Charlotte is a British expatriate who has recently settled in Washington, D.C. with her second husband, but enviable dinner parties aren’t the only thing she is planning. Meanwhile, Charlie Leigh-Hunt has been posted to Washington as a replacement for Guy Burgess, last seen disappearing around the corner and into the Soviet Union. Charlie is surprised to cross paths with Charlotte, an old flame of his, who, thanks to her gossipy parties, has a packed pocketbook full of secrets she is eager to share.

Two decades later, in 1969, Joe Wilderness is stuck on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, held captive by the KGB, a chip in a game way above his pay grade – but his old friends Frank and Eddie are going to try to spring him out of the toughest prison in the world. All roads lead back to Berlin, and to the famous Bridge of Spies…

My thanks to Ayo Onatade for the opportunity to join the blog tour for Moscow Exile.

My introduction to John Lawton’s books. First impressions of a new author are always important and I very much enjoyed the story and the style of the telling when I read Moscow Exile. The narrative zipped along and there always seemed to be something happening to push events forward.  What I did find perplexing was when I looked at the blurb and found it was the fourth book in the Joe Wilderness series – I think I was around the half-way mark in the story before the lead character rocked up.  Not that I was too conerned, I was enjoying the exploits of Charlotte Mawer-Churchill.

Charlotte,for me, was the vibrant and entertaining character I wanted to read about. We first join her in England in 1939 where she’s working in the background of parliament, helping her older husband steer his way through political waters and making a large contribution towards the thinking of government. During the course of the early war years she happens to cross paths with a dashing American, Mr Avery Shumacher. Charlotte didn’t mean to fall in love with Mr Schumacher but these things happen and her husband, recognising Charlotte needs to leave their marriage, helps co-ordinate a divorce. Charlotte Mawer-Churchill becomes Coky Shumacher and will be a post-war socialite hostess in Washington DC. She brings black musicians to play for the wealthy white families at her parties and ensures her home is a hub of engagement.

Washington is where the action is. Charlie Leigh-Hunt was living a life of fun in London, leaving a trail of one night stands in his wake until Burgess and McLean were discovered to be sharing information with the Russians. Their unexpected defection leads to Charlie being posted to Washington – get to America and report to Kim Philby – is the order he receives and before he can catch up on himself he is the sole agent in the American capital as Philby gets recalled to London. Charlie is the main man on the ground and the actions of his former colleagues have cast a shadow over the UK’s presence in Washington, he will have to do some serious damage limitation before he can even contemptate doing his job – if he knew what his job was supposed to be.

I really enjoyed the nuanced behavoiur of the central characters and their conversations are witty, serious and suitably cautious for a spy thriller. John Lawton slickly blends real people (I refer you to Philby and Burgess) with his fictional cast and it sells the perception of authenticity which great spy stories have.

Lawton’s lead character does make his appearance as the story develops – Joe Wilderness is in captivity, held by the enemy in foreign lands so there are plans afoot to get a rescue sorted. Charlies and Coky (she doesn’t like Charlie and Charlotte) will play a key role in the story and I easily felt myself slipping into their world as the story unfolded around me.

Returning readers will certainly have some advantage over new readers (like myself) as these are complex and well established players in a complicated diplomatic game which plays out over a number of countries. There are plenty of characters to keep track of, plots and situations which create dilemma and tension and the whole story is terrific fun to read.  I enjoyed Moscow Exile, it reminded me I should be reading more spy thrillers – I always enjoy them but seldom get the oppotunity to get stuck into a new series. I’ll certainly be on the lookout for more books by this author.

Moscow Exile is published by Atlantic Books and you can order a copy of the book here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/moscow-exile/john-lawton/9781804710098