Trigger Mortis

Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz, (2015) 310 pp

I thought reading a James Bond spy thriller might be an escape from incessant internet doom scrolling and the St. Louis summer heat. I can vaguely recall my dad reading Ian Fleming in the 1950s and the avalanche of 007 films. How bad could it be? Horowitz, a prolific author, apparently jumped on the Bond cash cow, making an agreement with the Fleming estate to continue the spy series. In this re-mix nearly all the Bond cliches are present -- misogyny, gratuitous violence and impossible feats of daring-do. This genre reflected cold-war realpolitik in the early 1950s, but now it is just stale and lifeless -- this puerile fiction does not age well.  Perhaps Horowitz did not see the satirical 1999 movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Phantom Orbit

Phantom Orbit by David Ignatius (2024) 371 pp

David Ignatius has a storied career in journalism and has written a dozen spy/thriller novels over the years. I was lured into this tome by the recognition of the author as journalist and by the orbit plot device. And indeed, the novel goes into satisfying detail on the role of satellites in modern warfare and the problems generated by public-private collaboration in space exploration. Ignatius has a fine grasp of technical details and also a believable sense of the operations of intelligence services, i.e., CIA, FSB and the Ministry of State Security. The yarn follows characters from China, Russia and the United States as they interact over 25 years, but the author fails in character development – I found the characters one-dimensional, simplistic and fraught with stereotypes. I slogged through but was left wanting – even after the final “reveal”.

Secret Hours

 

Secret Hours by Mick Herron (2023) 365pp

Ugh, 365 pages I can't get back. Probably blasphemy, but I really didn't like this book. If you are a fan of John le Carré or Len Deighton you may be seduced by the reputation of Mick Herron as the author who has taken on the mantle of those espionage toilers. And yes, the Slow Horses series (now a TV series or two) is well produced and intricate in plotting. However, Secret Hours is just plodding (at least after the 'gotcha' first chapter). I kept reading thinking it must get more interesting, but alas, nothing but angst and handwringing.  I guess I should have been tipped off by the code name of the MI5 investigation, Monochrome, yep no color in this tome. As with the most cynical spy-writers, nothing is resolved, however there is no there there. Bigly sad.