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Bernard Samson #4
Spy Hook
The long-awaited reissue of the first part of the classic spy trilogy, HOOK, LINE and SINKER, when the Berlin Wall divided not just a city but a world. Working for the Department was like marriage is supposed to be - ''til death do us part' - but the Department is really not like that; and neither are many marriages, including that of Bernard Samson. The cool and cynical field agent of the GAME, SET and MATCH trilogy has grown older and wiser. But things have not gone well for old pals are not as friendly as they used to be and colleagues are less confiding than they once were. Now, starting with his mission to Washington, life has become even more precarious for Bernard. Ignoring all warnings, friendly, devious and otherwise, he pursues his own investigation and, in California, meets with the biggest surprise of his life…
320 pages, Paperback
First published December 3, 1988
315 people are currently reading
1043 people want to read
About the author
Len Deighton
237 books900 followersDeighton was born in Marylebone, London, in 1929. His father was a chauffeur and mechanic, and his mother was a part-time cook. After leaving school, Deighton worked as a railway clerk before performing his National Service, which he spent as a photographer for the Royal Air Force's Special Investigation Branch. After discharge from the RAF, he studied at St Martin's School of Art in London in 1949, and in 1952 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1955.
Deighton worked as an airline steward with BOAC. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in New York and, in 1960, as an art director in a London advertising agency. He is credited with creating the first British cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own military history books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became The Observer's cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. In September 1967 he wrote an article in the Sunday Times Magazine about Operation Snowdrop - an SAS attack on Benghazi during World War II. The following year David Stirling would be awarded substantial damages in libel from the article.
He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of Playboy, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I Larf, Deighton and photographer Brian Duffy bought the film rights to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! He had his name removed from the credits of the film, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile." That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left England in 1969. He briefly resided in Blackrock, County Louth in Ireland. He has not returned to England apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on BBC Four. He and his wife Ysabele divide their time between homes in Portugal and Guernsey.
Deighton worked as an airline steward with BOAC. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in New York and, in 1960, as an art director in a London advertising agency. He is credited with creating the first British cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own military history books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became The Observer's cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. In September 1967 he wrote an article in the Sunday Times Magazine about Operation Snowdrop - an SAS attack on Benghazi during World War II. The following year David Stirling would be awarded substantial damages in libel from the article.
He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of Playboy, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I Larf, Deighton and photographer Brian Duffy bought the film rights to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! He had his name removed from the credits of the film, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile." That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left England in 1969. He briefly resided in Blackrock, County Louth in Ireland. He has not returned to England apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on BBC Four. He and his wife Ysabele divide their time between homes in Portugal and Guernsey.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
February 10, 2020
There's something about a long series of books which amount to a saga that is really appealing and enjoyable. I had this experience with Anthony Powell's wonderful A Dance To The Music Of Time series of 12 novels which remains one of the greatest literary adventures I've ever enjoyed.
These Bernard Samson books are a whole different kettle of fish but the saga element is still there and it's no surprise that this Bernard Samson ennealogy has been referred to as Len Deighton's magnum opus. An ennealogy being the name for a series of nine novels, despite there being a tenth novel - Winter: A Berlin Family, 1899-1945 - which is a prequel to the series.
I read the first three books in the Bernard Samson trilogy (Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match) in 2019 and I'm keen to read the rest of the Bernard Samson series in 2020.
After the wonderful opening trilogy, Spy Hook takes the story to the next level. Bernard Samson appears to have revealed yet more betrayal, duplicity and deceit in London Central. Despite being warned off on numerous occasions Bernard just will not let it lie. Has he pieced together the truth behind Fiona's defection? His tentative conclusions are certainly plausible.
Spy Hook contains an elaborate and complex plot and yet, in Len Deighton's effortless way, it is easy to follow. Deighton claims these books can be read as stand alone thrillers but I am not convinced. This series only really works as part of an ongoing saga and each book reveals new surprising twists and revelations.
I wanted to read something different after finishing Spy Hook however it ends on such a cliffhanger that I suspect I'll be carrying straight on with Spy Line (Bernard Samson, #5).
4/5
The blurb for Spy Hook (1988)....
Working for the Department was like marriage is supposed to be – ''til death do us part' – but the Department is really not like that; and neither are many marriages, including that of Bernard Samson. The cool and cynical field agent of the GAME, SET and MATCH trilogy has grown older and wiser. But things have not gone well for Samson: old pals are not as friendly as they used to be and colleagues are less confiding than they once were.
Now, starting with his mission to Washington, life has become even more precarious for Bernard. Ignoring all warnings, friendly, devious and otherwise, he pursues his own investigation and, in California, meets with the biggest surprise of his life…
These Bernard Samson books are a whole different kettle of fish but the saga element is still there and it's no surprise that this Bernard Samson ennealogy has been referred to as Len Deighton's magnum opus. An ennealogy being the name for a series of nine novels, despite there being a tenth novel - Winter: A Berlin Family, 1899-1945 - which is a prequel to the series.
I read the first three books in the Bernard Samson trilogy (Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match) in 2019 and I'm keen to read the rest of the Bernard Samson series in 2020.
After the wonderful opening trilogy, Spy Hook takes the story to the next level. Bernard Samson appears to have revealed yet more betrayal, duplicity and deceit in London Central. Despite being warned off on numerous occasions Bernard just will not let it lie. Has he pieced together the truth behind Fiona's defection? His tentative conclusions are certainly plausible.
Spy Hook contains an elaborate and complex plot and yet, in Len Deighton's effortless way, it is easy to follow. Deighton claims these books can be read as stand alone thrillers but I am not convinced. This series only really works as part of an ongoing saga and each book reveals new surprising twists and revelations.
I wanted to read something different after finishing Spy Hook however it ends on such a cliffhanger that I suspect I'll be carrying straight on with Spy Line (Bernard Samson, #5).
4/5
The blurb for Spy Hook (1988)....
Working for the Department was like marriage is supposed to be – ''til death do us part' – but the Department is really not like that; and neither are many marriages, including that of Bernard Samson. The cool and cynical field agent of the GAME, SET and MATCH trilogy has grown older and wiser. But things have not gone well for Samson: old pals are not as friendly as they used to be and colleagues are less confiding than they once were.
Now, starting with his mission to Washington, life has become even more precarious for Bernard. Ignoring all warnings, friendly, devious and otherwise, he pursues his own investigation and, in California, meets with the biggest surprise of his life…
September 9, 2017
Bernard Samson of MI6 nver knows when to let well enough alone. But then, that's why Len Deighton's Bernard Samson novels are such fun to read. There is something essentially undramatic about a spy who is merely obedient and prudent.
Spy Hook is the second set of three Samson novels after Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match
In this book, Samson discovers a suspiciously large amount of money involving two MI6 associates who were supposed to be dead, but aren't. As our hero continues to nose around about this money, he becomes the subject of a manhunt.
Deighton is great fun. Just the thing for a hot summer.
Spy Hook is the second set of three Samson novels after Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match
In this book, Samson discovers a suspiciously large amount of money involving two MI6 associates who were supposed to be dead, but aren't. As our hero continues to nose around about this money, he becomes the subject of a manhunt.
Deighton is great fun. Just the thing for a hot summer.
May 17, 2019
I've become a big fan of Len Deighton over a short period of time after 'discovering' him probably 40 years after he began writing a bunch of really fine novels in my favorite genre. I began nearly at the beginning of his output, tearing through the Game/Set/Match trilogy section and loving every minute, but Spy Hook was a bit of a disappointment. Still very good, but with a glacial pace taken toward resolving the main plot and a conclusion that wasn't very conclusive.
