Farewell Dinner for a Spy (William Catesby)
The eighth of Wilson’s spy thrillers in the series begins with William Catesby’s recall to London for a dressing-down from his seniors, and what appears to be a forced resignation from the Secret Service following the murder of a suspected double agent. Frances, his wife, holds a position within MI6 that gives her access to secret intelligence that could assist William, but is prevented from divulging any information because of the classified nature of the material. When William is assigned an undercover post as a budding author, researching a book on the French Resistance due to his experience in the Second World War, he encounters diverse groups with hidden agendas of their own. His director of operations, Bone, uses a diplomat’s wife to facilitate the initial coded information exchanges, using the guaranteed protection afforded by her husband from William back to London, which gives him opportunity to report on her clandestine activities too.
Striking dockworkers, fuelled and supported by the Communist Party, alongside criminal coercion wrought by the Mafia and the influences of some shady CIA operatives based in Marseille, see William’s role challenged as well as direct threats to his wellbeing. Knowing Wilson’s own background from serving in Vietnam with the US Special Forces, our spy William becomes involved in drug runs to Laos with two men from his Special Operational Executive (SOE) days, while he tries to figure out which of them is the target that London wants removed.
Just like the subterfuge with which a spy must live and work, it can at times be a trial to understand exactly where the author is going with this novel, but William’s character is sufficiently engaging to keep the reader concerned and involved unto the conclusion.
