Watchman

by Ian Rankin

Bombs are exploding in the streets of London, but life seems to have planted more subtle booby-traps for Miles Flint. Miles is a spy. His job is to watch and to listen, then to report back to his superiors, nothing more. The job, affording glimpses into the most private lives of his victims, appeals to Miles. He doesn't lust after promotion, and he doesn't want action. He wants, just for once, not to botch a case. Having lost one suspect - with horrific consequences - Miles becomes too involved with another, a young Irishwoman. His marriage seems ready to crumble to dust. So does his home. But Miles is given one last chance for redemption - a trip to Belfast, which quickly becomes a flight of terror, murder and shocking discoveries. But can the voyeur survive in a world of violent action?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Espionage, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

AKA Jack Harvey.

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987; the Rebus books are now translated into 22 languages and are bestsellers on several continents.

Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh.

A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianrankin

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This espionage novel is one of Ian Rankin's early books, written before he started the John Rebus detective series. In this story, Miles Flint is a British spy, a "watchman" who surveils individuals suspected of illegal/terrorist activity in London.



While watching an Arab suspect in a hotel lobby Flint gets distracted by a beautiful woman.



The suspect - an assassin - gets away and kills an Israeli man.



Flint thinks the woman was sent purposely and starts to look into the incident. Soon afterward, having trouble at home, Flint spends a few nights in a residence where fellow British agents are spying on suspected Irish terrorists. This surveillance is called off prematurely and Flint starts to think something isn't kosher in his spy agency.

Next thing you know Flint is sent to northern Ireland on assignment and things go badly wrong. His suspicions confirmed, Flint sets out to uncover the dirty secrets people are trying to hide. There are a lot of similar characters in this story and you have to pay close attention to remember who's who. Not as good as the Rebus books but it's an okay espionage novel.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a London where bombs are going off in the streets, mostly laid back spy (yes, I said spy) Miles Flint wants one thing - not to mess up his next case. His life is on the edge, failing at work and in his marriage, can his next case in Belfast be his redemption? A really good espionage thriller; an interwoven and highly 'twisted' tale set within the UK's MI5. 6 out of 12

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just so so. Not, altogether, a bad read but not one to wax lyrical about.
The main protagonist, Miles Flint, was so forgettable. A man shaped by his work, he is a spy. He is secretive, anti social and lacking any ambition. His marriage is just that, a marriage. He does his thing and she does hers and ne’er the twain shall meet.

There is something rotten in the Firm, MI6, and someone wants Miles dead. By the time Miles wakes up to himself and realises that if he is to survive he needs to toughen up, and soon. But by the time this new, stand and fight, attitude appears it’s hard to give any credibility in the new, tough as nuts, Miles Flint.

I’ve read most of Ian Rankin's book and enjoyed most of them but this would have to be my least favourite to date.

The best I could do was 2.5/5 stars.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great options staring down at you from your TBR shelves, from your
night stand, desk, coffee table. " Amazon suggests based on your interests...."
"Goodreads recommends." A friend says, "Oh, I just read / am reading..."
Goodreads reviews. A trip to Barnes or Amvets ; they're everywhere, books are.

So I chose WATCHMAN (TBR / bedroom shelf- upper.) Ian Rankin stand-alone.
Library rescue book (1988). Short book, short chapters.
80 pages down in one sitting. Hmph, pretty good book !

Then, next day, all of the first paragrah (above ) struck. Again.
Another totally unrelated TBR book catches my undivided attention .
Rankin who ?
My brain hurts.

What should have been a smooth 2 to 3 day read ( taking time out for meals
and sleep, of course) turned into 2 weeks-plus : the tortoise and the hare.
Paragrahs to reread, plot lines to reconstruct and characters to sort out.

But I just had to start so many other books.
You understand, don't you ?

Anyway, WATCHMAN by Ian Rankin.
A sound thriller set in the '80s. You've got your IRA, CIA and MI-5. Set in
London, Belfast, Edinburgh. Who's the "bad guy "?
Mild mannered surveillance specialist ( a watchman) is caught in a cover-up
and designated an 'expendable.' Reminiscent of John LeCarre at his finest.

As a matter of fact, it is a book worth coming back to.

