Spy thrillers wouldn’t be my usual genre, but I’m a fan of Nick Harkaway, and I’ve recently watched the old series of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and “Smiley’s People” and the new series of “The Little Drummer Girl”, so I figured I’d give this a whirl. I’ve never read any of the original Le Carré books, so I don’t know how this compares in terms of style or substance or where it fits in the “canon”, but as a standalone book, I thought it was really enjoyable. Admittedly, I am predisposed to like anything involving Cold War Berlin, but even aside from that, I found the characters appealing and I was caught up in the story. Maybe I’ll delve into the originals now.

Further reading…