Yesterday's Spy: The fast-paced new suspense thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Secret Service

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Harry discovers, however, that enemies from his past are also willing to use the current developments to settle old scores. S. and Britain, and why, as well as the attitudes those nations held and the actions they undertook that made them so unpopular with certain segments of Iranian society. And in the early stages of the Cold War, British and American interests are prepared to prop up the Shah’s regime as a block against Soviet expansion in the region.

We learn his backstory and his struggles, particularly the suicide of his wife which led to the estrangement with his son. I'd only recently found out about Goodreads giveaways and spammed a bunch and this was the one I won. An epic prelude to the Bernard Samson Game, Set and Match trilogy, Winter is a rich, tragic portrait of the fortunes of a family, and a nation, over half a century. Bradby’s new novel, Yesterday’s Spy (Bantam, June 2022), heads back to 1953 and the Allied involvement in Iranian politics. His latest stand-alone outing, “Yesterday's Spy”, provides plenty of action while exposing the moral ambiguities of what we do for king and country.

However, a year ago his wife committed suicide, and his son went to Tehran as a stringer for the Guardian. But the British effectively stole that oil, leaving the large and growing Iranian public hungry and desperate. But as the first attempt at a coup in the city fails and foreign powers jockey for oil, money, and influence, Sean's disappearance takes on a more sinister tone.

Bringing the Faith, Hope and Charity trilogy, and Bernard Samson’s story, to a stunning conclusion, this final volume brilliantly shows the human cost of the spying game. The more Harry digs the more he wonders if the many sins of his past are catching up with him, and that he and his son are in much more danger than he thought.

The jumps back and forth in the timeline were not always easy to follow, and the characters, while well-written were opaque and unknowable - which I would assume is par for the course in spycraft. Also, without giving away any spoilers, I'll just say that the ending was somewhat unsatisfying for me. It is primarily set in the early 1950s and focuses upon Harry Tower, recently retired British Secret Service agent. Iran in 1953 is seething with a bitter rivalry among those who back the Shah (and his foreign allies) versus those who want a fairer deal for the Iranian people; even back then the coup was all about who controls (and profits) from the oil.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic, the author, and Goodreads for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. When he arrives in Tehran, a city roiling with political dissatisfaction and on the brink of a historic coup, Harry joins forces with Sean's Iranian girlfriend Shahnaz--seemingly the only other person interested in finding the disappeared journalist. I was super excited to read it as I'd recently read my first Tom Bradby novel "White Russian" and absolutely loved it. In many ways it’s classic espionage – intriguing and satisfyingly complex, with a love story and some family drama. Peter and Paul, the two sons of German businessman Harald Winter, are bonded together by a childhood trauma.