Even if you want to try reading everything ever written in between.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, published in 1988, was refreshed with a Prologue presenting the author's recollections of writing this book. It serves as a very good appetizer.
I enjoyed this book very much because it pitches a mild mannered British surveillance man into the middle of a complex dirty tricks plan hatched by the upper echelons of MI6 (or 5, or whatever..not sure) in cooperation with intelligence agencies of other countries including CIA. London is being plagued with bombings carried out by IRA operatives.
Miles Flint is a listener and observer. By a fluke, one evening he walks into a planned double cross by volunteering to go on a mission to avoid going home to his wife Sheila. He notices several things that do not ring true and launches his own investigation.
This results in Miles Flint becoming the latest target. He is sent to Northern Ireland as part of a tourist group and then kidnapped by a murder squad that heads south of the border to kill two IRA bombers as well as Flint. This is where the audience can start cheering on Flint and one of the IRA operatives as they manage to escape. I will tell no more as the action is great fun.

[Mark Rice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Years after writing this novel and The Flood, Ian Rankin created the Rebus books and became the UK's biggest-selling crime writer. In Scotland, he has become a cultural icon. I haven't read any of the Rebus novels, and so can't comment on them (other than saying the TV versions were excellent). I did read and enjoy The Flood last year; its settings and characters were vivid, authentic and inspired. Not so with Watchman, which features a clichéd plot involving secret agents, black budgets, vague settings, two-dimensional characters and stilted dialogue. One test of a great novel is the extent to which it gets under your skin and compels you to keep turning pages, even when that means fighting sleep and putting off important tasks. The Flood gripped me in that manner, but Watchman had the opposite effect: rather than rattling through the book in a day or two, as I generally do, I took months to read it. Each time I opened it, I became bored after a few pages. There's no problem with the story's mechanics; it has all the right elements. Likewise with the language used; Rankin has an excellent command of English. The key missing ingredient in Watchman is inspiration. Perhaps in this book Rankin disobeyed the adage write what you know: The Flood involves Scottish small-town mining communities, people and rituals...things Rankin knows well, having grown up in such an environment; the Rebus novels are set in Edinburgh, where Rankin went to university and has lived ever since...so he wrote Rebus stories from a place of knowing; Watchman, on the other hand, delves into an arena that Rankin has no experience of...maybe he carried out research before penning the story, but if so it doesn't shine through in the prose.

I'd never slag off any writer, especially one as competent as Ian Rankin. Knowing how well he can write made reading this novel all the more frustrating. My guess is this: Watchman is the fruits of a writer still very much finding his literary feet.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a page turner and one of Rankin’s earliest novels. Unusual as it is a spy novel. Miles Flint is a jaded surveillance officer who bungles an op when he is distracted. He suspects a mole in His British Intelligence Organization. He also has a hobby of studying beetles as well as characterizing people as beetles. To me he seems to be going through a middle age crisis with problems with his marriage to Shelia.

He ends up in Ireland and finds he has been set up. He manages to escape with Collins an IRA man. The it gets a little farfetched with them working together and going to London to discover who is trying to kill him.

I liked the final confrontation with Partridge set in Edinburgh at Waverley train station and also the use of the Walter Scott monument. Not a bad read with some good scenes.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not his best work. In fact, possibly his worst. 0 of 10 stars.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how Rankin portrayed his main character here as a middle-of-the-road kind of guy who stumbles over a possible traitor in the office. Bloody action follows Mike Flint through to a tremendous finish.

Rankin's characters are so believable that you can't help but identify with them. Great spy novel.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed reading Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus books very much. I'm well in to that series. Watchman was Rankin's 3rd novel, written after the first of his Rebus books. It's quite different from the Rebus books; in fact, it's more in line with early John le Carre than what you expect from Rankin.
Miles Flint (from the intro, Rankin borrowed the name from the In Like Flint movie series starring James Coburn) is a Watchman, working for the British Secret Service. Having issues with his marriage, he decides one night to assist in the monitoring of an Arab spy instead of going home. Unfortunately, the spy gives the group the slip and the Arab ends up killing an Israeli arms dealer.
This starts a somewhat convoluted series of events as the story follows a variety of people; Flint, his wife Sheila, a news reporter trying to get a big scoop, other members of the spy agency, a politician, etc. At times it's a bit hard to follow who is who and what is going on, but like the best of le Carre, slowly and then more quickly, the various stories begin to tie themselves together with an ultimately satisfying ending.
There is a great deal of political and in-office intrigue. Who is phoning the reporter with clues? Who is threatening the politician? Who can Flint trust in his department? Why is he suddenly sent to Northern Ireland? The story is set during the period when the IRA is bombing regularly in London and other English cities, which adds a very interesting atmosphere to the story. I wasn't sure I'd like it, at the beginning, but as the story moved along, it got more and more interesting. Well worth trying if you want to see a different side to Rankin's writing. (3.5 stars)

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a fan of both crime fiction and Scottish fiction, I've always been meaning to give Ian Rankin another go. Years ago, I read his first Rebus book, Knots and Crosses, didn't really care for it, and never returned to him. This republication of his 1988 espionage novel (his second book) caught my eye, so I thought I'd try him again. The story revolves around Miles Flint, a blandly unmemorable mid-level surveillance expert (aka "Watchman") for MI5 (Britain's rough equivalent to the FBI).

