Legacy

By Alan Judd

From award-winning author Alan Judd comes a gripping espionage novel set during the height of the Cold War. Capturing the tenor of 1970s London with assuredness on par with that of the genre's greats, Judd has crafted an extraordinary story about a young spy who discovers some shocking truths about his family.Fresh out of the army, Charles Thoroughgood has barely begun his training in Britain's secret intelligence service, MI6, when his college association with a Soviet diplomat lands him on a case. The diplomat, Viktor Koslov, has been working in London and is behaving in ways that may suggest he's turnable. Charlie's higher-ups hope to exploit Viktor for their own purposes. But when Charlie makes contact, Viktor reveals certain information about Charlie’s family that he would rather not believe. Charlie soon finds his desire to learn the truth to be at odds with the goals of MI6. Caught at the intersection of the professional and the personal, he sets out to untangle the story within a story--all the while navigating a dangerous web of crosses and double-crosses that draw him deeper and deeper into the vortex of the international intelligence machinery.From the Trade Paperback edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Kids
• Release date: Dec 18, 2007
• ISBN: 9780307426598

Alan Judd

Alan Judd is the author of eleven novels and two biographies. He previously served as a soldier in the British army and as a diplomat in the Foreign Office. Judd is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has won numerous awards including the Guardian Fiction Prize and the Heinemann Award. He currently writes for The Spectator and The Daily Telegraph. He lives in Sussex with his family.

Reviews for Legacy

[eyejaybee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The critic's comments quoted on the cover of this spy thriller compared the writer with John le Carre. That seems rather overblown. This was a workmanlike, if slightly tedious novel, and didn't come within a country mile of emulating the delicate characterisation and subtle plotting that are always at the core of le Carre's masterpieces.Charles Thoroughgood, the protagonist of this novel, is a likeable enough, but totally wooden - it is almost impossible to imagine him as an officer in MI6. We learn that his previous career had been as a soldier, ultimately in the SAS - that defies belief, too. This is very much the book equivalent of an old B movie.