Charlie M

The endless complaining about British social class unfairness gets tedious... right until the end. Absolutely full marks for going there, and it leaves me curious as to how it leads into a a long-running series. Never seen a writer so in love with adjectives before, either.

Spy novels used to be as common as vampire romances today. This one stays in my memory because of its atypical hero. English spies used to be Oxbridge, here we have a grammar school boy who outwits his alleged social superiors at every turn.

ETA: re-reading this after nearly 40 years I notice some slight stylistic defects, but the plot remains a stellar example of how to play two ends against the middle.

I've never ever read anything by Brian Freemantle. A couple weeke ago I saw the movie "Charlie Muffin" with David Hemmings, and I just got plain curious. I just had to get my hands on the book. When I finally did, I almost read it in just one sitting. Sometimes I just burst out laughing. The book is tremendously funny. There's a scene where Charlie takes off his socks complaining that his feet are wet. What ensues is out-and-out hilarious. I can't tell the rest without spoilers.

If Lt. Columbo had been a spy, he would have been Charlie Muffin... I'm planning on reading the entire series, starting immediately with "Here Comes Charlie M."

Charlie is an embarrassing anachronism, a product of the cold war. But, despite Charlie's new boss, Charlie sets out to make things right when dealing with a possible defection of a KBG general.