Spy Sinker

When someone writes five complex novels densely popluated with so many characters, not to mention institutions and settings and historical moments, then writes a sixth novel that shatters everything that went before and reassembles them to form a new picture, or perhaps another picture that had been hidden behind the first all along, it's usually hailed as a narrative coup, the sort of clever post-modern game played by Iain Banks or David Mitchell. Not that Deighton's books weren't acclaimed and bestsellers when first published, and revelations that change everything you thought you knew, or at least reveal the truth about mysteries or ambiguities or explain the hidden secret lives of characters that we only knew through a first person show more point of view, is certainly a staple of the espionage novel, but the scale of it here is staggering. Not that it makes any concessions to flashy postmodern games-playing.

Told in a third person omniscient, with oddly formal prose and dialogue, it's a merciless flourescent-light interrogation of Fiona Sampson, her life, her thoughts, her emotions, her motivations. Merciless but, oddly, non-judgemental, one can only sympathise with her sacrifice, her dedication, the immense strain it puts her under, and her intense awareness of the damage she is inflicting. Other characters are fleshed out into three dimensions, but remain unsympathetic, such as the dilletente Bret, with his master plan, or the D-G, the cunning old goat. Some things remain unknowable - we get a clearer picture of the final shoot-out, but some confusion remains, though maybe that's because it's too long since I read Line. Who was the guy in the gorilla suit again?

Any way you look at it, a masterful achievement, the unravelling of a cunningly constructed plot mechanism, and the harrowing coalface of psychological and emotional damage inflicted and endured in the name of patriotism. show less

WARNING: This review contains spoilers.

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I was blown away by this conclusion to the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy. After five books inside the head of Bernard Samson, we finally take a step back and see the whole operation from other perspectives, most notably that of his wife, Fiona. The amount of planning and detail that went into Operation Sinker, as it's known, is mind-blowing, and actually kind of chilling when you see what lengths the Service will go to to bring things to a successful conclusion: keeping Bernard in the dark so that his devastation at Fiona's "defection" is real, for example, or sacrificing Fiona's sister Tessa when it comes time to get Fiona out of the East. It's simply masterful how Deighton drops all show more the remaining pieces of the puzzle into place. I spent a lot of the book going "Aha!" as certain bits of information came to light. And of course the writing style is up to Deighton's usual standards, with lovely dry-witted narration and description.

In a brief note at the beginning of the book, Deighton explains the chronology of Game, Set, Match, Winter, Hook, Line and Sinker, and claims they can be read in any order. But I think for maximum impact, read them in order of publication. Spy Sinker works so well because of the new perspective on events you're already familiar with, and the revelations that pop up. A very satisfying conclusion and a must-read for fans of Deighton. show less

As the third in a trilogy I expected this novel to follow conventions and wrap things up for us with some explanation thrown in. Convention wasn't something Deighton was interested in apparently and as a result I'm not quite satisfied with the conclusion. Particularly I wanted the payoff; the vital information Fiona was supposed to give at her debriefing, I mean she ruined her life and her family's lives for this mission, I really wanted to know what was worth all that. I think in some ways this was the most interesting of the three novels because so much of what we were in the dark about was brought to light, but it also dragged a lot with vignettes into Fiona's personal life and emotional state throughout her mission. For me, this show more didn't add much to the picture because it was repetitive; she's conflicted, she thinks she's a bad mother, she's patriotic, she's stressed; yup, got it. In a way I'd like to go back and re-visit the first two books with the knowledge that I have now (especially the whole Harry Kennedy aspect) and maybe I will one day. The absolute cold, calculated way the DG and his minions (Rensselaer in particular ) manipulate and control people for even the slightest advantage was pretty shocking. Ruthless is not a strong enough word. show less

The 6th book in the Bernard Sampson series. A very enjoyable read and very cleverly written. While the book could be read on its own, a reader would get far more enjoyment from having read “hook” and “line”.
This book is written over the timeline over the previous 2 books of the trilogy, and in that sense is one long flashback. The main characters here in “sinker” are the supporting characters to Bernard Samson as the lead character in all the other books. Not only do you get to see the story from different perspectives but also the puzzles left to Bernard are by and large explained here.
Again, another great spy book and recommended!

Clears up a lot of things, but very sad.

series: Hook, Line & Sinker

Desde la extraordinaria licenciada por Oxford que aprende el juego del espionaje mejor que sus homólogos masculinos, hasta la seductora fémina que utiliza sus encantos e inteligencia para engañar a todos, Fiona Samson presenta un fascinante enigma. A través de la relación con su padre, en su amor por Bernard y sus hijos, en la ilícita aventura con un amante misterioso, o en su trabajo en el KGB, la vemos desgarrada por imperativos contradictorios y complejos, impulsada por una ambición insaciable y obsesa por unas pasiones que no se atreve a expresar.