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A review by rosseroo
Jack of Spies by David Downing
3.0
This globe-trotting adventure is the entertaining first book in a World War I-era series featuring British Naval intelligence agent Jack McColl. Espionage was a bit of an amateur affair then, and as the pitchman for his family's bespoke automobile brand, McColl has a reasonable cover for running around. The book opens in 1913 China, where he's poking his nose into the German-occupied port of Tsingtao. In China he also meets his romantic interest, an American female journalist who might be somehow connected to the Irish nationalists.
In the manner of many such period-set adventures, her sensibilities strike a slightly too-modern note, but that's a minor distraction amidst the adventures that propel them from Shanghai to San Francisco, Mexico, New York, and so forth. The story roams among various nationalists seeking to throw off the Imperial British yoke: Irish, Indian, and Chinese, nationalists, and the extent to which German support is behind any of it. If you like your espionage to be deliberate and sober, a la Le Carre, or realistic and fatalistic a la Alan Furst, this is probably going to be too zippy and full of derring-do for you. But if you're looking for a fun period adventure series, this is a good place to start.
In the manner of many such period-set adventures, her sensibilities strike a slightly too-modern note, but that's a minor distraction amidst the adventures that propel them from Shanghai to San Francisco, Mexico, New York, and so forth. The story roams among various nationalists seeking to throw off the Imperial British yoke: Irish, Indian, and Chinese, nationalists, and the extent to which German support is behind any of it. If you like your espionage to be deliberate and sober, a la Le Carre, or realistic and fatalistic a la Alan Furst, this is probably going to be too zippy and full of derring-do for you. But if you're looking for a fun period adventure series, this is a good place to start.