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A review by snowcrash
The Last Spymaster by Gayle Lynds
3.0
I am always seeking a good yarn about spies and the roles they play in the world. This book sounded interesting, as it is about a hunter of those who don't want to be found. Such as former or current spies.
The trade craft part of the book is pretty good. A lot of the plot is similar to many other books, about who do you trust and why. Is the traitor spy a better person than the DCI or DDO? The major plot points and twists were predictable. The minor plot points, subtle in their release and one not until the last couple of pages could have made the whole book even better if explored further. It is the uncomfortable situations those in the spy business find themselves and the crappy decisions they have to make that I like. As long as the story stayed away from technology, it felt solid.
I wanted more of the chase, more about how the hunter really does her job. But as soon as she gets into a groove, the whole book shifts to her figuring out who is loyal and being hunted herself. In this regard, the back of the book is misleading. Watching Elaine do her work would have been enthralling (kind of like Victor in Tom Wood's books).
Note, the book was published in 2006, a year before the iPhone was launched. The technology talked about and supposedly used would be advanced even today. Or not even exist. In such things, I get hyper sensitive. The portions of the book where technology magic was used to advanced the plot felt like 1970's James Bond (fun movies with great stunts not cemented in reality). A lot of use of GPS in phones, but how do the characters use the tracking information to find their prey? Or ability to access a recording from many miles away without the use of a cell system?
In the end, I thought there was more potential. This is a stand alone book, for which I applaud the author. Too many authors build 10 book deep series instead of developing something new. The trade craft felt right, but got bogged down (for me) with sci-fi kind of technology that detracted from how the spies operate in the world.
The trade craft part of the book is pretty good. A lot of the plot is similar to many other books, about who do you trust and why. Is the traitor spy a better person than the DCI or DDO? The major plot points and twists were predictable. The minor plot points, subtle in their release and one not until the last couple of pages could have made the whole book even better if explored further. It is the uncomfortable situations those in the spy business find themselves and the crappy decisions they have to make that I like. As long as the story stayed away from technology, it felt solid.
I wanted more of the chase, more about how the hunter really does her job. But as soon as she gets into a groove, the whole book shifts to her figuring out who is loyal and being hunted herself. In this regard, the back of the book is misleading. Watching Elaine do her work would have been enthralling (kind of like Victor in Tom Wood's books).
Note, the book was published in 2006, a year before the iPhone was launched. The technology talked about and supposedly used would be advanced even today. Or not even exist. In such things, I get hyper sensitive. The portions of the book where technology magic was used to advanced the plot felt like 1970's James Bond (fun movies with great stunts not cemented in reality). A lot of use of GPS in phones, but how do the characters use the tracking information to find their prey? Or ability to access a recording from many miles away without the use of a cell system?
In the end, I thought there was more potential. This is a stand alone book, for which I applaud the author. Too many authors build 10 book deep series instead of developing something new. The trade craft felt right, but got bogged down (for me) with sci-fi kind of technology that detracted from how the spies operate in the world.