Spy Hook begins with Bernard Samson, the 'star' of the series, assigned the task of discovering what happened to a bunch of money that disappeared from the British spy coffers. As this happens during the Cold War era and Samson's been under suspicion himself since his wife defected to the Russian side and has become a big KGB player, the assignment isn't as simple as it seems. Action bounces between London, both East and West Berlin, France, California, and DC and Samson leverages his relationships in his attempt to fulfill his assignment, but absolutely nothing is simple here. Many questions are introduced from all sorts of directions and, in the end, the riddle is somewhat solved but Samson finds himself on the run.
Deighton's writing is excellent, though it has 'aged' a bit since Spy Hook was written back in the 80's. He presents a nice 'slice of life' in an era where the Iron Curtain still existed, social mores were a bit different, and the technological advances that inform today's intelligence operations weren't available. The book is a bit slow and the conclusion wasn't satisfying in the least, but it does set us up for Deighton's future work.
Spy Hook begins with Bernard Samson, the 'star' of the series, assigned the task of discovering what happened to a bunch of money that disappeared from the British spy coffers. As this happens during the Cold War era and Samson's been under suspicion himself since his wife defected to the Russian side and has become a big KGB player, the assignment isn't as simple as it seems. Action bounces between London, both East and West Berlin, France, California, and DC and Samson leverages his relationships in his attempt to fulfill his assignment, but absolutely nothing is simple here. Many questions are introduced from all sorts of directions and, in the end, the riddle is somewhat solved but Samson finds himself on the run.
Deighton's writing is excellent, though it has 'aged' a bit since Spy Hook was written back in the 80's. He presents a nice 'slice of life' in an era where the Iron Curtain still existed, social mores were a bit different, and the technological advances that inform today's intelligence operations weren't available. The book is a bit slow and the conclusion wasn't satisfying in the least, but it does set us up for Deighton's future work.
February 28, 2021
I've decided to re-read the complete Samson series some 10 years after the first read. Why re-reading? First of all, it allows to appreciate in full the entire arc of the story; in the first read, one naturally focusses on the events of the single book and misses the big picture, which if big indeed, like a large mosaic in which every book will find its place.
Secondly, in a re-read one can savour the many accessories to the main plot; less pressured by the immediate tension of the whodunnit, one can fully enjoy the the social interludes, like the weekends at Silas Gaunt's mansion, the office games and politics, the family dynamics, the delicious mix of private, social and shop talks.
Lastly, with a little more detachment, a reader can appreciate Deighton's skills not only on espionage and its tradecraft - very apparent at first glance - but also at character development and world building.
The real heart of the series is actually the first trilogy (Game, Set, Match): that’s the jewel of the crown. Among the very best of espionage literature of all times. And that’s the minimum a reader should cover to have a meaningful sense of the story.
The subsequent 2 trilogies mainly deal with the unraveling of the events of the first 3 books, with their ramifications and repercussions; they are overall some, even very good at times, but of more uneven quality than the first trilogy.
For these reason, at the end of my re-read, I feel like offering these suggestions to the reader approaching Deighton's Samson series for the first time: read the books in order and read them as one long (very long) book. If you like the genre, you'll not be disappointed.
As it comes to the book in question, I had found Spy Hook the weakest of the series and I thought the same after this second read. In the economy of the whole project, this is a sort of transition book between the first trilogy and the final part of the series. But it takes too many digressions, it lacks cohesiveness, with an entanglement of family, friends and acquaintances, some rooted in a far past and having little connections with the overarching plot.
Secondly, in a re-read one can savour the many accessories to the main plot; less pressured by the immediate tension of the whodunnit, one can fully enjoy the the social interludes, like the weekends at Silas Gaunt's mansion, the office games and politics, the family dynamics, the delicious mix of private, social and shop talks.
Lastly, with a little more detachment, a reader can appreciate Deighton's skills not only on espionage and its tradecraft - very apparent at first glance - but also at character development and world building.
The real heart of the series is actually the first trilogy (Game, Set, Match): that’s the jewel of the crown. Among the very best of espionage literature of all times. And that’s the minimum a reader should cover to have a meaningful sense of the story.
The subsequent 2 trilogies mainly deal with the unraveling of the events of the first 3 books, with their ramifications and repercussions; they are overall some, even very good at times, but of more uneven quality than the first trilogy.
For these reason, at the end of my re-read, I feel like offering these suggestions to the reader approaching Deighton's Samson series for the first time: read the books in order and read them as one long (very long) book. If you like the genre, you'll not be disappointed.
As it comes to the book in question, I had found Spy Hook the weakest of the series and I thought the same after this second read. In the economy of the whole project, this is a sort of transition book between the first trilogy and the final part of the series. But it takes too many digressions, it lacks cohesiveness, with an entanglement of family, friends and acquaintances, some rooted in a far past and having little connections with the overarching plot.
December 8, 2024
I read this on the rec of a friend that is a huge fan of the cold war espionage genre. Actually, this is the second of this series and I read it hoping I might share their opinion. But, no. It's like another whole book getting to know the characters you need to know for the later books that might really have the story in them. There is no story here. London to Berlin to London to Berlin to LA to London to Berlin to London to Berlin. Conversations between all the players that had all the conversations in the last book. OK, I get how MI-5 works, and also that some authors get paid by the word.
I didn't read any spoilers or synopsis going in, only to find that the book doesn't end... it just pauses on the last page so you will buy the next one to maybe read a real story... I am stopping here. If you like these, fine. Each to their own...
I didn't read any spoilers or synopsis going in, only to find that the book doesn't end... it just pauses on the last page so you will buy the next one to maybe read a real story... I am stopping here. If you like these, fine. Each to their own...
April 4, 2025
Classic Cold War espionage at its best. Love this series.
January 21, 2016
This is the fourth Deighton novel I've read and the fourth that I've enjoyed immensely. He doesn't write obnoxiously elaborate plots that involve deluges of needless action. My enjoyment of his writing comes from the normal encounters involved in office politics, domestic life, etc. that he fills with tension and depth of character. Sometimes funny, his style conveys multi-faceted complexity with succinct sentences. Two examples from Chapter 14:
“We ate lunch very late. Mrs. Helena O’Raffety didn’t eat much. Perhaps she’d had lots of other lunches earlier in the day. But she kept her salad scared, moving it around the huge pink plate like a cop harassing a drunk.”
“I felt like inviting Mrs. O’Raffety to call me Bernard, but she was the sort of woman who might decline such an invitation.”
“We ate lunch very late. Mrs. Helena O’Raffety didn’t eat much. Perhaps she’d had lots of other lunches earlier in the day. But she kept her salad scared, moving it around the huge pink plate like a cop harassing a drunk.”
“I felt like inviting Mrs. O’Raffety to call me Bernard, but she was the sort of woman who might decline such an invitation.”
August 23, 2021
It's as if he received a transfusion. More energy, more creativity; it seemed as if he was growing bored with the last series. Couldn't put it down.
December 19, 2023
✨2,5✨ En si el libro no está mal, me ha gustado su redacción, pero creo que dejan demasiado la trama abierta al final y el desarrollo no ha llevado a que se resolviera alguna cosa.
May 13, 2024
It was good to be back with Bernard Samson. This episode contains a complex plot, taking Samson to America, as well as his regular trips to Berlin. This unearths more betrayal, as he learns of untruths of two agents who had been declared dead but appear to have risen again (hardly angels). He also seems to have worked out why his wife, Fiona, defected, or has he? Deighton has left this book with a huge cliffhanger, so of course we need to read on!
November 1, 2024
This is, so far, is the weakest entry of the series. A larger focus on “slice of life” moments and the mystery seems to be very minor. Hope this does mean the rest of the trilogy isn’t disappointing!
April 21, 2023
A deliciously paranoid Cold War spy thriller, told with surprisingly beautiful and evocative prose.
March 13, 2025
Len Deighton wrote a 6 volume story with a simple plot but a baroque background of intrigue and detail, of which this is no 4 ie the start of the second half (Hook, Line, Sinker). I used to read these all the time for relaxation in my stressy corporate life days. Now I gave this one a last read before carting them off to the book exchange.
