The Man in the Corduroy Suit

I felt a certain empathy with Leonard Flood, protagonist of this enjoyable novel about the intelligence world.

Mr Flood is socially awkward, almost to the extent of having become a self-appointed pariah among his workplace associates, and has a tendency to be over-literal in his approach to work. Well, this is LibraryThing, so I imagine we have all been there, done that and garnered the relevant T-shirts, haven’t we?

Flood is commissioned by MI5’s Head of the Gatekeepers, a sort of equivalent of the police’s internal Affairs Division, to review the recent life and associates of Willa Karlsson. Willa is currently very ill, and presumed to have been the victim of a poisoning arranged by rogue Russian agents operating in London. This show more is significant because Willa herself had worked for MI5, where she had been overseen the vetting process. Indeed, Leonard himself had been one of the prospective applicants to whom she had, eventually, granted admission to the Service. Lenard duly embarks upon his investigation, but is surprised to find himself assigned a colleague, Franny, who has only just completed her basic induction into the Service.

The book is very amusing, with much of the charm lent by Flood’s idiosyncrasies. I can imagine that with longer acquaintance, he might become incredibly annoying as a character (and certainly as a colleague), but the dose offered in this book was aout right.

The story is interspersed with various documents from the MI5 archive, police files and press reports, filling in background developments.

I am a great fan of spy fiction, and this fell right up my street. show less

After a varied career in odd jobs Leonard Flood found his calling as a spy. After ten years at MI5, the blunt, abrasive and highly effective Flood is summoned to investigate the apparent poisoning of a retired colleague. In this world of mirrors nothing is what it seems and Flood quickly discovers the true intentions of the mole hunter who has initiated the investigation.

James Wolff’s novels, of which this is the third, are intelligent and psychologically complex. They take the spy novel, twist it and elevate it. This one is no different. Flood himself is exceptionally perceptive. “He is comfortable drawing inferences from hints shaved off the hard edge of facts.”

The Man in the Corduroy Suit is the story of Leonard Flood’s investigation into Willa Karlsson’s life after she collapses in what looks like one of those Russian poisonings. She had an important, though not thrilling, job in British Intelligence. She evaluated potential hires and decided who got to go forward or not. This put her at the heart of personnel recruitment and suddenly they realize she could have been recruiting double agents. Leonard was someone who went through her interview and is tapped by Charles Remnant, the head of Gatekeeping, a kind of Internal Affairs for spies, to investigate Willa to determine the truth.

Leonard does a phenomenal of investigating Willa, often making intuitive leaps based on scant evidence. As show more the case heats up, he is given an assistant who is gung ho with the enthusiasm of the new hire. However, the more he learns about Willa, the more he questions himself.

The Man in the Corduroy Suit is the third in a series called The Discipline Files. It makes me want to read the first two, because the plot is complex and full of tension. It’s excellent in merely referring to the first two as scandals that happened that are not at all necessary to know what’s happening in this thriller. In terms of suspense, I love that it’s fair, that we can figure things out with Leonard. Or not.

This story has plenty of surprises. Despite the many espionage necessary tropes such as evading surveillance and so on, it is a completely fresh and original. Not only that, but I really liked the characters, at least most of them. I also love how rationales for people’s actions are learned without any aha! moment. Noted in passing.

I received an ARC of The Man in the Corduroy Suit from the publisher.

The Man in the Corduroy Suit at Bitter Lemon Press
James Wolff author site

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2023/08/25/the-man-in-the-corduroy-s... show less

Willa, a retired spy, has been hospitalized and is in a coma. It is feared that she has been poisoned by the Russians, which raises the possibility that she may have been a double agent during her tenure. Leonard Flood is one of the younger spies who had been recruited by Willa. He was somewhat surprised when he was offered a job by the agency due to his unconventional background. Nevertheless, Leonard finds that he enjoys being a spy, and he is good at it.

Leonard is further surprised when he is summoned by senior spy Charles Remnant, Head of the Gatekeeping Section and given a special assignment. The purview of the Gatekeeping Section is to investigate the agency's spies who are suspected of wrongdoing. Leonard is tasked with show more investigating whether Willa was a double agent.

This is a spy caper story similar to what you might expect to find in a big Hollywood spy caper movie starring someone like Cary Grant. It has a decent, somewhat intricate plot, but it's light-hearted and humorous and doesn't take itself too seriously. There's also a romantic subplot with fun things going on, and it all comes out good in the end. There is nothing too serious here, though it does raise questions about obeying orders and rules versus doing the right thing. This is one I enjoyed, and I will look for other books by this author. Great entertainment!

3 1/2 stars show less

THE MAN IN THE CORDUROY SUIT is a different type of spy novel and a fun read. The third book in James Wolff's The Discipline Files series, named for the very secret room in the MI5 archives. "British intelligence is in a state of panic. Cracks are appearing, or so a run of disciplinary cases would suggest. To cap it all, Willa Karlsson, a retired MI5 officer collapses, the victim of what looks like a Russian poisoning. Investigator Leonard Flood's only objective is to get the job done, whatever the cost."

Superb and refreshingly different contemporary spy novel. Read my review on my blog here: https://annabookbel.net/the-man-in-the-corduroy-suit-by-james-wolff