A Spy Alone

The Oxford Spy Ring, Book 1

De: Charles Beaumont

Narrado por: David Thorpe

Everyone knows about the Cambridge Spies from the fifties, identified and broken up after passing national secrets to the Soviets for years. But no spy ring was ever unearthed at Oxford. Because one never existed? Or because it was never found . . . ?

2022: Former spy Simon Sharman is eking out a living in the private sector. When a commission to delve into the financial dealings of a mysterious Russian oligarch comes across his desk, he jumps at the chance.

But as Simon investigates, worrying patterns begin to emerge. His subject made regular trips to Oxford, but for no apparent reason. There are payments from offshore accounts that suddenly just . . . stop.

Has he found what none of his former colleagues believed possible, a Russian spy ring now nestled at the heart of the British Establishment? Or is he just another paranoid ex-spook left out in the cold, obsessed with redemption?

From Oxford's hallowed quadrangles to brush contacts on Hampstead Heath, agent-running in Vienna and mysterious meetings in Prague, A Spy Alone is a gripping international thriller and a searing portrait of modern Britain in the age of cynical populism.

Contains mature themes.

©2023 Charles Beaumont (P)2024 Tantor

A tangled web of intrigue

The story takes you down and through Oxford College intrigue into the spy world. It takes off from there.

A Spy Alone

Great storyline with a lot of connections to current day global politics. Also like the narrator, very well read.

politics ruined plot

Good bones of a story but the tradecraft descriptions are repetitive and basic, and the political commentary is fatuous.

Could have been better.

The book started well and included more minute details that seem accurate. Around the second half of the book, the clear political bent was obvious and became tiresome.

Good performance, mediocre writing

Doesn't break any new ground. It barely breaks any old ground. Trite plot, silly political commentary. There are too many good espionage thrillers out there to waste your time on this.

Disciplined prose

I really Loved it can’t wait for the next one! I know it will be good!

Unique story line told with authenticity

A good classic espionage story told with a modern twist. Recommended for fans of IS Berry or David McClosky.

Verisimilitude

Clearly woven plot, details, and color. The writer's career experience comes through but with subtlety.

Reality with a touch of Fiction

Strong main character struggling against betrayal, deep state politics, and foreign and domestic espionage to identify the nature of foreign interference in the national government. Well written. Hard to put down.

Good writing and performance, plot’s a little weak.

If you can put the premise in the background this is a well written enjoyable book. (You will, however, have to get used to hearing how Brexit was a Russian conspiracy stretching back to those Russophiles Reagan and Thatcher.). The reader is very good and gets you through some of the drier spots and I was never seriously tempted to delete the book. The tradecraft segments pull you in, the good guys are well fleshed out characters, and overall it’s worth it.