Category: Reviews

#BookReview #Ad The Scarlet Papers by Matthew Richardson @MichaelJBooks

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The Scarlet PapersAbout the Book

VIENNA, 1946: A brilliant German scientist snatched from the ruins of Nazi Europe.

MOSCOW, 1964: A US diplomat caught in a clandestine love affair as the Cold War rages.

RIGA, 1992: A Russian archivist selling secrets that will change the twentieth century forever.

LONDON, THE PRESENT DAY: A British academic on the run with the chance to solve one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Their stories, their lives, and the fate of the world are bound by a single manuscript. A document feared and whispered about in capitals across the globe. In its pages, history will be rewritten. It is only ever known as . . . THE SCARLET PAPERS

The devastating secrets contained within teased by a brief invitation: Tomorrow 11AM. Take a cab and pay in cash. Tell no one.

Format: eARC (592 pages)              Publisher: Michael Joseph
Publication date: 25th May 2023 Genre: Thriller

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My Review

If you’re a fan of the novels of John le Carré such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy you will absolutely love this brilliantly compelling espionage thriller that combines ‘old world’ tradecraft – dry-cleaning, safe houses, book codes, secret writing, brush passes, dead letterboxes – with modern technology. Think surveillance and tracking devices capable of being installed just about anywhere.

Moving from the end of the Second World War, through the Cold War to the present day, it conjures up the murky world of secret agents, double agents, sleepers and moles. References to real life individuals such as Kim Philby, James Jesus Angleton and Maurice Oldfield (reputed to be one of the models for John le Carré’s George Smiley), along with figures in the world of espionage from more modern times, give it an air of authenticity. (As can be seen from the bibliography, the author’s research has been extensive.) And although the story is fictional, many of the elements seem completely plausible. Worryingly so, if you believe in the reality of a secret state. And it wasn’t so long ago that the existence of someone very like one of the main characters in the story was revealed, after many years in the shadows.

The book is full of characters with messy relationships and exposes the moral dilemmas which spies confront, the isolation inherent in their role and the burden of keeping secrets, even from those you love.  As one character observes, ‘We were good spies and terrible human beings.’ Many of the characters are almost certainly not who they purport to be or are adept at adopting different personas. ‘Spying was a performance and the costume, the voice, the initial entrance were as vital as the lines themselves.’

It’s impossible to describe the twists and turns of the plot without giving anything away. I could sympathise with one character as they complain, ‘Spies always seemed to make things so damn complicated’ although that delicious complexity is what makes The Scarlet Papers a ‘just one more chapter’ read. Despite being quite a chunky book, the story moves along like a whirlwind with surprises galore awaiting you. I loved it. If you’re a fan of espionage thrillers, put this one on your wishlist.

I received an advance review copy courtesy ot Michael Joseph via NetGalley.

In three words: Gripping, ingenious, fast-paced

Try something similar: The Spy Across the Water by James Naughtie

Matthew RichardsonAbout the Author

Matthew Richardson studied English at Durham University and Merton College, Oxford. After a brief spell as a freelance journalist, he began working as a researcher and speechwriter in Westminster, and has also written speeches for senior figures in the private sector.

He is the author of My Name is Nobody and The Insider. (Photo: Amazon author page)

#WWWWednesday – 24th May 2023

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WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

The Scarlet PapersThe Scarlet Papers by Matthew Richardson (eARC, Michael Joseph via NetGalley) 

VIENNA, 1946: A brilliant German scientist snatched from the ruins of Nazi Europe.
MOSCOW, 1964: A US diplomat caught in a clandestine love affair as the Cold War rages.
RIGA, 1992: A Russian archivist selling secrets that will change the twentieth century forever.
LONDON, THE PRESENT DAY: A British academic on the run with the chance to solve one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Their stories, their lives, and the fate of the world are bound by a single manuscript. A document feared and whispered about in capitals across the globe. In its pages, history will be rewritten. It is only ever known as . . . THE SCARLET PAPERS

The devastating secrets contained within teased by a brief invitation: Tomorrow 11AM. Take a cab and pay in cash. Tell no one.

AncestryAncestry : A Novel by Simon Mawer (Little, Brown) Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023

The past is another country and we are all its exiles. Banished forever, we look back in fascination and wonder at this mysterious land. Who were the people who populated it?

Almost two hundred years ago, Abraham, an illiterate urchin, scavenges on a Suffolk beach and dreams of running away to sea… Naomi, a seventeen-year-old seamstress, sits primly in a second class carriage on the train from Sussex to London and imagines a new life in the big city… George, a private soldier of the 50th Regiment of Foot, marries his Irish bride, Annie, in the cathedral in Manchester and together they face married life under arms. Now these people exist only in the bare bones of registers and census lists but they were once real enough. They lived, loved, felt joy and fear, and ultimately died. But who were they? And what indissoluble thread binds them together?

Simon Mawer’s compelling and original novel puts flesh on our ancestors’ bones to bring them to life and give them voice. He has created stories that are gripping and heart-breaking, from the squalor and vitality of Dickensian London to the excitement of seafaring in the last days of sail and the horror of the trenches of the Crimea. There is birth and death; there is love, both open and legal but also hidden and illicit. Yet the thread that connects these disparate figures is something that they cannot have known – the unbreakable bond of family.

Recently finished

For the first time in a long time – absolutely nothing. Too much needing to be done in the garden! 

What Cathy (will) Read Next

Sister of MineSister of Mine by Laurie Petrou (eARC, Verve Books) 

Two sisters. One fire. A secret that won’t burn out.

The Grayson sisters are trouble. Everyone in their small town knows it. But no-one can know of the secret that binds them together.

Hattie is the light. Penny is the darkness. Together, they have balance.

But one night the balance is toppled. A match is struck. A fire is started. A cruel husband is killed. The potential for a new life flickers in the fire’s embers, but resentment, guilt, and jealousy suffocate like smoke.

Their lives have been engulfed in flames – will they ever be able to put them out?