A Delicate Truth

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A counter-terror operation, codenamed Wildlife, is being mounted in Britain's most precious colony. Its purpose- to capture and abduct a high-value jihadist arms-buyer. Its authors- an ambitious Foreign Office Minister, and a private defence contractor who is also his close friend. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister's private secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it.

Suspecting a disastrous conspiracy, Toby attempts to forestall it, but is promptly posted overseas. Three years on, summoned by Sir Christopher Probyn, retired British diplomat, to his decaying Cornish manor house, and closely watched by Probyn's daughter Emily, Toby must choose between his conscience and his duty to the Service.

If the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing, how can he keep silent?

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

As demonstrated in his masterpiece, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, le Carre shines when writing about the infighting among the powerbrokers within the British government and the subsequent revelations about human frailty and the difficulty of recognizing evil. These themes are at play on a smaller scale here, building slowly to a chilling conclusion reminiscent of the end of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. This minor work may succeed better on audio than the printed page because of the consistent excellence of the reading. Le Carre's fiction is all about nuance and rhythm, and who better to know when to change emphasis and pace than the writer himself? While many authors are somewhat stilted when interpreting their works, le Carre is as skillful as any professional reader. It would be a joy to hear his Graham Greene or Eric Ambler. VERDICT Highly recommended for all collections. ["This is a guaranteed hair-raising cerebral fright, especially for anyone who enjoyed Robert Harris's The Ghost or who just knows his or her email account has been hacked," read the starred review of the Viking hc, LJ 4/15/13.-Ed.]-Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr., New York (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.