July 4, 2022
Didn't enjoy this one as much as the first three books. Bernard frequently came across as whiny on a number of occasions, and it just irritated me. For example, he comes back from a trip to discover his girlfriend, Gloria, who's half his age, is away visiting her sick mother, so he spends several pages moaning about not having a Sunday roast waiting on the table for him. I'm sorry, this was written in the 1980's not the 1880's ffs. A number of sections really do not hold up very well and jolted me out of the story. This is also not a particularly exciting book and, truth be told, not a great deal actually happens until the last couple of chapters. Fingers crossed Books 2 and 3 of the trilogy are better.
July 1, 2015
THIS BOOK IS A FRAUD! THIS BOOK IS A JOKE! THIS BOOK IS AN OUTRAGE! Whew. Okay. Breathe.
This was my first Len Deighton book after having heard about him for years. I knew he wrote spy books. I thought they might be like MaClean or Forsyth books. I was dead wrong. This wasn't a spy book. It was a mystery, and not a very good one. Additionally, this was the fourth book in what very well might be a nine book series, and it's not much of a stand alone novel, so that hurts it.
In this book, Bernard Sampson is a "spy" working for the "Service" who has a buddy who has moved to America who confides in him that there are some funds no one knows about in the Service that are missing and wonders if Sampson's wife, who has defected to the KGB, has something to do with it. Days later, Sampson is told this man has been murdered, which turns out to be false. Sampson's curiosity is piqued, so he asks a few questions and before you know it, everyone he talks to is telling him to shut the F*** up and mind his own damn business, even old, trusted friends he's known for years. He's even sent out to L.A. where he's to be given instructions, is picked up at LAX, driven to a compound and is reunited with an old friend he thought was dead, but is obviously not. This guy gives him the same line. On the way back to the airport, the CIA picks him up and gives him the same line. What the hell is going on? He goes to visit an old family friend in the English countryside who tells him the same thing and who makes him promise not to go visit his new hot girlfriend's unstable uncle, which he immediately does, and who tries to kill him. He's saved by a friend. He goes to the director of the Service and spills all, thinking this will solve things. He's then sent to Berlin, where, as he and a friend are getting off the plane, he spots MPs waiting -- for him. The director has set him up. His friend claims to be him and is dragged off so he can escape and he goes to East Germany, returns, goes to an old Service friend's house, confronts him about the money, his wife, his friend, everything, is given some money and sent on his way and leaves. End of story. AND THAT'S IT!!! NO QUESTIONS ANSWERED. NO RESOLUTION. NOT EVEN ANY REAL ACTION. WTF??? What kind of spy story is this? This is pathetic. And Deighton has this annoying manner of presenting his characters as clowns, jokes, with sad attempts at humor. It's bad writing. And Sampson is grouchy and a real asshole to everyone he meets, except his 22 year old girlfriend, whom he adores. I mean, you can't like this guy. I was rooting for him to get shot. Nothing happens in this book and I read this criticism on a lot of reviews, apparently because the author uses this book to set up the next book in the series. But I'll be damned if I'm supposed to buy a book just to buy another! That sucks! That's marketing, not authorship. The irony is, I did buy the sequel when I bought this and I started reading it immediately to find out what the hell happens to this jerk, but if I don't get some resolution out of this book, I'm writing this author off permanently and burning both books. I already hate the guy. What a schmuck. Definitely not recommended -- at all. Under any circumstance.
This was my first Len Deighton book after having heard about him for years. I knew he wrote spy books. I thought they might be like MaClean or Forsyth books. I was dead wrong. This wasn't a spy book. It was a mystery, and not a very good one. Additionally, this was the fourth book in what very well might be a nine book series, and it's not much of a stand alone novel, so that hurts it.
In this book, Bernard Sampson is a "spy" working for the "Service" who has a buddy who has moved to America who confides in him that there are some funds no one knows about in the Service that are missing and wonders if Sampson's wife, who has defected to the KGB, has something to do with it. Days later, Sampson is told this man has been murdered, which turns out to be false. Sampson's curiosity is piqued, so he asks a few questions and before you know it, everyone he talks to is telling him to shut the F*** up and mind his own damn business, even old, trusted friends he's known for years. He's even sent out to L.A. where he's to be given instructions, is picked up at LAX, driven to a compound and is reunited with an old friend he thought was dead, but is obviously not. This guy gives him the same line. On the way back to the airport, the CIA picks him up and gives him the same line. What the hell is going on? He goes to visit an old family friend in the English countryside who tells him the same thing and who makes him promise not to go visit his new hot girlfriend's unstable uncle, which he immediately does, and who tries to kill him. He's saved by a friend. He goes to the director of the Service and spills all, thinking this will solve things. He's then sent to Berlin, where, as he and a friend are getting off the plane, he spots MPs waiting -- for him. The director has set him up. His friend claims to be him and is dragged off so he can escape and he goes to East Germany, returns, goes to an old Service friend's house, confronts him about the money, his wife, his friend, everything, is given some money and sent on his way and leaves. End of story. AND THAT'S IT!!! NO QUESTIONS ANSWERED. NO RESOLUTION. NOT EVEN ANY REAL ACTION. WTF??? What kind of spy story is this? This is pathetic. And Deighton has this annoying manner of presenting his characters as clowns, jokes, with sad attempts at humor. It's bad writing. And Sampson is grouchy and a real asshole to everyone he meets, except his 22 year old girlfriend, whom he adores. I mean, you can't like this guy. I was rooting for him to get shot. Nothing happens in this book and I read this criticism on a lot of reviews, apparently because the author uses this book to set up the next book in the series. But I'll be damned if I'm supposed to buy a book just to buy another! That sucks! That's marketing, not authorship. The irony is, I did buy the sequel when I bought this and I started reading it immediately to find out what the hell happens to this jerk, but if I don't get some resolution out of this book, I'm writing this author off permanently and burning both books. I already hate the guy. What a schmuck. Definitely not recommended -- at all. Under any circumstance.
April 5, 2018
Originally published on my blog here in September 2004.
Three years after the events of London Match, and Bernard Samson returns, to begin narrating the second trilogy of novels about himself and his wife. With Fiona firmly established in the KGB hierarchy in Berlin after her defection, and his gradual return to being trusted in his own work for British Intelligence, and with his continuing affair with a much younger woman, everything seemed more or less settled at the end of that novel; but now something happens which beings to unravel all the loose ends that the reader thought had been tied up.
The novel begins this process in the first chapter, which takes place in Washington DC. One of the interesting things about the Game, Set and Match trilogy is the remarkably small part played by the American intelligence agencies, especialy considering the post-war relationship between the US and British governments. The few American characters are either connected to British intelligence in some way or (appear to be) freelance information gatherers. Now, though, the US begins to be involved (though the office of the opening chapter belongs to an Englishman, a former colleague of Bernard's who is a financial expert). Nevertheless, the real focus is still Berlin; everything in this series of novels revolves around the city that was the symbol of the Cold War.
Spy Hook is very much a character based thriller - as Deighton's novels often tend to be. There is no action "for the sake of it" in his novels, and this is more cerebral than most of them. Bernard still has an overwhelming desire to understand why his wife not only defected but abandoned him and the children. The question that the reader has to ask - if they have followed the series of novels so far - is whether the discrepancies he sees are really there, or alternatively that he's clutching at these tiny loose ends hoping that the whole tangle will fall apart. And, of course, this is only the first novel in a new trilogy, so we're not likely to find out anything other than how far Bernard is able to put other people's backs up.
