An expensive place to die

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An unnamed spy - perhaps the same reluctant hero of The Ipcress File - is sent to Paris to deliver a file of nuclear secrets to a French doctor, but soon finds himself sucked into a twilight world of sex, blackmail and hidden motive, where friend and enemy become indistinguishable. A 'clinic' on Paris's Avenue Foch designed to cater lavishly for multiple perversions, staffed by a group of sexually and intellectually high-powered girls and equipped with devices ranging from an Iron Maiden to psychedelic truth-drugs -- that's the set-up operated by the enigmatic Monsieur Datt. Naturally, it has a hidden purpose: to compile dossiers of tape and film on influential political clients from East and West. Into this twilight world of decadence and hidden motives come the agents of four world powers.

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David

The fifth of Deighton's “unnamed spy” novels, this is slightly different to the previous books in that it is set almost entirely in Paris.
Our hero has been on assignment for six months and Deighton describes him as a middle-aged, slightly out of shape cynic. There's no Colonel Ross, no London, he doesn't even know who his case officer is.
The plot revolves around the mysterious Mr Datt and his house of ill-repute, where various high ranking officials of many nationalities indulge in all manner of sexual activity. All recorded by Datt, noted and filed. Nuclear documents are involved, supplied by the Americans to entice Red China. Meanwhile the French police are on the case when a girl is killed and a woman named Maria plays both sides and our hero off against each other.
The plot is complex but the book never drags because Deighton is a supreme storyteller. His descriptions of Paris are evocative and his love of all things French (he is an accomplished French cook) shines through.
The change of scene makes for a different kind of story compared to the previous books, still full of intrigue and treachery, but flavoured by the French setting. Another excellent Deighton novel.

November 20, 2017