''Spy Hook'' is a 1988

spy novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intellig ...

Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton ( ; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, D ...

. It is the first novel in the second of three trilogies about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...

(MI6). ''Spy Hook'' is part of the ''Hook, Line and Sinker'' trilogy, being succeeded by '' Spy Line'' and '' Spy Sinker''. This trilogy is preceded by the ''Game, Set and Match'' trilogy and followed by the final ''Faith, Hope and Charity'' trilogy. Deighton's novel ''

Winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

'' (1987) is a prequel to the nine novels, covering the years 1900-1945 and providing the backstory to some of the characters.

Plot summary

The novel begins with Bernard Samson visiting his old friend and ex-SIS colleague in Washington named Jim Prettyman as part of an investigation regarding a substantial amount of missing agency funds. Samson tells Prettyman that London wants him to return to the UK to give evidence about the missing funds, but Prettyman refuses. Soon after, Prettyman is shot six times in an apparent mugging. All his allies start losing interest in the investigation, and after digging deeper Bernard is sent to America once again. In California, he meets Bret Rensselaer, who Samson believed had died after a shootout. In fact, Rensselaer has not died (as hinted at the end of the first trilogy, and discussed in this book) but is in fact in rehabilitation. Bernard returns to Europe, where he confronts a man called "Dodo" and is saved from an untimely death by Prettyman, who it turns out has had his death faked and gone under "deep-cover". Bernard then takes his evidence to the elderly Director General, who in a surprise turn of events orders his arrest, which thanks to some quick thinking by Bernard's pal Werner Volkmann, who claims to be Samson, Bernard evades the Military Police for a while. Bernard's escape from the Military Police buys him time to seek an explanation from the Berlin Station Chief, Frank Harrington, before disappearing into the night.

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

gave a positive review, writing that "Deighton mesmerizes the reader...The suspense is inexorable." Kirkus Reviews likewise gave a positive review, writing "Deighton's fans will be delighted to slip back into Bernie's complex world, so brightly human and artfully shadowed. Another Deighton triumph and likely best-seller."

References

1988 British novels Bernard Samson novels Hutchinson (publisher) books {{1980s-spy-novel-stub