Imagine you were given the opportunity to join an organisation in a position that comes with great perks and minimal expectations. What would happen if you suddenly found yourself thrown into a different position for which you have zero training? The new position comes with a lot of risk. If you mess up, you might end up dead. You could accidentally start a war. It’s no wonder that David Goodman’s A Reluctant Spy has captured the attention of readers with such an exciting plot.
We go back to 2003. Jeremy Althorp is a field operative for the Secret Intelligence Service, a department in the UK government that gathers foreign intelligence. He is captured in Kyrgyzstan. Interrogators tear his alias and back story to shreds in minutes. All it took was a quick search on the internet and his cover was blown.
In response to this fiasco, the SIS needs to change its handling of field operative identities. Jeremy creates the Legends Programme. Now the operative will temporarily assume the identity of a real person, rather than creating a false online background. Jeremy’s role is to convince individuals with a limited internet profile to agree to lend their identities to the programme.
As an incentive, the person will get access to better opportunities and contacts. When Jeremy approaches Jamie Tulloch in 2013, he is aware that Jamie has a lot of student debt. Jeremy offers to repay all of his student loans through a scholarship at Cambridge. He also offers an MBA at Stanford and internship opportunities. Jamie jumps at the chance to improve his prospects. He grew up in social housing on the outskirts of Edinburgh, with a troubled single mom and will definitely benefit from the Legends Programme.
Jumping forward to the present day, and Jamie is now an executive at a tech company. He’s also about to loan his identity for the first time. While the agent GARNET is assuming his identity in Dar es Salaam, Jamie will be on an extended vacation in South America.
The two men are scheduled to meet at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris before they change identities. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned. First, Jamie discovers the body of Terence, his handler, murdered in a washroom. Later, GARNET fails to show up for the exchange. In a moment of panic, Jamie decides to become a spy and go to Tanzania in his place. It could be exciting, and how difficult would it be for him to play himself?
This is a great example of the fish-out-of-water scenario, common in espionage fiction. It’s a bit like all the amateur investigators we find in crime novels. However, being out in the field is very different from being a Legend. Jamie has willingly placed himself in a high-risk situation. He doesn’t know who he can trust. To further complicate things, he doesn’t know much about Tanzania. His lack of preparation for his new role creates tension while you read. Can he pull this off?
The action in Africa is told from the perspectives of Jeremy, Jamie and Nicola. Nicola is an experienced operative assigned to be GARNET’s field handler in Zanzibar. She is to back his infiltration of the inner circle of Arcady Bocharov, a Russian with a dubious background involving mercenaries. He was recently appointed chairman of a manufacturing company that is a big investor in East Africa. The SIS are suspicious that Arcady may be up to something else. They have seen an increase in the activity around his compound.
Author David Goodman moves seamlessly between the different perspectives, plotlines and locations. Once Jamie steps into the agent role, the pace quickens. You’ll be very invested in wanting him to succeed as a spy. So much so, that it becomes difficult to put the book down. The plot also becomes more complicated as Jeremy must deal with a significant issue in London. There has been a data breach at Vauxhall and all of the Legends data has been stolen, compromising field operatives.
Like a Bond movie, A Reluctant Spy requires some suspension of disbelief. You need to accept that a tech executive will be able to hold his own with a group of ruthless mercenaries. Fortunately for Jamie, he is not solely responsible for finding out what the Russians are up to. The number of players involved expands the further you get into the book.
A Reluctant Spy is a fast-paced, enjoyable read. In September, it won the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. As I read the scenes at Arcady’s compound, I found myself envisioning an action movie. It’s no surprise that the film and TV rights have already been snapped up. Even better, Goodman is already working on a second book.
Also see Every Spy A Traitor by Alex Gerlis, Clown Town by Mick Herron or How Not to Kill a Spy by John Fullerton.
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CFL Rating: 4 Stars