When the story starts, he's involved in the surveillance of a suspected Arab hit man that goes wrong. Something about it niggles at him, and he starts his own private internal investigation of the foulup, while being detailed to watch a suspected IRA cell. (The story takes place in the midst of an IRA bombing campaign in London, something that didn't really happen in earnest until the early '90s.) The first 2/3 of the book are achingly tedious, as Miles is buffeted by the treacherous waters of departmental politics, not to mention his own rocky marriage.

Things pick up a bit when Miles is sent to Ireland to observe the arrest of some IRA members, a scenario which the reader will have seen the perils of well before Miles. From there, things get a little more interesting, as Miles is forced out of his normal shell to save his skin. This transformation isn't totally credible, hewing too closely to the fantasy of the everyman who is able to tap hidden inner courage, cunning, and skill in a time of great need. On the whole, it's neither thoughtful or entertaining enough for me to recommend it. I suppose Rankin fans may find more to like, but it didn't work for me.

[Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Rankin, so a little rough in places esp. in terms of pacing, but I actually liked that, and it was refreshing to not be dealing with the now heavily-produced maudlin feeling of Rebus.

Best read as an enjoyable spy thriller, you can almost see the screenplay ;)

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miles Flint is a "Watcher" with MI5 but his missions, involving the IRA, keep going wrong at the last moment and he is suspicious of a mole. He thinks his wife is unfaithful with a collegue. He is then mysteriously sent to Northern Ireland on a mission. Is this the end for him or will he find the mole. Ian Rankin's novel is short and moves quickly and is easy to read if a little far fetched in places.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting early book written by Ian Rankin that he was planning during his honeymoon! At first moving along quite gently and you are trying to work out who is behind things and why, but when it moves to Northern Ireland and Ireland it really takes off, grabs you by the threat and doesn't let you go until the end. Also one or two good links in the book to the Rebus series. Very glad I read it, and I think he would write some more espionage books.

[Amanda Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting novel - No Rebus. Still well worth reading.

[Joshua Vachon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nice little page turner for some vacation reading. Not my usual style but it was a nice compact story!

[Trilby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me; it's very, very well done, both by the writer and the reader. Rankin wrote it in 1988, and this audio version begins with Rankin describing how he wrote it as a newlywed--fast and obsessively. He notes how the world has changed since that time. For example, spies had no portable electronic devices...no mobile phones, no laptops. This makes spying easier in some ways, harder in others.
The title alludes to the main character's job as "watcher" for MI5. He prides himself on his ability as an observer in gathering intelligence, but this same gift has made him a cold potato in his personal life. The story revolves around his being pulled into the spy action, like it or not.
I've never given 5 stars to a popular novel, let alone a spy one, but this one has several extraordinary aspects.
First, I liked way the characters were drawn, not terribly beautiful or terribly evil, but just as ordinary folks going about their daily business. Unlike James Bond, the protagonist is stuck/has stuck himself in a troubled marriage, with a jerk adult son who plays his parents against each other for his benefit. Rankin deftly shifts point of view, sometimes in the same scene, so we don't sympathize just with the protagonist. His long-suffering wife is justifiably angry with him for his passive refusal to try to reconnect emotionally with her. Although the book is very dark (hey, it's about MI5, need I say more?),it has none of the noir cliches that get so irritating, for example, the intellectual bimbo lover, the nonstop similes. Finally, what made this a fabulous "read" was the reader himself, John Lee. Lee is utterly brilliant with British accents. He narrates with a generic educated English accent (not long-aaah fakey/theatrical), but switches to accents to fit the characters. Whether they be West Enders, Scottish, aristocratic English or Irish, the characters speak true to their backgrounds. In one section, there are long discussions between Belfast Irish characters and the protagonist, a Scot. With an infallible ear, Lee switches between the two similar accents with aplomb, never mixing them up. I was really impressed.
If you decide to try this book, I strongly recommened that you let Lee read it for you. He does a far better job of reading than I and probably you could do inside our heads.