Three years after the events of London Match, and Bernard Samson returns, to begin narrating the second trilogy of novels about himself and his wife. With Fiona firmly established in the KGB hierarchy in Berlin after her defection, and his gradual return to being trusted in his own work for British Intelligence, and with his continuing affair with a much younger woman, everything seemed more or less settled at the end of that novel; but now something happens which beings to unravel all the loose ends that the reader thought had been tied up.
The novel begins this process in the first chapter, which takes place in Washington DC. One of the interesting things about the Game, Set and Match trilogy is the remarkably small part played by the American intelligence agencies, especialy considering the post-war relationship between the US and British governments. The few American characters are either connected to British intelligence in some way or (appear to be) freelance information gatherers. Now, though, the US begins to be involved (though the office of the opening chapter belongs to an Englishman, a former colleague of Bernard's who is a financial expert). Nevertheless, the real focus is still Berlin; everything in this series of novels revolves around the city that was the symbol of the Cold War.
Spy Hook is very much a character based thriller - as Deighton's novels often tend to be. There is no action "for the sake of it" in his novels, and this is more cerebral than most of them. Bernard still has an overwhelming desire to understand why his wife not only defected but abandoned him and the children. The question that the reader has to ask - if they have followed the series of novels so far - is whether the discrepancies he sees are really there, or alternatively that he's clutching at these tiny loose ends hoping that the whole tangle will fall apart. And, of course, this is only the first novel in a new trilogy, so we're not likely to find out anything other than how far Bernard is able to put other people's backs up.
May 23, 2011
The first three books (Game, Set and Match) I read more than 20 years ago and remember enjoying the series quite a lot. The idea of Checkpoint Charlie has always stuck in my mind as an exciting place filled with intrigue. Having now gone there (post reunification), it's not quite as thrilling as I'm sure it was for spies of that era (especially the ones living in works of fiction), but it was still exciting and I have books like Len Deighton's to thank for that impression.
This book, Spy Hook, the first in the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy picks up a couple of years after the end of the last one where Bernard's wife has defected to the Soviet Union. He's managed to pick up the pieces, settle in to a new house (with a new partner, 1/2 his age!) and go about his life as best he can, being the spy who's wife defected.
I won't go into any more details (read the official summary) but will tell you that the book reads either like a much longer book or a book that is part of a series where you're being provided lots of information about characters and backgrounds. By that I mean not much happens at all through most of the book (exciting events filled with spy intrigue that is), it's more like the book is setting the reader up for future stuff. That is, until you get to the end of the book when things really start to happen, and the final pages really demonstrate the excitement that is this genre.
I've given it 3 stars but the way the book ends I've been left with a feeling of great anticipation and excitement and optimism about the next book being even better, with intrigue more reminiscent of the first series. Can't wait to get reading the next now.
This book, Spy Hook, the first in the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy picks up a couple of years after the end of the last one where Bernard's wife has defected to the Soviet Union. He's managed to pick up the pieces, settle in to a new house (with a new partner, 1/2 his age!) and go about his life as best he can, being the spy who's wife defected.
I won't go into any more details (read the official summary) but will tell you that the book reads either like a much longer book or a book that is part of a series where you're being provided lots of information about characters and backgrounds. By that I mean not much happens at all through most of the book (exciting events filled with spy intrigue that is), it's more like the book is setting the reader up for future stuff. That is, until you get to the end of the book when things really start to happen, and the final pages really demonstrate the excitement that is this genre.
I've given it 3 stars but the way the book ends I've been left with a feeling of great anticipation and excitement and optimism about the next book being even better, with intrigue more reminiscent of the first series. Can't wait to get reading the next now.
May 6, 2016
The good: It's nice back to be in the world of Bernard Sampson and London Centre again. Deighton, as all good writers do, creates characters that feel like real people, so if you've read the first trilogy you'll feel like you're back among familiar acquaintances. Really, Deighton fleshes out not only the characters themselves, but the world the inhabit, so the Sampson books are really like what you'd call a "franchise universe."
The not so good: Unlike the last trilogy, where Deighton wrote each installment to work as a stand-alone novel, this trilogy appears structured so that the whole story is spread among all three books. While I'm O.K. with cliffhangers, it feels like there's more padding here, particularly the scenes of Sampson's family life. There were times when Spy Hook felt like a story about a middle aged man raising children and starting a new relationship with a younger woman, and who is also coincidentally a spy. Mercifully, the stuff carried over from the last book about sidekick Werner Volkman and his younger wife is kept to a relative minimum, or this book could've been re-titled "Trophy Wives."
Of course, Sampson's romantic foibles and middle-aged insecurities make him more accessible as a protagonist. One feels more deeply invested in his predicament than if he were a Bond-like cartoon. It's just that the milieu of the spy world is a tad more interesting.
The not so good: Unlike the last trilogy, where Deighton wrote each installment to work as a stand-alone novel, this trilogy appears structured so that the whole story is spread among all three books. While I'm O.K. with cliffhangers, it feels like there's more padding here, particularly the scenes of Sampson's family life. There were times when Spy Hook felt like a story about a middle aged man raising children and starting a new relationship with a younger woman, and who is also coincidentally a spy. Mercifully, the stuff carried over from the last book about sidekick Werner Volkman and his younger wife is kept to a relative minimum, or this book could've been re-titled "Trophy Wives."
Of course, Sampson's romantic foibles and middle-aged insecurities make him more accessible as a protagonist. One feels more deeply invested in his predicament than if he were a Bond-like cartoon. It's just that the milieu of the spy world is a tad more interesting.
April 6, 2014
An excellent continuation of the saga.
I have an American published version of this book, unfortunately not with the nice cover of the English series ( incorrect cover shown in Goodreads )
I was amused to see the American publishers had gone through the text to change some English words to English for the illiterate aka, American. Apparently Americans would not know what a moustache was unless spelt, mustache, or grey if not spelt gray.
I've mentioned in other reviews of the series that Deighton seems to slip in little errors in the story.
In this, the fourth, we have Samson driving a battered Volvo. In London Match, the previous volume, he was driving a Rover V8 acquired from his brother-in- law. The Volvo dates back to the first two books. Similarly, Gloria is back driving a battered Mini, rather than the new Metro from a previous volume.
I have an American published version of this book, unfortunately not with the nice cover of the English series ( incorrect cover shown in Goodreads )
I was amused to see the American publishers had gone through the text to change some English words to English for the illiterate aka, American. Apparently Americans would not know what a moustache was unless spelt, mustache, or grey if not spelt gray.
I've mentioned in other reviews of the series that Deighton seems to slip in little errors in the story.
In this, the fourth, we have Samson driving a battered Volvo. In London Match, the previous volume, he was driving a Rover V8 acquired from his brother-in- law. The Volvo dates back to the first two books. Similarly, Gloria is back driving a battered Mini, rather than the new Metro from a previous volume.
December 21, 2017
I got Hooked (sorry) on the Bernard Samson series a while back & then got sidetracked after finishing the Berlin Game/Mexico Set/London Match trilogy, but I am now foursquare on top of finishing this riveting series. Imagine: three interrelated trilogies! Plus a prologue! Deighton was a master.
This one picks up where Game/Set/Match left off as Bernard Samson tries to pick up the pieces of his life after the shocking finale of London Match. He is clearly a man bereft and yet still at the whims of his employers. His back & forth between locales left me dizzy, having done that myself for many years.
The ending brings us back to ante ruinam Berlin & sets the stage for the next novel in the trilogy. I have already begun its reading!
This one picks up where Game/Set/Match left off as Bernard Samson tries to pick up the pieces of his life after the shocking finale of London Match. He is clearly a man bereft and yet still at the whims of his employers. His back & forth between locales left me dizzy, having done that myself for many years.
The ending brings us back to ante ruinam Berlin & sets the stage for the next novel in the trilogy. I have already begun its reading!
October 1, 2016
I would give it a rating of 3.75 stars. Bernard Samson is involved in more intrigue, including a trip to California as well as Germany. There are some interesting twists involving the reappearance of several characters. The end of the book leaves you hanging.
