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A review by ja_hopkins
The IPCRESS File by Len Deighton
4.0
When a scientist is kidnapped, our narrator, working for British intelligence is tasked with investigating. We are taken through the streets of London, then to the Middle East, the Pacific and finally back to London as our man digs deeper, and uncovers a more worrying plot.
This is widely regarded as a classic of the genre, and surprisingly it is Len Deighton’s first novel. The gritty writing is enjoyable. The underlying chip on our leads shoulder is evident in the class warfare between him and his bosses. The locations are detailed, the activities described in detail – occasionally perhaps too much. I enjoyed the book, although there are a few sections that are a bit hard going. Given it is quite short, I wonder if it needed a bit of filler to get published. Even so, it’s a good story and I will be looking for more of his works on Kindle.
This is widely regarded as a classic of the genre, and surprisingly it is Len Deighton’s first novel. The gritty writing is enjoyable. The underlying chip on our leads shoulder is evident in the class warfare between him and his bosses. The locations are detailed, the activities described in detail – occasionally perhaps too much. I enjoyed the book, although there are a few sections that are a bit hard going. Given it is quite short, I wonder if it needed a bit of filler to get published. Even so, it’s a good story and I will be looking for more of his works on Kindle.