Jeremy Duns

Paul Dark is senior intelligence officer in UK's secret service. When called by his Chief in order to check reports on possible Russian spy willing to cross over to the West, Dark panics and starts the events that will take him from London and England to war-torn Ethiopia and Biafra where he will have to find his way out of troubles without any support.

I wont go into details because of spoilers but would like to say a few things in regard to the Paul Dark.

I have to admit I was a little bit put-off by some of the reviews but after reading the book I think most people did not enjoy the book because Paul Dark is not likeable in any way.

But how can he be even remotely likeable? While he did find himself in WW2 cloak-and-dagger game he was obviously not true material for it. He has conscience and he did not like what he had to do - but he did it for one obvious reason. Because it saved his hide. And later he became a professional bureaucrat in secret service, in world where fish-eat-fish and nobody has any remorse or guilt for walking over bodies to the higher position. And it is here he makes a decision to play a dangerous game of double agent - and starts working as one for more than two decades. I have to admit this choice of story protagonist was a very brave decision by the author and it worked for me.

So while one can dismiss Dark as man without morals, take a look at his superiors at the very end - fishing for confession from Dark (because nothing is ever said clearly and doubt and power-plays are ever present) but guilty of more dark and loathsome actions than Paul ever undertook. And these are people who are supposed to be a pillars of justice in the story.

And his handlers are also of the same "special stock" - all double agents are just pawns in the game and have about the same value. Only they do not know it.

In game of second-guessing everyone, not being able to trust anyone and living on the edge of knife every day there are no good people, just unscrupulous and opportunistic people ready to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

In terms of pace book starts with the blast, then first third of the book gets slow only to speed up to the very interesting finale.

Highly recommended to all fans of thrillers and spy fiction.… (más)

As far as I am aware Jeremy Duns is primarily known as a fiction author and this is his first proper foray into non-fiction writing. Casting my eye across the titles of his other books it looks like he writes espionage thriller exclusively. I first heard about Jeremy Duns on the Spybrary podcast and then I heard an interview on another podcast although I can't recall which one. Both podcast hosts held his writing in high regard and the descriptions he gave of the Oleg Penkovsky story sounded very interesting. Running a spy inside Russia, let alone Moscow was extremely hard so there aren't too many operations that lasted very long or could be considered to be successful. I just knew I had to read the book.

Going into the book I had some passing knowledge of the Penkovsky story from the previously mentioned podcasts but I did not know the details. I'm not sure on how Duns came to write this book but I suspect he was doing some research for one of his novels and just found the story too interesting to leave alone. As a result this is extremely well researched and the appendixes at the back contain loads of great sources and material that has been recently declassified. The book is really well written and really gets into the people behind the story but also explains the climate at the time. In particular the Cuban Missile crisis is well explained and really brings gravity to the seriousness of the whole situation.

Probably one of the best aspects of the book is the exploration of how reliable Penkovsky was. It appears to be an honest assessment of a guy, who although was a useful source was also quite conceited and a serial womanizer. You get the impression that he was a bit of a pain in the ass at times but tolerated due to the strength of the information he had. A question has always remained unanswered about Penkovsky. Was he working for the allies or was he in fact a double agent being fed information by the KGB? Duns really delves into this question and I found it hard to disagree with his conclusions and his justifications for these conclusions. He doesn't just present his opinion but always backs it up logically and presents sources where possible, a great way to approach writing a book like this.

This is a well researched and well written book. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in espionage.… (más)

At the height of the cold war a Soviet colonel Oleg Penkovsky made his first tentative contacts with the west. After a hesitant start, the intelligence services, MI6 and the CIA realised what a catch this agent was and run him jointly. The intelligence that he provided, in particular through the Berlin blockade and the Cuban missile crisis was of the utmost importance, and probably played a significant part in averting a war at that point.

Given the code name Hero, his intelligence was top quality. He was a a vain man, who wanted to meet the queen and the president, and had photos taken of himself in American and British uniforms, until one day it was all over. He'd been detected by chance by the KGB, and was arrested.

Duns shines a light into the world of smoke and mirrors in this book, a place where nothing can be taken at face value, and you closest friend may be your greatest enemy. As well as the history and details of the man, he explores the revelation that Penkovsky may have been part of a huge Soviet deception, and was run to cover the fact that there was another mole in Western services.

Who knows the truth in this shadowy world, but Duns has at least had a reasonable stab at finding out.… (más)

Spy Out The Land – A Master class Spy Thriller

Spy Out The Land is the latest Paul Dark novel from Jeremy Duns, one of the most engrossing and addictive spy thrillers I have read in a long time. This is a stylish romp back in to recent history when the British Mi6 were less than honest with the people they were supposed to be protecting. This also takes us back to the time when Zimbabwe was still Rhodesia, and there was white minority rule. We also have a nod back to the Cold War when the Soviet spy seemed to pervade everywhere.

It is 1969, and a Russian helicopter lands on a Finnish archipelago, and the local coastguard witnesses the execution of two people and the serious injury to another. The Mi6 office in London have it confirmed that the death is that of double agent Paul Dark, a man they had wanted since he had disappeared. Rachel Gold an analyst was not quite convinced, but the chiefs told her to accept the report. She is then sent out to collect the Head of Station out in Malaysia, but he is executed by an unknown under her nose at a party.

Erik and Claire are living together in Stockholm and making a good job of raising their son, Ben. Both have secrets that they have never told each other and this unspoken secret will explode for both of them. Especially when Erik feels that his family is being watched by someone unknown, and when he tries to protect his family by sending away he sends them straight in to danger.

Paul Dark has to step out of the shadows and when he escapes custody to try and save his family, he shows why he is the most resourceful and feared double agent. When Interpol upload his picture it lands on the desks of Mi6 and the GRU and so begins a race to find Dark that will lead them to Africa, via Brussels.

Rachel Gold has been sidelined since 1969 and she is on duty when the picture of Paul Dark passes over her desk and she raises the alarm. She is desperate to be out in the field to bring Dark in finally but what she discovers will shock her to the core, but she will do her job for Queen and County.

Gold and Dark are both heading towards Victoria Falls where South Africa have arranged a meeting of all sides in the civil war that is tearing white Rhodesia apart, wanting majority rule. Little do the participants know they are front and centre with Dark and Gold for different reasons.

This was one of the most engrossing spy thrillers I have read in a long time that is pulsating where Dark, the bad guy, is also the heroic lead. Will he manage to save his family and evade British justice we are never given those clues, but you need to read the book. Spy Out The Land is an excellently researched book that uses actual events as the backdrop to the story and adds spice and colour. This is a wonderful trip back to the cold war and the dying embers of white rule in Rhodesia, taking us back to a time that was a golden age for the spy industry.

An excellent and engrossing read that I cannot recommend highly enough.… (más)