December 13, 2016
one of the few books that I struggled to finish
August 7, 2022
Len Deighton's 1988 Spy Hook, fourth book in the Bernard Samson series and first in the "Hook, Line, and Sinker" trilogy that follows the "Game, Set, and Match" trilogy, is another entertaining Cold War spy thriller.
Bernard grew up in occupied Berlin after the Second World War, where his father, a British intelligence operative in whose footsteps he now follows, was stationed. After three books--although, really, each could stand alone, such that we could pick this one up without having read the prequels--we are familiar with the rather cynical, drily witty, doggedly determined, and occasionally ruthless former field agent. He is a fluent speaker of German, a master of espionage tradecraft, a keen judge of departmental politics, the lifelong friend of the somewhat enigmatic yet utterly dependable Werner Volkmann, and the husband of the icily competent Fiona, who has abandoned him and their two children to defect to the Soviets...which does not exactly enhance his position in the service, shall we say.
Spy Hook begins in the Washington, D.C., office of former British intelligence officer Jim Prettyman, "a slim, white-faced Londoner with sparse hair and rimless spectacles who had come over from the London School of Economics with an awesome reputation as a mathematician and qualifications in accountacy, political studies and business management" (1989 Grafton paperback, page 1). As Bernard explains to his former friend, "There's a lot of money--half a million perhaps--still unaccounted for. Someone must know about it: half a million. Pounds!" (page 4). Oh, there's no suggestion that Prettyman is at fault, Bernard assures him, for most likely it is simply lost "somewhere in Central Accounting. Everyone knows that but there'll be no peace until the book-keepers find it and close the ledgers" (page 4).
Prettyman casually refuses "to go to London next month and give evidence" (page 1), but he does have a piece of advice: "You work with Bret Rensselaer. Talk to Bret: he knows where the bodies are buried" (page 5). When Bernard expresses puzzlement and asks what his former boss Bret is supposed to know, the man replies, "About the slush fund Central Funding set up with the Germans? Are you kidding? Bret master-minded the whole business. He appointed the company directors--all front men[,] of course--and squared it with the people who ran the bank" (page 5). Such games are not unheard of in the intelligence game, but Bernard indeed has not heard of this particular one--"It's news to me," he says (page 6)--but besides, Bret is dead, killed in a shootout in Berlin.
Of course-- Well, pretty soon Prettyman will be dead, too: "In the car park. It was dark. He didn't stand a chance; there were two of them, waiting for him" (page 35). Back at the office there's another plot thread about some Polish agents just over the border from East Germany, "people who do the real nasty dangerous work" (page 17), who suddenly had dropped out of contact and may have been apprehended. Back at home, Gloria, the gorgeous twenty-two-year-old colleague who had become the girlfriend of the forty-three-year-old Bernard, intends on resigning to start a degree at Cambridge (pages 13-14). Back in West Berlin, Werner has wife troubles, and there are troubles at the hotel of old Lisl, where both boys grew up, and also, completely tangentially, one of the hotel's staff members is certain that recently on the street she saw the Director General of Bernard's organization, an elderly man who has been out of sight for half a year due to extreme illness (page 55). Mm hmm, there's a lot of stuff going on...
Really, I don't believe I'll go into any detail at all, because almost anything I saw would be a plot-spoiler. Suffice it to say that Deighton gives surprise after surprise after surprise as he uncovers now this clue, then that. As usual, the plot is multilayered, and though we have our suspicions, the truth often is stranger still. Deighton's Spy Hook is a twisty, subtle, entertaining 5-star read.
Bernard grew up in occupied Berlin after the Second World War, where his father, a British intelligence operative in whose footsteps he now follows, was stationed. After three books--although, really, each could stand alone, such that we could pick this one up without having read the prequels--we are familiar with the rather cynical, drily witty, doggedly determined, and occasionally ruthless former field agent. He is a fluent speaker of German, a master of espionage tradecraft, a keen judge of departmental politics, the lifelong friend of the somewhat enigmatic yet utterly dependable Werner Volkmann, and the husband of the icily competent Fiona, who has abandoned him and their two children to defect to the Soviets...which does not exactly enhance his position in the service, shall we say.
Spy Hook begins in the Washington, D.C., office of former British intelligence officer Jim Prettyman, "a slim, white-faced Londoner with sparse hair and rimless spectacles who had come over from the London School of Economics with an awesome reputation as a mathematician and qualifications in accountacy, political studies and business management" (1989 Grafton paperback, page 1). As Bernard explains to his former friend, "There's a lot of money--half a million perhaps--still unaccounted for. Someone must know about it: half a million. Pounds!" (page 4). Oh, there's no suggestion that Prettyman is at fault, Bernard assures him, for most likely it is simply lost "somewhere in Central Accounting. Everyone knows that but there'll be no peace until the book-keepers find it and close the ledgers" (page 4).
Prettyman casually refuses "to go to London next month and give evidence" (page 1), but he does have a piece of advice: "You work with Bret Rensselaer. Talk to Bret: he knows where the bodies are buried" (page 5). When Bernard expresses puzzlement and asks what his former boss Bret is supposed to know, the man replies, "About the slush fund Central Funding set up with the Germans? Are you kidding? Bret master-minded the whole business. He appointed the company directors--all front men[,] of course--and squared it with the people who ran the bank" (page 5). Such games are not unheard of in the intelligence game, but Bernard indeed has not heard of this particular one--"It's news to me," he says (page 6)--but besides, Bret is dead, killed in a shootout in Berlin.
Of course-- Well, pretty soon Prettyman will be dead, too: "In the car park. It was dark. He didn't stand a chance; there were two of them, waiting for him" (page 35). Back at the office there's another plot thread about some Polish agents just over the border from East Germany, "people who do the real nasty dangerous work" (page 17), who suddenly had dropped out of contact and may have been apprehended. Back at home, Gloria, the gorgeous twenty-two-year-old colleague who had become the girlfriend of the forty-three-year-old Bernard, intends on resigning to start a degree at Cambridge (pages 13-14). Back in West Berlin, Werner has wife troubles, and there are troubles at the hotel of old Lisl, where both boys grew up, and also, completely tangentially, one of the hotel's staff members is certain that recently on the street she saw the Director General of Bernard's organization, an elderly man who has been out of sight for half a year due to extreme illness (page 55). Mm hmm, there's a lot of stuff going on...
Really, I don't believe I'll go into any detail at all, because almost anything I saw would be a plot-spoiler. Suffice it to say that Deighton gives surprise after surprise after surprise as he uncovers now this clue, then that. As usual, the plot is multilayered, and though we have our suspicions, the truth often is stranger still. Deighton's Spy Hook is a twisty, subtle, entertaining 5-star read.
October 16, 2018
With Spy Hook, Len Deighton fully embraces the nature of his nine-book megastory about British Intelligence agent Bernard Samson. The result is not a bad book, but definitely the least of the enealogy so far. After the first trilogy's wrap-up, Samson is once again on the outs with the top brass and given lousy courier jobs that take him away from his children. When he meets with an old friend and former colleague in Washington D.C., he finds himself on the trail of a slush fund that may be funding KGB spies within MI6. But should he pull at this thread or let sleeping dogs lie?
Spoilers...
The problem with Spy Hook is that it is pretty much all setup; Samson investigates the disappearing funds, but he comes up with nothing but possibilities, all leading to the ending, where he goes on the run from MI6, who put a warrant out for his arrest. Interspersed are subplots about Werner taking over Lisl's hotel, which takes up a large chunk of the first half of the novel and doesn't really tie into the A story. This may be more setup for subsequent books, but it doesn't feel self-contained the way the first three did, and not as tightly plotted either.
