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A review by komet2020
Farewell Dinner for a Spy by Edward Wilson
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Farewell Dinner for a Spy was an utter delight to read. It was so nice to be able to renew my acquaintance with William Catesby, SIS agent, polyglot, connoisseur, and World War II combat veteran.
The novel begins in the summer of 1949. Catesby has been falsely accused of being a double agent and is recalled to England by the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service - aka MI6). There he is given two choices: (1) to resign or (2) to take on a special assignment for the SIS in Marseille, France and clear his name. Catesby opts for the latter and for the better part of a year, finds himself knee deep in intrigue, war, passion, drug trafficking, close calls, and brushes with elements of the mafia. During that time, he renews connections with an American wartime comrade (now serving as a zealous anti-communist CIA officer with ties to the mafia in Marseille and the ongoing drug trade operations running from Marseille to Indochina) and a shifty, duplicitous Frenchman (Henri Déricourt) whom Catesby knew during his time with the SOE (Special Operations Executive) during the war. (By the way, Henri Déricourt (1909-1962) was a real life character who, as a trained pilot, helped set up for the SOE fields in German-occupied France where spies could be stealthily flown in by night from the UK. It is also likely that he acted as a double agent, selling out some SOE agents to the Germans.)
There are also some time shifts in the novel, which shed light on Catesby's later years back in the UK.
William Catesby is such an utterly remarkable and fascinating figure. One of the best I think out of any spy series I've yet read. Which makes it hard to have to leave him because I've now read every novel in the Catesby series. At some point, I would like to reconnect with him.
The novel begins in the summer of 1949. Catesby has been falsely accused of being a double agent and is recalled to England by the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service - aka MI6). There he is given two choices: (1) to resign or (2) to take on a special assignment for the SIS in Marseille, France and clear his name. Catesby opts for the latter and for the better part of a year, finds himself knee deep in intrigue, war, passion, drug trafficking, close calls, and brushes with elements of the mafia. During that time, he renews connections with an American wartime comrade (now serving as a zealous anti-communist CIA officer with ties to the mafia in Marseille and the ongoing drug trade operations running from Marseille to Indochina) and a shifty, duplicitous Frenchman (Henri Déricourt) whom Catesby knew during his time with the SOE (Special Operations Executive) during the war. (By the way, Henri Déricourt (1909-1962) was a real life character who, as a trained pilot, helped set up for the SOE fields in German-occupied France where spies could be stealthily flown in by night from the UK. It is also likely that he acted as a double agent, selling out some SOE agents to the Germans.)
There are also some time shifts in the novel, which shed light on Catesby's later years back in the UK.
William Catesby is such an utterly remarkable and fascinating figure. One of the best I think out of any spy series I've yet read. Which makes it hard to have to leave him because I've now read every novel in the Catesby series. At some point, I would like to reconnect with him.