A Legacy of Spies. John Le Carre. Viking (2017)

A masterful and gripping story about spies, the bureaucracy of spying and the long term consequences of clandestine decisions. Peter Guillam is recalled to London from his farm in France to explain his part in a log ago covert operation. A legal case is proceeding that is causing a considerable problem for the British Secret Service, sometimes called the Circus. If the issue cannot be smothered by a Parliamentary inquiry then it is probable that Peter Guillam may find himself left holding the can. The story unfolds the background to the operation and the present day maneuverings of the Circus to escape liability. The reveals are superbly staged and the story unfolds with tremendous confidence and control as the past comes to a reckoning in the present.
This superb story works as a straight stand alone story about the business of spying and the human cost for the non professionals that get involved by choice or accident in it. An opportunity presents itself to the Circus and they exploit it with thorough professional competence until it starts to unravel. The final consequences of that are felt in the present and the damage that was done is given its due with care and deep sympathy. The resolution is a treat, unexpected and utterly logical and fitting.
For any reader who is familiar with John Le Carre's other Circus novels this is a masterclass in how to use continuity to create a new story and enhance other related stories. All the way through the story the past from other books is visible to those who can see it. No prior knowledge is required for the story to work, it is all in the reader.
Peter Guillam is a engaging lead, he is not surprised at the reckoning however much he may have hoped to escape it. He smartly demonstrates that it is not a matter of luck he is a living retired spy, he understands the currents in the secret world and moves carefully within it. The staff of the Circus that Peter Guillam encounters should be caricatures, the chief legal office is a loud, almost chummy operator who is verging on an upper class professional cliche, the ruthlessness that is not at all disguised gives him a a weight and credibility. He is a shark in a suit and he will be straight with you only as long as it serves his purposes and undermines yours. The History chief is not quite as successful, tough , ambitious and very capable she does not entirely come to life as the rest of the cast do.
John Le Carre never misses the brutal necessity of spying, he gives a human dimension to strategic and operation decisions in a system that is based on deception and betrayal and is pursued by honorable people. Unmissable.

Smiley's People. John Le Carre. Sceptre. (1979)

Enthralling and melancholy book about a final reckoning between two long term opposing spymasters. George Smiley, retired head of British secret service, is recalled to action by the death of an old acquaintance. There is a concern that this death may cause problems for the service and Smiley is drafted in to tidy up the details and bury the case. As Smiley investigates he finds that the trail leads back to an old enemy and the possibility of revenge. The story unfolds at a steady pace as the complex web is revealed and the stage is set for the grim and bitter climax.
This is a wonderful book, written with supreme confidence and astonishing skill, willing to take the time to assemble the details of the story and increase the pressure slowly and inevitably. Smiley is a devastating well developed character, he is supremely skilled as a spymaster, at home with the pitiless bureaucracy of espionage and the culture of deceit and betrayal that underpin it. Away from that world he is adrift and unsure, unable to be simply human. The rest of the cast share this to greater or lesser degrees, they are all most alive when involved in intrigue. At the heart of the book is a very intimate betrayal, the choice that Smiley must make if he wishes to ensnare his enemy.
This is a book that loves words and uses them with care and abundance, the descriptions are long and detailed and never tiresome. The length and breath add to the depth of the book, they reveal but never quite explain. There is a vital ambiguity at the heart of the book that centres on the figure of George Smiley, in the end he retains an element of mystery which is deeply satisfying. Extraordinary fiction that is sharply truthful and gloriously readable and enjoyable.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. John LeCarre. Sceptre (1974)

This classic spy story is as fresh and gripping as when it was first published. The slow and destructive discovery of the identity of the Russian mole in British Intelligence is told with force and a terrible understanding of the price paid by people whose stock in trade is deception.

George Smiley is recalled from retirement when strong evidence emerges that the Russians have a double agent somewhere in the upper levels of British spy service, the Circus. Smiley has to track back over his own history as he follows the leads and suggestions to finally set a trap for the mole. This is about the laborious bureaucracy of spying, the filing and expenses, the time sheets and assessments that people far from the field carry out every day.
John Le Carre captures the extraordinary paradox at the heart of spying, the people who spend their lives deceiving others and living with mistrust as an operational necessity to stay alive require extraordinary loyalty and trust in and from their own organisation.
One of the strongest aspects of the story is the way that infighting among the managements is as fierce as any struggle with external enemies and ultimately considerably more dangerous. This is spying as office politics and anyone with some experience of working in an organisation would see how accurately Le Carre has captured the way power struggles work.

The man at the heat of this book, George Smiley is a wonderful creation, he is a shell of a man when he is out of the secret world, when he is back in he is a master player. He has a strong appreciation of the damage done to the people who live in that world, he is bound to it and to duty.The writing is lush and extensive, it takes it time, much as the story does and it is a pleasure to read the descriptions and the dialogue, they give force and weight to the plot which is brilliantly constructed and unwinds with tremendous skill. The atmosphere of the Cold War has not dated at all, the concentration on the human characters allows it to be a necessary context for their conflicts without dominating or distracting.A great read, thoughtful, sad, considered and wonderfully written.