I'm also not sure I like the notion that Fiona may be a triple-agent, deep undercover with the Soviets while pretending to be a traitor. Samson spends the novel looking for the truth behind the missing money and being threatened at every turn, until finally having to flee before he's locked up. That's a scary scenario, and one out of which it would be fun to watch Samson try to claw his way. If this is all a ruse and all the "traitors" are just backing up Fiona, who is also still on the right side... what's the point? Samson is just screwing things up for the good guys, meaning we should be rooting for him to fail. Outside of the Samson family, I don't see what's at stake in all of this. (To further this, every character you think is dead ends up being alive; Bret Rensselaer survived his shooting at the end of London Match, and Jim Prettyman's murder was staged.)
It isn't a bad book, though. The characters are still a pleasure to read about, and Samson has some great lines. I also like the addition of Dodo, Gloria's sort-of uncle who's up to his neck in the spy plot. The workings of Samson's family continue to resonate; his children are getting older and slowly adapting to Samson's new relationship with Gloria, but he can tell they miss their mother, and he's caught in a place where he can't tell them the truth, so he can't really even explain what's going on with their family. And when Fiona's father offers to take them on vacation, Samson is once again stuck; he can't keep them from going, but he knows that his father-in-law will at least take them to see Fiona, and at worst help her abscond with them to the East. But once again, this is a setup that doesn't yet pay off, making Spy Hook feel incomplete.
Spy Hook is very much a cog in a machine. It's important to the story, as all the Samson books are, but it doesn't stand on its own and demands you pick up its immediate sequel to see where these story threads go. How important that is to you likely depends on whether or not you have Spy Line on hand; I do, so I was still able to enjoy Spy Hook, but it's not as good as what's come before -- or, hopefully, what'll come next.
Spoilers...
The problem with Spy Hook is that it is pretty much all setup; Samson investigates the disappearing funds, but he comes up with nothing but possibilities, all leading to the ending, where he goes on the run from MI6, who put a warrant out for his arrest. Interspersed are subplots about Werner taking over Lisl's hotel, which takes up a large chunk of the first half of the novel and doesn't really tie into the A story. This may be more setup for subsequent books, but it doesn't feel self-contained the way the first three did, and not as tightly plotted either.
I'm also not sure I like the notion that Fiona may be a triple-agent, deep undercover with the Soviets while pretending to be a traitor. Samson spends the novel looking for the truth behind the missing money and being threatened at every turn, until finally having to flee before he's locked up. That's a scary scenario, and one out of which it would be fun to watch Samson try to claw his way. If this is all a ruse and all the "traitors" are just backing up Fiona, who is also still on the right side... what's the point? Samson is just screwing things up for the good guys, meaning we should be rooting for him to fail. Outside of the Samson family, I don't see what's at stake in all of this. (To further this, every character you think is dead ends up being alive; Bret Rensselaer survived his shooting at the end of London Match, and Jim Prettyman's murder was staged.)
It isn't a bad book, though. The characters are still a pleasure to read about, and Samson has some great lines. I also like the addition of Dodo, Gloria's sort-of uncle who's up to his neck in the spy plot. The workings of Samson's family continue to resonate; his children are getting older and slowly adapting to Samson's new relationship with Gloria, but he can tell they miss their mother, and he's caught in a place where he can't tell them the truth, so he can't really even explain what's going on with their family. And when Fiona's father offers to take them on vacation, Samson is once again stuck; he can't keep them from going, but he knows that his father-in-law will at least take them to see Fiona, and at worst help her abscond with them to the East. But once again, this is a setup that doesn't yet pay off, making Spy Hook feel incomplete.
Spy Hook is very much a cog in a machine. It's important to the story, as all the Samson books are, but it doesn't stand on its own and demands you pick up its immediate sequel to see where these story threads go. How important that is to you likely depends on whether or not you have Spy Line on hand; I do, so I was still able to enjoy Spy Hook, but it's not as good as what's come before -- or, hopefully, what'll come next.
May 27, 2022
Deighton is at his sharpest in this trilogy, featuring Deighton's Bernard Samson mid-level British spy. Set in the 1960's and alternating between a London hard on its foreign exchange and a Berlin still climbing out of WWII and with East Germany a very present and unpleasant foe, Spy Hook finds Bernie with his wife having defected to the East, his friend defected to a private company in Washington DC, and his own legacy as a son of a British spy who had brought his son up in past WWII Berlin. Deighton knows that world and blends a relatively quick pace of events with rich and ironic language. Even for Bernie, nothing seems to be quite what it appears, and though he tries to bring up his two kids with his live-in Hungarian English girl friend with an occasional real family holiday, he is always subject to new and half-clear orders--winding up this first in the trilogy with a stark choice to run from MI6 or try to convince his superiors of an innocence they are not aligned with as wishing.
Some of the Deighton gems in the book:
"Going to lawyers is just an expensive way of putting off what you're going to have to do anyway."
"Dicky, short-listed for the Stalin Prize in office politics..."
At an auto rental counter in Nice: "The beautifully coiffured young French woman was understandably irritated when I tried to interpose news about my need for a car into a private conversation she was having with her female colleague. She didn't hide her irritation."
"Now the hillsides were disfigured with a pox of development, an infection inevitably rendered more virulent by the thin crescent of Mediterranean which shone pale blue beyond the next hill."
"The only people who can understand an Englishman speaking French are people who have been taught French in England."
Speaking of the local (Berlin) office responding to the new directives promulgated by MI6 headquarters for implementation in the regional offices: "Every few minutes there would be some expletive or sharp intake of breath as I revealed a particularly impractical or ill-advised notion that had sprung from London's Central committees."
Speaking of (depressed) East Germany as he flies in to Berlin: "The Democratic Republic enjoys an agricultural landscape not yet sullied by shiny cars and new houses. Here the farms are old and picturesque. Big breeds of horses have stubbornly resisted the tractors and men and women still do the hard work. ...It was a lovely evening when we landed in Berlin, this glittering little capitalist island, with its tall concrete office blocks and sparkling streets, set in a cast green ocean of grassy communism."
...and on and on in tight, ironic and revealing prose. Deighton may be somewhat of an acquired taste, but with books like Spy Hook, I say bring it on!
Some of the Deighton gems in the book:
"Going to lawyers is just an expensive way of putting off what you're going to have to do anyway."
"Dicky, short-listed for the Stalin Prize in office politics..."
At an auto rental counter in Nice: "The beautifully coiffured young French woman was understandably irritated when I tried to interpose news about my need for a car into a private conversation she was having with her female colleague. She didn't hide her irritation."
"Now the hillsides were disfigured with a pox of development, an infection inevitably rendered more virulent by the thin crescent of Mediterranean which shone pale blue beyond the next hill."
"The only people who can understand an Englishman speaking French are people who have been taught French in England."
Speaking of the local (Berlin) office responding to the new directives promulgated by MI6 headquarters for implementation in the regional offices: "Every few minutes there would be some expletive or sharp intake of breath as I revealed a particularly impractical or ill-advised notion that had sprung from London's Central committees."
Speaking of (depressed) East Germany as he flies in to Berlin: "The Democratic Republic enjoys an agricultural landscape not yet sullied by shiny cars and new houses. Here the farms are old and picturesque. Big breeds of horses have stubbornly resisted the tractors and men and women still do the hard work. ...It was a lovely evening when we landed in Berlin, this glittering little capitalist island, with its tall concrete office blocks and sparkling streets, set in a cast green ocean of grassy communism."
...and on and on in tight, ironic and revealing prose. Deighton may be somewhat of an acquired taste, but with books like Spy Hook, I say bring it on!
July 13, 2025
Bernard Samson is back, and he's close to unraveling the truth about his wife's defection, but he's also close to unraveling mentally as the gears of bureaucracy catch him in their teeth and he realizes that the story he's been presented with in the case of two allies is not in fact what it seems. And Len Deighton proves yet again to be worthy of Le Carre in his espionage fiction.
