The Frenchman

The last time my excitement over a debut espionage thriller scaled the heights this novel achieved was fifty years ago. That 1970s novel shares much in common with Jack Beaumont’s narrative, in-so-far as both are [1] Debuts [2] International in scope [3] Centred on France [4] Dispassionate writing styles and [5] Packed with Authentic Espionage Tradecraft. I am of course referring to Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal when comparing it to The Frenchman.

Beaumont’s debut novel commences with an interesting opening chapter, one that initially hooks the reader - but concludes with the shocking imagery of the Grotesque Parisian Theatre Grand Guignol.  

I realised that if the author can stage such a shocking opening, by lulling the reader into this horrific corner, what else could Beaumont have in store for his main protagonist Alec de Payns?

I was trapped within the confines of this extraordinary narrative for two full days. The level of anxiety contained within The Frenchman had me furiously turning the pages in fear and trepidation. I felt as if I was living the [dangerous] life of the character that gives this book its title.

“Aguilar” is a French Operative of ‘Y’ section of the DGSE [French Secret Service]. Only his wife Romy and children Patrick [aged 6] and Oliver [aged 4] use his real name - Alex de Payns’; this is for their personal safety, because like his fellow agents he has to deploy several ‘managed’ identities.

‘Aguilar’ [aka Alex de Payns] is a cog in the intelligence wheel ensuring the safety of France and its citizens. In order to do so, he has to manipulate others. DGSE ‘Y’ section agents use four pillars identified as M.I.C.E. in their modus operandi -  Money, Ideology, Coercion and Ego are the levers they pull in ensnaring a ‘person of interest’ to come to their way of thinking.

The novel is filled with a barrage of acronyms and snippets of Espionage Tradecraft that exudes authenticity. It comes as little surprise that Jack Beaumont is a pseudonym for a former French Intelligence field-agent.

There are tense set-pieces in the narrative that test the resolve of ‘Aguilar’ and his fellow field agents ‘Templar’, ‘Shrek’ [and their leadership of Dominic Briffaut, Marie Lafont and Phillipe Mararie] – as well testing the nerves of the reader. There are many peripheral characters woven into the narrative spider-web, such as the armourer Zac, the Psychiatrist Dr Marlene, British SIS Agent Mike Moran, Chemical Engineer Josef Ackermann, and Tough Guy Jim Valley.  

As a reader [and Field-Operative] you need a good memory as the agents hide behind differing names, each servicing a ‘legend’.  Even the antagonists seated on the other side of the fence are given codenames such as Raven, Commodore, and Timberwolf and the Operations coded Falcon, Alamot and Scimitar.

What starts at a European aeronautical conference where ‘Aguilar’ is using his Marcus Aubrac legend leads him to Italy where he transforms into his Alaine Dupuis legend. What is a simple counterfeit passport exchange with a Middle-Eastern criminal syndicate headed by the mystery man Murad, leaves two dead and a trail leading back to France where a mole within the DGSE may be leaking information.

The action then moves to Islamabad, where ‘Aguilar’ takes on the legend of film maker Clement Viner as he and his team scout the Pakistan Agricultural Chemical Company. This organisation is housed in a research complex MERC [Materials, Energy, Research Centre], and perhaps a front for something less benign than Agro-Chemistry. On their return to France, the action moves from Paris to Mons in Belgium.

The mental toll on ‘Aguilar’ when his family could be targeted by the enemy is terrifying. Romy and the boys remain oblivious to the dangers that circle them in Paris thanks to Alec de Payns’ occupation.  Another toll is that of ‘Aguilar’ having to remain faithful to his wife, despite his boss Briffaut indicating he may have to get intimate with the sultry ‘Raven’ because the security of France hangs in the balance.

A return to Pakistan is forced upon ‘Aguilar’ under his Sebastien Duboseq legend (he deploys to get close to ‘Raven’), but he has to rely on colleagues in an exfiltration unit sitting locked and loaded nearby. It appears the enemy bears a deadly grudge, and that human nature can be a cruel beast with a long and unforgiving memory that has no mercy.

Extensive use of Bouletage, Gommette, 3-point alignment and other espionage trade-craft terminology is striated across the narrative, as the geo-political spider web spirals back to Paris.

A breathless climax appears out of the ether that forces the agents of ‘Y’ section to prevent cataclysm.

Insightful, anxiety-inducing, thought-provoking, and a glimpse under the bonnet of the looking-glass world that is concealed in the shadows.

Close to 400 hundred pages, “sacre bleu” - I read it in two days.

For a debut espionage novel, “très bien”.