Wednesday 10 September 2014

BRIAN FREEMANTLE - CHARLIE M


Synopsis/blurb………

A cagey British spy fights enemies from without and within
Charlie Muffin is an anachronism. He came into the intelligence service in the early 1950s, when the government, desperate for foot soldiers in the impending Cold War, dipped into the middle class for the first time.

Despite a lack of upper-class bearing, Charlie survived twenty-five years on the espionage battle's front line: Berlin. But times have changed: The boys from Oxford and Cambridge are running the shop again, and they want to get rid of the middle-class spy who's a thorn in their side. They have decided that it's time for Charlie to be sacrificed.

But Charlie Muffin didn't survive two decades in Berlin by being a pushover. He intends to go on protecting the realm, and won't let anyone from his own organization get in his way.

Originally published in 1977, Charlie M (aka Charlie Muffin) is Freemantle’s first in his long running 16 book series featuring the British agent. Book 16, Red Star Falling was published in 2013.
Brian Freemantle

After a recent reminder about the book by blog friend Vicki, I decided to take it on my recent holiday and immerse myself in the intriguing world of duplicity, deceit and chicanery between the British, the Americans and those pesky Russians during the height of the Cold War.

184 pages long, a quick read, action and humour in abundance, fascinating portrayal of the murky dealings of the various intelligence services and the blatant disregard those in authority have for the underlings in their operations.

Our main man, Muffin has a lot of endearing and positive characteristics……..he’s loyal, capable, shrewd and intelligent to mention a few; all traits which serve him well in his chosen profession. I never found him truly likeable though. He cheats regularly on his wife and he seems to have hang-ups about money. His current boss and his cronies treat him fairly appallingly and want rid. All of these issues, keep the story bubbling along and make for a fast compelling read.
Imperfect characters often make for more interesting reading and Charlie is never less than interesting and entertaining. Freemantle moves the action around Europe as our story unfolds….Berlin, London, Czechoslavakia (pre-split obviously) and Austria. We cross the Atlantic as well, when the US in the guise of the CIA take an interest in developments.

With some reluctant inter-agency cooperation, we reach a climax between the interested parties.

Initially I felt kind of let down and disappointed about the resolution. A day later, I felt conflicted. A day after that, I think I shifted again and accepted it as perfect and loved it. Two days after that, I think I moved back to conflicted.

A fantastic read overall; any book that has you thinking about it a couple of weeks past finishing time has plenty of plus points. Perhaps reading book 2 in the series, will finally decide me on this one.

Highly recommended if you are a lover of espionage, the Cold War and well-written spy shenanigans.

5 from 5


I bought my copy second hand a year or two ago.           

10 comments:

  1. Oh interesting! I love strange endings, and one that had you changing your mind so much must be quite something. I like a dip into spy fiction (see my blog today...) and this sounds like one for the list.

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    1. Moira, I think you would definitely enjoy it. I feel sure it would compel you to go forth and hoover up the other 15 in the series straight away! Oh wait, that's me isn't it......and before I had read the first. Looks like a good decision now though!

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  2. Col - It sounds as though this one has a solid sense of that espionage atmosphere. And you know a story is well-told if you aren't particularly keen on the protagonist - but you love the book anyway.

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    1. Atmosphere describes it perfectly, Margot. I didn't necessarily dislike Muffin, I just have a bit of an intolerance for spouses who stray when their partners don't really give them cause to. I'm certainly not a prude, but maybe am a bit old-fashioned in how I perceive marriage and spousal behaviour.

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  3. I totally agree about being conflicted - I haven't been able to start the second one with the knowledge of the end of the first one, and part of my problem is, I think, how much I would have enjoyed it if he'd been able to drag out the denouement through another, say, four or five books first! But it's his book, not mine, so onward!

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    1. Vicki - wow! Validation - glad to know I wasn't the only one. I'll have to hunt down the second book wherever it lurks on the stacks!

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  4. I have got to move this one up on my TBR piles. The problem is ... it is on the Kindle and I just don't pay that much attention to what is on there. I hope I like it as much as you did.

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    1. Tracy, definitely recommended this one. Look forward to seeing what you think of it in due course.

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  5. Col, this sounds like one of the old-world espionage novels I used to read back in the eighties and nineties. I like my spy fiction littered with spy agencies, the CIA, KGB, MI6, East Germany's Stasi et al. You have got me interested in Brian Freemantle's work.

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    1. Prashant this one ticks all those boxes. I'm sure you would love it.

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