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Oct 20, 2016JLMason rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
With no intention to denigrate the fine writing and nuanced characters, I found the main plot of this book reminded me of a James Bond movie. The hero Pine is an ex-Army, unbelievably multi-talented, handsome loner brooding over a murdered lover. He seems to be fatally attractive to women, charming them into his arms, including a comic interlude in a mining town in northern Quebec. His arch nemesis Roper with the "dolphin smile" is a magnetic, but deadly arms dealer with a private compound in the Caribbean and a beautiful mistress. The story takes place across exotic locales: Switzerland, the Bahamas, Curacao, Colombia. But Le Carre takes it to another level with the parallel, behind-the-scenes story of the British organization running the operation, who must deal with the sabotage and corruption of fellow and ally agencies. I was particularly taken by Le Carre's ability to capture the essence of his characters; I felt like I had met these people. The opening scene of Roper's entourage sweeping into the mountain top Swiss hotel late at night was beautifully rendered. There is a recent British TV series based on book starring Tom Hiddleston as Pine and Hugh Laurie as Roper - -fantastic casting! I'm looking forward to viewing it.