''The Trinity Six'' is a 2011 thriller novel by
Charles Cumming.
Plot summary
Sam Gaddis is a history professor at
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
. His friend Charlotte Berg tells him she is writing a book about the "Sixth Man", a sixth member of the
Cambridge Five
The Cambridge Five was a ring of spies in the United Kingdom that passed information to the Soviet Union during the Second World War and the Cold War and was active from the 1930s until at least the early 1950s. None of the known members were e ...
Russian spy ring. However, Charlotte dies of a heart attack the next day. Unbeknownst to Gaddis, she was murdered by a Russian agent using
sodium fluoracetate.
Gaddis decides to finish her book, in order to pay off his debts. His lover Holly Levette gives him her mother Katya's files, who was researching a book about the
KGB
The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
.
Gaddis contacts an elderly man called Thomas Neame, who knew the sixth man Edward Crane. He discovers that Crane was really a
double agent
In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...
who worked for the British, and Crane's death was faked by MI6 to protect him, on the instructions of John Brennan, who later became the head of MI6. Gaddis later discovers that Neame is Crane.
The medical staff who helped fake Crane's death are murdered by the Russians. Sir John instructs a female agent Tanya Acocella to discourage Gaddis from pursuing the case. Gaddis travels to Vienna to meet Robert Wilkinson, Crane's former handler. Wilkinson reveals that Sergei Platov, the Russian president and former KGB agent, tried to defect to the West in 1988. Wilkinson is murdered by the Russians after Brennan informs them of his location. Tanya helps extract Gaddis from Vienna.
Gaddis finds a video of Platov's defection attempt in Katya Levette's files, and makes several copies. The Russians discover his identity, however he is able to prevent them from harming him or his family by threatening to publish the video. It turns out that MI6 have been using Platov's secret to blackmail him for years.
Reception
A strongly positive review in ''The Washington Post'' described it as "a sophisticated thriller that takes its spies at face value and focuses on a conventional hero, a likable, stubborn and rather naive man, who is trying to survive in a world of duplicity and danger."
''The Washington Post'' named it one of their notable books of the year for 2011, comparing it to
Alan Furst
Alan Furst (; born 1941) is an American author of historical spy novels. Furst has been called "an heir to the tradition of Eric Ambler and Graham Greene," whom he cites along with Joseph Roth and Arthur Koestler as important influences. Most o ...
and
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...
.
A review in ''The New York Times'' described it as "a lively thriller", however wrote that "the narrative thread slackens somewhat as Cumming piles improbability upon improbability."
''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
'' described it as "characterized by a gripping sense of realism", displaying "a vast knowledge of spycraft and Cold War history".
''Kirkus Reviews'' later listed it as one of the best thrillers of 2011.
''The Independent'' described it as "splendidly written".
The book was reviewed in ''The Guardian'',
and also in ''The Spectator''.
The book was longlisted for the 2011
CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association for best thriller of the year. The award is sponsored by the estate of Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 196 ...
award.
The book was
optioned in 2011 by
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to:
* Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate
** Universal Pictures, an American film studio
** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex
* Various theme parks operat ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trinity Six
British thriller novels
British spy novels
Cold War spy novels
2011 British novels
HarperCollins books