RED STATION

It was Adrian Magson’s previous five crime books that made publisher Severn House think that is new thriller series featuring Harry Tate would make for good reading. And Magson proved them right in Red Station.

Tate’s character is a world unto himself: anti-hero, cynical and about to be kicked out of the UK to some God forsaken spy outpost to keep out of harm’s way after a drugs bust goes belly up.

From the beginning we know that Tate is a man who believes in the difference between right and wrong. And it is this belief that ensures his posting to the remote Red Station in South Osettia, happens. Once housed in his new post, Tate becomes embroiled in MI5’s internal politics and needs all of his SAS training to come to the fore.

His fellow spooks are being watched around the clock but are the watchers friends or foes? Are the Russians really on the brink of invading South Osettia? These are just a couple of questions Tate is determined to find out. In addition to that you know that Tate is out for revenge on the Whitehall cronies who put him out in the cold.

If you like your spy stories more slow burn than crash bang wallop, then you’ll not be disappointed with the mix between brain versus brawn and inescapable intrigue that Magson provides here. His writing shows that he cares about characters on every level.

This is an assured polished piece of writing. Magson lays down the ominous sense of betrayal carefully as anything you’d expect to read in a Fleming or le Carre. So I can’t wait until the next Harry Tate thriller (or even the film).