[Angus Mcfarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rankin without Rebus, his second novel as he tried to get established after the initial, somewhat disjointed detective effort. This one is a spy story, set in London, mostly, in the 80s, so it was still analog espionage - spooks without the flashy set changes and a Harry more connected to the Peers of the realm. At stake is the security of London as the IRA took its war offshore. It's easy to forget that the modern day terror, largely ascribed to radical Islam, is relatively new, and that similar terrorism has been around a fair while. (Living in Australia, or I dare say the US also, made these issues remote and sideline news events to a media less affected by global news cycles.)

The story rolls along nicely, although I found the transition phase slow and inconsistent with the degree of change it wrought. The final climax was a contrived touch from an author passionate about his home town, but not unbearably so. Whether this could have gone on to become Rankin's stock and trade I guess we'll never know - rebus became the main man and there was little real room for this to go further with the cast available, hence the later stories of a similar ilk with new leads.

Very glad to have read it and keep the copy of the rankin canon building on my bookshelf.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian Rankin's second book, published in 1988 when he was fresh out of university and testing the direction his writing would take. This edition includes his introduction written in 2003 after he had re-read the book. He seems fairly pleased with it and offers some personal background to the writing of it, which I found interesting.

I enjoyed this spy story. There is a brooding, unsettled atmosphere in London and Ireland at the time of the IRA bombing campaign. The main character is Miles Flint, a spy who prefers to blend into the background, keep out of trouble, avoid confronting the deterioration of his marriage. However, he finds himself forced to change when confronted with evidence linking a failed assignment, a twist on the domestic scene and the certain knowledge that his job and life are in serious jeopardy. Satisfyingly complex and packed with suitably shady characters, relieved by quirky references to the insect world! This is not John Rebus, it is different and it is very good.

[Ankita · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a spy novel but there was no thrilling suspense or mystery. It lacks the gripping ingredient which keeps the readers on edge to know what happens next? Though the story takes place as a big international conspiracy the plot doesn't even meet that level of grandness.
The hero of the novel comes out as a mediocre service agent always doubtful of his own judgment and finds himself in every unwanted places! The writer has tried many times to make him emotional and spontaneous and dangerous spy that he should be as a member of secret services but I couldn't even feel his pain...couldn't be even slightly worried over his life threatening experiences...in short I didn't connect with him at all. Throughout the book I kept waiting for something interesting which never came so I just finished it to know what the fuss is all about! And needless to say that I was disappointed in the end.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wouldn't say this is a 'bad' book - not really. But I stopped reading this a couple of days ago, when I was about half way through, to finish off something else. This morning, I was wondering what to read and to be honest, I couldn't be bothered to go back to it. If I don't have enough of a drive to find out what happens to Miles and his weird collection of so called spies, then I can't see that it's worth spending any more time on. A shame really, because on some level it was ok - not the most exciting of thrillers nor the most interesting of protagonists, but reasonably ok. But if I don't finish it, I can't give it a higher rating than 1...

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I am truly a Rankin fan I wanted to read this book. Despite finding the numerous characters a bit hard to follow in the beginning and being a bit frustrsted by this, in true Ian Rankin style everyone finally took their places as the scene was set and the action began. I liked how all the questions were answered leaving no character dangling. Quite fond of Miles and liked that the writer made all the players real from Sheila, Stevens to Collins...I even felt I understood various motivations and backgrounds. A good writer to accomplish so much in a slim book of 269 pages.

[Ron Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining, fast-paced novel by the man behind Rebus. Even though it's pre-wireless and from the Cold War/IRA bombing era, The Watchman is not as dated as I feared it might be. That's what happens when you write a suspense novel focused on people. Even spies and cops are humans, as Rankin has so deftly demonstrated these many years.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

Before he became known for his Inspector Rebus series, Ian Rankin was a newly married writer trying his hand at spy novels. Watchman reveals a master at the start of his game. Inspired by John le Carr

[Colette Flaherty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just couldn't get into it and didn't engage with any of the characters.

[WendyRG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confusing, poorly fleshed out characters, perhaps it inspired Tarantino's film, Reservoir Dogs. Rankin certainly has improved immensely since this first novel.

[Deborah Mitton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The trouble with being an avid reader for 50+ years you forget some of the earlier works you read. This was an excellent read at the time.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pre-Rebus. Rankin got to be a much better author, just sayin'

[Tom Rainsford · Rating 3 out of 5]

The was the first Ian Rankin book that I have read without the character Rebus. It was quite good!

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian Rankin is a Scottish Delight, which is like a Turkish Delight, but Scottish, so therefore contains an alarming amount of booze and headbutting.