Robert Cope Harland ended his career as a British spy in an Austrian hospital, after being tortured and beaten by Czech security agents in the last days of the communist regime. He was young enough then to find a new life with the Red Cross and then with the UN. Twelve years later his UN plane crashes in mysterious circumstances at La Guardia airport, New York and Harland is the only survivor. Was it sabotage, and if so, was Harland the target? It is soon clear to Harland that the answers are to be found in his past, a past which, along with its secrets and tradecraft, he has desperately tried to forget. And now the crash has thrown him back into a world of relentless intrigue and mistrust, to his youth, and a life-changing love affair . . . ¿A taut new thriller about international espionage . . . Deftly orchestrating a byzantine plot and a multinational cast of characters, Porter creates a chilling global masquerade in which no one is who he (or she) pretends to be¿ VANITY FAIR
A Spy's Life
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Henry Porter's A Spy's Life surpasses even its predecessor Remembrance Day, which achieved an unprecedented amount of enthusiastic word of mouth. Here, he brilliantly blends the thriller elements into a bizarre and surrealistic narrative that constantly surprises the reader.
A massive air crash in New York kills 19 people, most of them working for the United Nations. The only survivor is a British ex-spy, Robert Harland. After a traumatic encounter with torture in Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution, he is now working for the UN in a low-key, non-espionage role. Anyone familiar with the genre will know that attempts to retire from the spy trade are always doomed to failure, and Harland's freak survival of the plane crash soon makes him public property again. The FBI and other shadowy forces are keen to find out what he was doing on the plane. And as Harland speedily finds himself in lethal situations again, his life is further complicated by the appearance of a young man claiming to be his son by Eva, a young Czech agent with whom Harland was in love. With a mass murderer called Viktor Lipnik figuring into the equation, the reader is quickly beguiled by the kind of highly dangerous pyrotechnics that distinguished John le Carré's early books. In fact, the influence of le Carré's finest book, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, is evident here, and it's a measure of Porter's success that he is more than able to hold his own in this august company. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Christopher Silvester "Sunday Express" Entirely authentic...Porter has proved that he is a torchbearer in a great tradition.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I felt Henry Porter showed great promise in his first book but tried too hard to fit into the formulae of a thriller per se. Here he comes of age. He writes with authority and verve and great compassion about pressing matters that affect us all, namely war crimes, justice and the nature of Humanity. In a thriller it is unusual to find such matters addressed with such important intellect but Mr Porter pulls it off! I read this book in three 'sittings' pausing only to walk and muse upon Man's Inhumanity to his Fellow Man. What greater tribute could a reader pay to an author.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By B. Ukiah
Format:Hardcover
Robert Harland - an ex spy - is flung from a crashing plane, and so begins a tale of intrigue and espionage, culminating in the search for a war criminal. However, what distinguishes this book from more generic spy thrillers is that the characters never become caricatures and that the plot also takes in a personal quest to discover the past.
As Harland unravels war crimes, so he also begins to unravel the consequences of a past love and the two gradually come together as the book progresses.
The book most reminded me of Le Carre, in that the plot becomes complex and murky, while remaining thoroughly gripping. The plotting and characters are good, although the story - let's face it - is more than a little unlikely.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is the best spy thriller I've read since "The Spy Who Camer In From The Cold." Beautifully plotted, not only is it exciting but draws the reader in emotionally too. The passage in which we discover what happened to Tomas in Bosnia brought tears to my eyes. I really look forward to the next Henry Porter novel (and he's a brilliant journalist, too.)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Look out Gerald Seymour and Frederick Forsythe !!
A new author to me, but someone who I will pursue with vigour a great read suggest you spread the word !!9
Published 12 days ago by Paul Staniford
2.0 out of 5 stars
Average thriller
Some interesting ideas in this spy story however the characters came across as a little one dimensional. Overly long too: the story could have been edited without losing effect. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Timothy D. Richardson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mark
Excellent read I found hard to read at start but after a few chapters could not put down get it for your holidays
Published 18 days ago by Mark
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not a spy novel
Not sure why people compare this to Le Carré. The plot was predictable and the only reason you turn the pages is in the hopes that something might happen. Read more
Published 28 days ago by idic01
4.0 out of 5 stars
Covered in cornflakes
One of my tests of a good read, for me at least, is if I take my Kindle down to breakfast and continue to read where I've broken off from the night before, and this is one of those... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Peter L. Clarke
3.0 out of 5 stars
OTT
Just over the top in story line. Put half the twists and turns and it might have been a good story
Published 3 months ago by Holmes684
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to put down
This is an excellent story with more twists than a mountain road. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are great.
Published 3 months ago by P. Simon
3.0 out of 5 stars
A book of two halves
I liked the opening and early chapters which conveyed a plausible storyline; however as I got further into the book I found the plot to be somewhat convoluted and contrived. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Elte
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best spy thriller I've ever read
I read this book in 2 days and purposely left writing the review for a few days to see if I'd changed my mind but I havent. Read more
Published 7 months ago by H. Andrews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant light into a world of shadows
A role compiling a report for the united Nations on the world's fresh water resources might seem a safe way to earn a living. Read more
Published 8 months ago by G. M. Sinstadt
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