The House of the Hanged

House of the Hanged, Mark Mills

This was a pleasurable read – a spy story set just before WWII but without the normal Nazi angst. Instead it is a story that dates back to the post revolution days of the Soviet Union and the involvement of a British Operative to rescue a woman he had to leave behind when he was evacuated.

The results of that failed attempt waited 17 years to become apparent and in the meantime an inheritance allows Tom to retire from the service and buy a villa in France.  It is all decadence and joy until three different assassination attempts open up the old instincts and put everyone in his social group under suspicion.

There is his old SIS chief, a Russian husband and wife, exiled from their home land, two Germans, an artist and a French Policeman who must play a role in Tom’s life and the intrigue that comes when such unexpected attempts surface.  No one is completely the way that they seem except for Lucy, a young woman just coming of age who is Tom’s godchild.  She brings a fresh youthfulness to the story and a desire for her godfather.

The action never becomes over powering with blood and guts.  It is more of a novel about this group that has the twist of spies and espionage.  The reader will enjoy the final settling of affairs, but might desire a little tougher perspective.  However, this is a British and not American novel so it is less in-your-face and more cerebral.

I could not stop reading.