"Spy Hook" picks up three years after the events of "London Match," and we see Bernard still in love with Gloria and still grappling with the mistrust of his superiors due to Fiona's flight to the East. During a trip to Washington, DC, Bernard has a talk with an old friend, Jim Prettyman, about some missing funds. Hours later, Prettyman is dead, and Bernard finds himself investigating what could have happened. But nothing is as it seems, and Bernard gets quite a shock when he is summoned to a mysterious meeting in California. And when a friend of Gloria's family starts making accusations about Bernard's father, it sets in motion a chain of events that could lead to Bernard's downfall.
To say more would likely spoil the story of "Spy Hook," which had me feeling like it was just okay for a long stretch before Bernard started connecting the dots. Now I'm pretty comfortable giving it the highest rating because it feels like a great set-up for the next book (and having read "Spy Sinker" a long time ago, I know what will happen eventually, but I'm eager to read "Spy Line" all the same). We also get some allusions to the Winter family, whose story inspired a whole big novel from Deighton between the first and second Samson trilogies (and which I also read years ago, but would like to revisit). These past couple of years have seen me read a lot of Deighton and a lot of Faulkner, and I think part of it is that both authors excel at world-building. As fun as the Harry Palmer and Patrick Armstrong novels were, the Bernard Samson series has a more rooted interest in its protagonist and his plight, his attempts to balance his super-secret work life with the tribulations that he endures as a father and abandoned husband. Plus, this is the 96th book I've read this year, and Deighton himself is 96 years old. I like the coincidence of that, myself.
I look forward to reading the next Bernard Samson book when I can get my hands on it. "Spy Hook" has reeled me in once more into Bernard's story. I plan to continue pursuing it.
"Spy Hook" picks up three years after the events of "London Match," and we see Bernard still in love with Gloria and still grappling with the mistrust of his superiors due to Fiona's flight to the East. During a trip to Washington, DC, Bernard has a talk with an old friend, Jim Prettyman, about some missing funds. Hours later, Prettyman is dead, and Bernard finds himself investigating what could have happened. But nothing is as it seems, and Bernard gets quite a shock when he is summoned to a mysterious meeting in California. And when a friend of Gloria's family starts making accusations about Bernard's father, it sets in motion a chain of events that could lead to Bernard's downfall.
To say more would likely spoil the story of "Spy Hook," which had me feeling like it was just okay for a long stretch before Bernard started connecting the dots. Now I'm pretty comfortable giving it the highest rating because it feels like a great set-up for the next book (and having read "Spy Sinker" a long time ago, I know what will happen eventually, but I'm eager to read "Spy Line" all the same). We also get some allusions to the Winter family, whose story inspired a whole big novel from Deighton between the first and second Samson trilogies (and which I also read years ago, but would like to revisit). These past couple of years have seen me read a lot of Deighton and a lot of Faulkner, and I think part of it is that both authors excel at world-building. As fun as the Harry Palmer and Patrick Armstrong novels were, the Bernard Samson series has a more rooted interest in its protagonist and his plight, his attempts to balance his super-secret work life with the tribulations that he endures as a father and abandoned husband. Plus, this is the 96th book I've read this year, and Deighton himself is 96 years old. I like the coincidence of that, myself.
I look forward to reading the next Bernard Samson book when I can get my hands on it. "Spy Hook" has reeled me in once more into Bernard's story. I plan to continue pursuing it.
February 8, 2018
W dziewięcioodcinkowym serialu szpiegowskim z Bernardem Samsonem „Haczyk, Żyłka, Spławik”, wędkarska trylogia jest kontynuacją trylogii tenisowej, składającej się z „Gema, Seta i Meczu”. W tym tomie Samson, po politycznej zdradzie żony, usiłuje uporządkować sobie życie prywatne i odzyskać zaufanie Centrali. Czy uda mu się wyjaśnić, co się stało z pół milionem funtów, funduszem przeznaczonym dla berlińskiej placówki wywiadu? Misja, którą rozpoczyna w Waszyngtonie, staje się coraz bardziej ryzykowna...
Jeśli chodzi o rozwój akcji, Szpiegowski haczyk więcej zaciemnia niż wyjaśnia, o jakie pieniądze naprawdę chodzi, kto jaką rolę pełni w intrydze, kto ją wymyślił, kto przeprowadza, a kto już padł jej ofiarą lub ma nią zostać. Docierające do Samsona informacje w różnych miejscach na świecie, do których albo zostaje wysłany, albo sam jedzie, są szczątkowe, a niektóre ich elementy wzajemnie się wykluczają. Należy przypuszczać, że odpowiedzi uzyskamy dopiero po przeczytaniu całej trylogii. Niewątpliwie jednak udaje się Deightonowi z każdą nową sceną potęgować nastrój napięcia, dezorientacji i rosnących wątpliwości w kwestiach najważniejszych: czym właściwie jest ta zimnowojenna gra szpiegów, jak się ma walka między wywiadami do wewnętrznych rozgrywek w brytyjskiej Firmie i wreszcie, ile w tych rozgrywkach zdrady, a ile po prostu bałaganu. Nie brakuje też niespodzianek, łącznie z tą największa w finale książki. Efekty te osiąga autor charakterystycznymi dla siebie metodami. Bohaterowie nie są ludźmi znikąd, ich życiorysy i pochodzenie sięgają często czasów drugiej wojny światowej, opisywanych w Winterach. Przy czym postaci wprowadzane są do akcji środkami oszczędnymi, przede wszystkim mistrzowsko prowadzonym dialogiem, nierzadko uzupełnianym ironicznymi przemyśleniami i dywagacjami narratora, czyli Bernarda Samsona.
Nie jestem pewna, czy taki rodzaj powieści szpiegowskiej wszystkim czytelnikom odpowiada. Dla mnie świat Lena Deightona jest niezwykle ciekawy. Pobudza wyobraźnię, a poprzez znakomite operowanie językiem dostarcza niekłamanych wrażeń estetycznych. Nawet w tłumaczeniu.
Jeśli chodzi o rozwój akcji, Szpiegowski haczyk więcej zaciemnia niż wyjaśnia, o jakie pieniądze naprawdę chodzi, kto jaką rolę pełni w intrydze, kto ją wymyślił, kto przeprowadza, a kto już padł jej ofiarą lub ma nią zostać. Docierające do Samsona informacje w różnych miejscach na świecie, do których albo zostaje wysłany, albo sam jedzie, są szczątkowe, a niektóre ich elementy wzajemnie się wykluczają. Należy przypuszczać, że odpowiedzi uzyskamy dopiero po przeczytaniu całej trylogii. Niewątpliwie jednak udaje się Deightonowi z każdą nową sceną potęgować nastrój napięcia, dezorientacji i rosnących wątpliwości w kwestiach najważniejszych: czym właściwie jest ta zimnowojenna gra szpiegów, jak się ma walka między wywiadami do wewnętrznych rozgrywek w brytyjskiej Firmie i wreszcie, ile w tych rozgrywkach zdrady, a ile po prostu bałaganu. Nie brakuje też niespodzianek, łącznie z tą największa w finale książki. Efekty te osiąga autor charakterystycznymi dla siebie metodami. Bohaterowie nie są ludźmi znikąd, ich życiorysy i pochodzenie sięgają często czasów drugiej wojny światowej, opisywanych w Winterach. Przy czym postaci wprowadzane są do akcji środkami oszczędnymi, przede wszystkim mistrzowsko prowadzonym dialogiem, nierzadko uzupełnianym ironicznymi przemyśleniami i dywagacjami narratora, czyli Bernarda Samsona.
