Cloak of Darkness

I can remember reading novels by Helen MacInnes as my very first introduction to spy thrillers, still one of my favorite genres. In Cloak of Darkness we again catch up with Robert Renwick, hero of Prelude to Terror and Hidden Target. He's married to Nina O'Connell and still working for Interintell, an organization supported by some of the NATO governments. He's contacted by an old acquaintance on his secure telephone number who reveals that Renwick's name is on a hit list that was developed by the owner of an international munitions firm. He must try to protect Nina, and at the same time, stop whatever global destruction the munitions executive has planned.

This book was written in 1982 and has a nostalgic feel for an espionage thriller. show more While many of the concerns she wrote about were unrealized at the time, there are a remarkable number that have actually happened. MacInnes fills her narrative with everything you need in a spy thriller, including double agents, triple agents, and innocent bystanders, all set in the famous capitals of Europe and Africa. Thirty five years later, I find her novels are still very readable. Not many women have made their mark as espionage storytellers, but Helen MacInnes is one one of my favorite authors of the international intrigue genre. show less

2099 Cloak of Darkness, by Helen MacInnes (read 13 Sep 1987) In 1943 I read Above Suspicion and Assignment in Brittany. Now I read this 1982 book --it is at least her 20th book. I enjoyed it very much. Robert Renwick works for Interlntele, a private outfit fighting terrorists. He has a lovely young wife, Nina, and Claudel, a Frenchman who helps him in his work. This book hops around from England, to Djibouti, to France, U.S.A., and Switzerland. It is very fast-paced, and the good guys win, always. I loved it. The author was born in Scotland, and now is the widow of Gilbert Highet, and became an American citizen in 1951.

Suitable for a short aeroplane trip. Perhaps on a wintery afternoon when you are at the Ski Lodge: you have read the papers, done the crosswords, washed your hair and cut your toenails - you might fill in some time reading this.

Fast moving international intrigue with the main character in love with his wife. Much violence and disappointing discoveries in many venues make for exciting reading.

Renwick, Interintell after Eric + Klaus okay suspense NY to Chamonix

From North Africa to New York, from London to Switzerland, the actoin and suspense of Helen MacInnes' new thriller are superb and unrelenting. The London pub was quiet and friendly-but the message passed was deadly. It was the beginning of a vast conspiracy of underground arms dealing....

This is not the MacInnes to read.

Good