‘A Loyal Traitor’ by Tim Glister.

Published by Point Blank,
10 February 2022.
ISBN 978-0-86154-166-9

It’s 1966 and MI5 Agent Richard Knox has returned from Canada to London.  The Cold War is still threatening the balance of power, the Vietnam War continues, England swings, and Knox is tired of his work.  However, the appearance of CIA colleague Abey Bennet with Richard’s close friend and fellow agent, Jack Williams, immediately attracts his attention.  Jack had been assumed dead for several years, and it is clear that, whatever had happened during those missing years, he has suffered terribly both physically and mentally.  He is unable to give any information about what he has been through, and Knox, who has always felt guilty about Jack’s disappearance, wants very much to help him. 

Somewhat to Knox’s surprise, Bennet is also keen to assist, having her own suspicions about what has been going on.  Together they begin to trace Jack’s past and it becomes clear that there are many different strands to the story, including a possible assassination.  Opposing groups from a number of countries have been involved, with plots and and counter-plots, and internal and external frictions playing their part in reducing Jack to his current state of despair.  Knox has to consider who he can trust, and where his duties and loyalties lie.

The story manages to create the atmosphere of a time when espionage did not have access modern technological equipment, and recalls the spy fiction films of the era.  The plot is fast-paced, with plenty of tension and action and it raises questions that it does not always answer.  The main characters work well together and fans of spy fiction who have missed the first book will want to catch up.
------
Reviewer: Jo Hesslewood
Other books by this author:  Red Corona (the first in the Richard Knox series) 

Tim Glister is a Creative Director working in advertising. He's worked for a range of famous and infamous brands, including eighteen months at the controversial political communications agency Cambridge Analytica. He lives in London, and Red Corona was his first novel.

Jo Hesslewood.  Crime fiction has been my favourite reading material since as a teenager I first spotted Agatha Christie on the library bookshelves.  For twenty-five years the commute to and from London provided plenty of reading time.  I am fortunate to live in Cambridge, where my local crime fiction book club, Crimecrackers, meets at Heffers Bookshop .  I enjoy attending crime fiction events and currently organise events for the Margery Allingham