The Whitehall Mandarin

For an old Cold War spy (novel-reading) warrior like me, I really can’t resist books that come with recommendations like, “The thinking person’s John le Carré” and especially when it is described as an “old fashioned spy story.” Drawback is, many of the ones I go through with that their outside, can......more

I finished reading "THE WHITEHALL MANDARIN" this afternoon. What can I say? The ending was totally unexpected and yet, strangely appropriate given the deceit and treachery carried out by some of the main characters in the novel. One of whom was from the upper-crust of British society and occupied a......more

It's not that there were unexpected plot twists and turns--though there were. It's that Wilson throws the kitchen sink into this book. The overall story is terrific, yet there were so many pointless asides that didn't even rise to the level of a "McGuffin". Put differently, this book has sufficient......more

Review from Declan Madden... William Catesby , SIS agent ,operates in a world where no one or nothing is as it seems to be . Tasked with discovering the source of leaked classified files concerning nuclear weaponry , he finds himself questioning who exactly he should be investigating . Lady Penelope S......more

I must admit that, when I approached this book, I suspended my expectations; I have read most of Edward Wilson's novels and I have learnt that he has dramatic highs and lows (among the former The Envoy and The Midnight Swimmer, The Darkling Spy was a terrible down and to some extent A Very British E......more