secrets. Type of investigator: Amateur. Setting & time: (mostly) the Frisian Islands, Germany, around he turn of the 20th century. Story: The narrator, Carruthers, is invited by Davies, an old acquaintance, to join him on a yachting trip in the North Sea. When he arrives, Carruthers discovers that the “yacht” is in fact a small boat, with no crew, and that Davies is hiding something from him. As they make their way down to the Frisian islands, Davies eventually reveals that he has started an impromptu investigation of possible nefarious doings by a man he suspects of being a British defector working with the German military. To complicate matters, Davies has fallen in love with the man’s daughter. The book is in the public domain, and here is a link to an online edition: The Riddle of the Sands . Review: The Riddle of the Sands was one of the earliest spy novels, and has had immense influe...