And the Wolf Shall Dwell by Joni Dee

‘This is great. You are playing a John le Carré book, and I’m about to get it.’

Early one morning, John Daniel, an Israeli national, is heading to work in the City of London. He’s waiting at the train station when an old man running, collides with him. John helps the man to his feet. The man is clearly panicked, and as he runs off he says: ‘The Queen … the Queen … where she is seated … they are all standing there behind her.’ Moments later, the old man is dead. Hit by a train. One of the men who were chasing him want to know whether he handed anything to John.
Adam Grey has retired from the SIS, but receives a telephone call from an old agent (code named Ephraim) who has information for him:

‘I have to meet with you urgently. I’ve prepared a dossier for you, it’s with me.’

Adam sets off for this meeting, but it never happens. The old agent is the man who is now dead. So what was the information he had for Adam, and where is it?

Adam Grey needs to talk to John Daniel, the last person to speak with the old agent. Adam is tasked by SIS internal security to try to make sense of why Ephraim contacted him. John who has been dragged into the situation by his chance meeting with Ephraim, is approached by Adam. The first step is to locate the dossier.

Mr Dee has set the scene for a great spy thriller. With elements of international espionage, crooked politics and terrorism, the story switches between past and present as John and Adam work together to try to uncover the truth.

Note: I was offered, and accepted, a free electronic copy of this novel for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith