About the Author

John le Carré was born in 1931. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honorable Schoolboy; and Smiley's People. His novels include The Constant Gardner, The Little Drummer Girl, A Perfect Spy, The Russia House, Our Game, The Tailor of Panama, and Single & Single. He lives in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

Reviews

People Le Carré reveals a world at once deeply disquieting and oddly reassuring.

The New York Times Any reader who feared that the end of the Cold War would deprive Mr. le Carré of his subject can now feel a measure of relief. If anything, his subject of East-West misunderstanding has grown richer, and he now possesses vast new territories to mine.

The Orlov brothers, black marketeers in the chaos of the new Russia, take a dim view of being betrayed by their money-laundering British bank, Single & Single. In this story's stunning opening scene, they express their dismay by shooting one of the bank's employees and sending a video of the assassination to bank president Tiger Single, who runs for his life. Tiger's son Oliver, disgusted with the Russians' greed and dismayed by his flamboyant father's immorality, had turned the Orlovs in to British customs four years earlier. Living quietly under a new identity, Oliver discovers a huge deposit has been made in his daughter's bank account, which can only mean that Tiger has located him. Finding that his father is in danger, Oliver searches over a good share of the world trying to save him. Veteran author le Carr‚ (A Small Town in Germany) has created an intricate story with some fine characterizations at its core and an enormous amount of research to make every twist plausible. Moreover, he narrates surprisingly well. If the ending seems abrupt, this is a minor shortcoming. Recommended.ÄJohn Hiett, Iowa City P.L. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

People Le Carre reveals a world at once deeply disquieting and oddly reassuring.
The New York Times Any reader who feared that the end of the Cold War would deprive Mr. le Carre of his subject can now feel a measure of relief. If anything, his subject of East-West misunderstanding has grown richer, and he now possesses vast new territories to mine.