Thursday, January 4, 2018

''The best crime books and thrillers of 2017 '' The Guardian

In literature, as in boxing, great champions have compromised their reputations by going on too long. But entering the ring for the 24th time, at the age of 86, John le Carré remained an unmatched heavyweight. A Legacy of Spies (Viking) also showed off some new punches, ingeniously recasting an earlier masterpiece, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. In stingingly topical style, the behaviours of its characters six decades ago, including George Smiley, are examined by the modern forces of political correctness. The long and enduring power of Le Carré leaves British espionage fiction a cramped space for newcomers. Mick Herron has carved out his own distinctive territory by focusing on a squad of failed spooks whom Sir George would never tolerate. They are known as the “slow horses” of their HQ Slough House, which Herron imagines as an MI5 naughty step for alcoholics, incompetents and possible traitors. In Spook Street (John Murray), this stable of unstable spies deal..
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