BENGALURU: My favourite writer within the broad category of thrillers, one I literally grew up reading, is Frederick Forsyth. Forsyth is different from the standardfare thriller writer in that he takes a long time in patiently building up the plot. If you want a thrill-a-minute ride, Forsyth is not for you (I do have a recommendation for the extreme thrill-seeker, and that is Robert Crais; but Crais would be for another day). Forsyth is not necessarily a mystery writer, his two most celebrated books, Day of the Jackal and The Dogs of War cannot be classified as mysteries by any stretch, but some of his mystery thrillers, The Odessa File and The Fourth Protocol are exceptional; the latter is my recommendation for the week.
The Fourth Protocol of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty prohibited assembling of nuclear weapons, piecemeal in secret, close to the target, before being detonated.
This book is set in 1986, during the heights of the Cold War. In London, a thief breaks in and steals important documents from a senior civil servant’s home. Later, on reading the contents — which reveal the civil servant to be a double-agent — the thief anonymously sends the information to the MI5.
In parallel to this, the most (in)famous spy of the ages, Kim Philby, having defected to Moscow, starts working with the Russian government towards a masterplan to supplement the British Labour Party leadership with a hard-left candidate, who would be working for the Russian cause. Philby’s plan would be to create some major unrest just before the UK general election, such that the Labour party wins, and the hard-left candidate becomes Prime Minister. Valeri Petrofsky, a Soviet spy, lands up in England under cover to give fruition to this masterplan.
John Preston, decorated ex-soldier and current MI5 officer, is given charge of uncovering the double-agent civil servant, and eventually attempt to thwart Philby’s masterplan. This makes him navigate the political labyrinth of the MI5, takes him as far as South Africa – in the most intricate bit of dogged, patient mystery-solving you will ever see.
The mystery thriller is perhaps the least appreciated genre among serious mystery readers. More often than not, it is for reasons of aesthetics - the mystery thriller supplements the ‘art’ of detection with the action, the ‘thrills’ if I may. Cheap thrills? It’s not for me to judge. There are few things I like more than a well-written, taut, mystery thriller. And The Fourth Protocol is really as good as it gets in that regard.
Recommended reading: The Fourth Protocol - Frederick Forsyth.
@spinstripe