Nie jestem pewna, czy taki rodzaj powieści szpiegowskiej wszystkim czytelnikom odpowiada. Dla mnie świat Lena Deightona jest niezwykle ciekawy. Pobudza wyobraźnię, a poprzez znakomite operowanie językiem dostarcza niekłamanych wrażeń estetycznych. Nawet w tłumaczeniu.
September 17, 2025
I was very close to rating this book two stars. While the ending offered some satisfying revelations that elevated it enough in my mind to warrant rounding up to three, I would still rate Spy Hook as “ok” which is what two stars translates to. Not that the story was bad, I just found it plodding and largely uninteresting. What’s worse, to me anyway, is that the plot didn’t really start to move until chapter 19… of 22! Plot elements were of course sprinkled throughout the story, as all good authors do, but they were just out there in the ether to suddenly come together in an exposition dump. There was no buildup in tension or suspense. It was all a string of accusations, which Samson never refuted for some reason, and stories told to him by sources that may or may not have been credible.
Another thing I noticed with this book, which started in the previous story arc but I didn’t fully acknowledge until now, is that apart from Bernard, and sometimes Gloria, every character now annoys me. I no longer care about what happens in Berlin, unless/until Samson is assigned there, and everyone in his work hierarchy is intolerable. It’s already a little hard to believe that there’s so few people of high rank in MI6 with enough common sense for the job, or at least portrayed as such, but not giving Samson a confidant of equal status and repute he can trust isolates him a bit too much here IMHO. But I suppose if that hadn’t happened he wouldn’t have his couple of “duh” moments at the end.
It was nice to be back in this world, but I suspect if/when I read the next installment I will come to the conclusion that the two stories probably could’ve been merged into a single book… possibly all three in this arc if Len keeps with his three-book routine. I’m not sure I’d even classify Spy Hook as a spy novel; more of a murder mystery in contentious search for a motive. In fact I’d argue that practically nothing happened at all, and it's not a self-contained story; there was no definitive ending like there was in this series' previous books. These aren't criticisms per se, but they could be based on personal preference. Cheers
Another thing I noticed with this book, which started in the previous story arc but I didn’t fully acknowledge until now, is that apart from Bernard, and sometimes Gloria, every character now annoys me. I no longer care about what happens in Berlin, unless/until Samson is assigned there, and everyone in his work hierarchy is intolerable. It’s already a little hard to believe that there’s so few people of high rank in MI6 with enough common sense for the job, or at least portrayed as such, but not giving Samson a confidant of equal status and repute he can trust isolates him a bit too much here IMHO. But I suppose if that hadn’t happened he wouldn’t have his couple of “duh” moments at the end.
It was nice to be back in this world, but I suspect if/when I read the next installment I will come to the conclusion that the two stories probably could’ve been merged into a single book… possibly all three in this arc if Len keeps with his three-book routine. I’m not sure I’d even classify Spy Hook as a spy novel; more of a murder mystery in contentious search for a motive. In fact I’d argue that practically nothing happened at all, and it's not a self-contained story; there was no definitive ending like there was in this series' previous books. These aren't criticisms per se, but they could be based on personal preference. Cheers
August 17, 2023
It's been a while since I read a Len Deighton novel and longer still since I looked at a Bernie Samson novel - I think I read the Game Set and Match trilogy one after the other about a decade ago. But I decided I preferred Samson to the unnamed (Harry Palmer) character of the earlier novels, so it's overdue for me to pick up Spy Hook.
There's an interesting note at the start of Spy Sinker that these are intended to be independent standalone stories and can be read in any order, but I didn't really find this at all. Spy Hook on its own sets up Spy Line and nothing more. It's definitely a decent yarn and the great thing about Samson is his relentless cynicism. It's in every single sentence, his description of everything, a relentlessly gloomy view - and it does mean that occasionally when he speaks positively about something, it really stands out. Samson does seem to have an eye for quality and is generally regarded as a decent professional, overlooked for further promotion because that's just how it is. The repressed anger and resentment does ooze out from every sentence.
The book features an interesting cast of characters, some of whom I remember from Game Set and Match, and Samson's upbringing in Berlin definitely adds another interesting twist, as a recurring cast of characters from his childhood permeate the novel. The book is relentlessly slow in terms of advancing the overarching plot - the motives and resolution behind the actions of his wife - yet it doesn't make the book boring because it's presented, probably accurately, as mired in a mix of bureaucracy, competing egos and secrets being kept. And then there's those sudden moments of danger and adrenaline, usually out of nowhere. It's good, definitely an enjoyable read.
But at the end of the day, it's very unsatisfying on its own. Make sure you have the entire trilogy or at least the first two, and read them as a single book.
There's an interesting note at the start of Spy Sinker that these are intended to be independent standalone stories and can be read in any order, but I didn't really find this at all. Spy Hook on its own sets up Spy Line and nothing more. It's definitely a decent yarn and the great thing about Samson is his relentless cynicism. It's in every single sentence, his description of everything, a relentlessly gloomy view - and it does mean that occasionally when he speaks positively about something, it really stands out. Samson does seem to have an eye for quality and is generally regarded as a decent professional, overlooked for further promotion because that's just how it is. The repressed anger and resentment does ooze out from every sentence.
The book features an interesting cast of characters, some of whom I remember from Game Set and Match, and Samson's upbringing in Berlin definitely adds another interesting twist, as a recurring cast of characters from his childhood permeate the novel. The book is relentlessly slow in terms of advancing the overarching plot - the motives and resolution behind the actions of his wife - yet it doesn't make the book boring because it's presented, probably accurately, as mired in a mix of bureaucracy, competing egos and secrets being kept. And then there's those sudden moments of danger and adrenaline, usually out of nowhere. It's good, definitely an enjoyable read.
But at the end of the day, it's very unsatisfying on its own. Make sure you have the entire trilogy or at least the first two, and read them as a single book.
March 4, 2019
I seem to be hooked onLen Deighton and Bernard Samson. Finished this yesterday and am already about a quarter of the way into the second of this trilogy - Spy Line - see if you can guess the fhird heh heh
I was completely wrapped up in Spy Hook, took a break from it for a few hours, and then, somewhere around Chapters 13-16 found myself losing my suspension of disbelief. Deighton was going too far out on a limb or three. Still not sure I approve, but after the strange detour to California and a dead man (or...not?) Len pulled me back into his orbit. Samson is in way over his head in this one, and though Deighton calls each novel "stand-alone" I think you wouldn't want to read this out of order. I'm already enjoying Spy Line every bit as much, if not more - if you're interested in spy fiction and the cold war, as I am, and want a writer on or almost on par with John LeCarre at his best, you may want to check out The Samson series, but do read it in order.
One last thought - there is a prequel to the series called Winter, that takes the history of characters' forebears all the way back to the late 19th c. I had my mind set to read it, and already own it (all the books I read are Kindles, have to be because of bad eyes) but the end of Spy Hook was so intense and in a sense un-finished that shelved Winter and leapt into Spy Line...to be continued!
I was completely wrapped up in Spy Hook, took a break from it for a few hours, and then, somewhere around Chapters 13-16 found myself losing my suspension of disbelief. Deighton was going too far out on a limb or three. Still not sure I approve, but after the strange detour to California and a dead man (or...not?) Len pulled me back into his orbit. Samson is in way over his head in this one, and though Deighton calls each novel "stand-alone" I think you wouldn't want to read this out of order. I'm already enjoying Spy Line every bit as much, if not more - if you're interested in spy fiction and the cold war, as I am, and want a writer on or almost on par with John LeCarre at his best, you may want to check out The Samson series, but do read it in order.
One last thought - there is a prequel to the series called Winter, that takes the history of characters' forebears all the way back to the late 19th c. I had my mind set to read it, and already own it (all the books I read are Kindles, have to be because of bad eyes) but the end of Spy Hook was so intense and in a sense un-finished that shelved Winter and leapt into Spy Line...to be continued!
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