#Blogtour Honour Among Spies by Merle Nygate

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Honour Among Spies by Merle Nygate.

About the Author

Merle Nygate is a screenwriter, script editor, screenwriting lecturer and novelist; she's worked on BAFTA winning TV, New York Festival audio drama and written original sitcoms; previously she worked for BBC Comedy Commissioning as well as writing and script editing across multiple genres. Most recently, Merle completed her first espionage novel which won the Little Brown/UEA Crime Fiction Award. It was described by the judge as 'outstanding'. Follow @MerleNygate on X

About the book

Eli Amiram – Mossad's star spy runner – returns in this fast-moving and international spy thriller which sees two complex plots collide with a potentially apocalyptic outcome.

At the heart of London's spy operations, Mossad head of station Eli carries the scars of a past disaster while grappling with the turbulent political landscape back home. His resolve to uphold his duty and keep his job is tested like never before.

Desperate to tip the scales in the espionage game, Eli concocts a risky plan involving tampered drones destined for Russian hands. But to execute this plan, he has to exploit those closest to him. Eli's moral compass clashes with the mission, leading him down a treacherous path of betrayal.

As the stakes escalate, Eli finds himself embroiled in a deadly web, racing to foil an apocalyptic agenda. With the clock ticking, alliances are tested, sacrifices are made, and Eli must confront the consequence of his actions head-on.

Eli and his team must navigate a shadowy underworld to prevent a terrorist plot from unleashing chaos on a global scale. Will they emerge victorious, or will the darkness consume them all?

A must-read for fans of Homeland and NCIS, it will also appeal to readers of Charles Cumming and John le Carré.

Review

I enjoyed the way the two plots or threads came together, and also that one of them has a very distinct question of loyalty and truth attached to it. Ironically not necessarily the one you might expect. The story, which is a non-stop fast-paced story about the murky world of spydom. Not the raincoat meet on a foggy bridge and exchange prisoners kind of cold war world of spies, but the new cold war - an underbelly of politics and profit that really does not have much time for honour.

Although I am sure perpetrators would shout their grievance at that perception, they are of course in their own eyes driven by a code of honour, regardless of whether the core is religion, misogyny, racism or political affiliation. Can there be a honour or code as such between the people tasked with fighting this underbelly of threats, can it exist in this new version of cold war? The keeping countries, who are on the possible brink of starting the unforgiveable from breaking fragile peace - or what is called peace nowadays.

I have to admit I was fascinated by the title, perhaps more so because my brain automatically allocated a No to the title, which then made me wonder why I had that inner instinct. In this often brutally honest story, which is carried by the tactical ruthless characters, there is a glimpse of the humane and compassionate side of them they have to pack into a wee locked box, because the truth has to stay hidden at all times.

This brings me to the ethical compass Eli, and others, have to balance when it comes to their personal relationships. Can you ever live in a relationship of any kind when everything is based on lies and more lies? If you lie about who you are and what you do 24/7, then how can anything you say or do ever be trusted?

Of course that doesn't make Eli any less of a great asset in the world of espionage, but perhaps that world will always take centre stage, whilst everything and everyone else falls to the wayside.

It's a story that never stops moving, gaining impetus as grey areas become more frequent in this riveting spy thriller - in a story where good, bad, right or wrong are merely words and no longer have any meaning.

Buy Honour Among Spies at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : ‎No Exit Press; pub date 11 April 2024. Buy at Amazon com.