This is a spy thriller book set in London.
Two men Charlie and George are both spies they are stationed in a photo developing booth in Oxford circus tube station. They find out they are both spies and that they have been tasked to kill each other. MI5 have made a bit of a balls up. They eventually after trying to kill each other team up, they cant really trust their bosses and escape over to France, then Canada. They have one alley called Neil who works for the service too, Charlie was at school with him. They head to Canada because George has money hidden there and its a big wilderness.
Meanwhile back in London the Spy Bosses know Neil helped them escape and they are onto him.
All is looking good for Charlie and George but George tries to shoot Charlie with a boobytrapped gun that Charlie tampered with. Charlie escapes with the money.
Neil also survives but is quite seriously injured. Charlie sends him a postcard. ( )

very confusing, strange and not very satisfying ( )

David Wollstencroft is best known for having created the successful BBC television series, Spooks. It is perhaps less well known that he had also previously been Alexander Armstrong’s original comedy act partner.

Before creating Spooks, he wrote two espionage novels, the first of which was Good News, Bad News. I am a huge fan of spy novels, and I think it is fair toi say that, whatever he might subsequently have achieved, this book is not a marvellous addition to the oeuvre.

To be fair, it does take a fresh perspective on the field, and features an amusing and engaging plotting device, although I feel I can’t say much more without straying into unwelcome potential spoiler territory. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the twist he uses is sufficient to sustain a novel of this length. ( )

Funnily enough I finished this book just after I had watched the third and final episode of a legal thriller written by the same author, but whereas that was clever, well written and fast paced; this is boring, dull and tediously slow. I was lured into this book by the author's CV but to quote a hero "I Won't Get Fooled Again", nuff said!
( )

A bout of insomnia meant this raid on the older TBR pile got finished a couple days early. I enjoyed this debut novel by the writer of the BBC series MI5 (Spooks in the UK). A twisty contemporary spy thriller shows this author's promise. Well-drawn characters, non-stop action, and deep insights into the world of spy-craft make this a most satisfying read. ( )