Karla's Choice

Starred review from August 19, 2024
George Smiley returns in this terrific spy saga from John Le Carré’s son, Titanium Noir author Nicholas Cornwell (writing under the Harkaway pseudonym). In 1963, Hungarian publisher Laszlo Bánáti fails to show up at his office in London. Instead, a Soviet assassin arrives, telling Bánáti’s assistant, Susanna Gero, “I am here to kill your Mr. Bánáti... but I have changed my mind.” Gero cleverly manages to bring the would-be assassin to British intelligence, who task the happily retired Smiley with finding Bánáti and figuring out why the Soviets want him dead. Smiley plunges behind Soviet lines, launching a labyrinthine mission that puts him back on the trail of his old nemesis, Karla, head of the KGB, and fills in narrative gaps between Le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Longtime Smiley fans will delight in the enormous cast of familiar characters, the thoughtful meditations on the morality of espionage, and the lived-in tradecraft. Harkaway brilliantly channels his late father’s voice, and in the process delivers an essential new chapter for Smiley and Karla. Agent: Jonny Geller, Curtis Brown U.K.

April 1, 2025

John le Carr�'s Cold War super spy George Smiley is back in this novel set in the missing decade between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It's the spring of 1963, and Smiley has retired. He and his wife are enjoying their new life of peace and quiet. Then, a Russian spy on a kill mission defects, and Control insists that Smiley gets back in the game. At first, his assignment is to interview the woman to whom the Russian surrendered. However, Smiley gets increasingly involved in the twisting narrative surrounding the defector and the man he was supposed to assassinate. Writing under the pen name Harkaway (Titanium Noir), le Carr�'s son Nicholas Cornwell resurrects the characters from his father's novels to create a new and compelling story. Prose, plot, and character building make the old Smiley new again. Harkaway thoughtfully narrates the novel's foreword, explaining his reasons for reviving Smiley and apologizing to listeners who object to this audacious goal. Primary narrator Simon Russell Beale provides a host of accents, including a British voice that contrasts nicely with his renditions of Hungarian and Russian characters. VERDICT This spy thriller gives new life to a much-loved character. Harkaway, whose writing rivals his father's, has delivered a treat for fans of classic spy thrillers.--Joanna M. Burkhardt

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