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The Trinity Six
Hard-up Russia expert Dr Sam Gaddis finally has a lead for the book that could solve all his career problems. But the story of a lifetime becomes an obsession that could kill him.
When his source is found dead, Gaddis is alone on the trail of the Cold War’s deadliest the undiscovered sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring.
Suddenly threatened at every step and caught between two beautiful women, both with access to crucial evidence, Sam cannot trust anyone.
To get his life back, he must chase shadows through Europe’s corridors of power. But the bigger the lie, the more ruthlessly the truth is kept buried…
When his source is found dead, Gaddis is alone on the trail of the Cold War’s deadliest the undiscovered sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring.
Suddenly threatened at every step and caught between two beautiful women, both with access to crucial evidence, Sam cannot trust anyone.
To get his life back, he must chase shadows through Europe’s corridors of power. But the bigger the lie, the more ruthlessly the truth is kept buried…
421 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2011
434 people are currently reading
3325 people want to read
About the author
Charles Cumming
27 books1,283 followersCharles Cumming is British writer of spy fiction. His international bestselling thrillers including A Spy By Nature, The Spanish Game, Typhoon and The Trinity Six. A former British Secret Service recruit, he is a contributing editor of The Week magazine and lives in London.
http://www.charlescumming.co.uk/
http://www.charlescumming.co.uk/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 557 reviews
August 6, 2022
Interesante novela de espías. Muy entretenida.
Interesting spy novel. Very entertaining.
Interesting spy novel. Very entertaining.
May 27, 2011
Loved this book. Here's what I told BOOKLIST:
What is it about British spy novelists? From Graham Greene and Geoffrey Household and Eric Ambler to Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, and John le Carre—for some reason, when it comes to writing about espionage and betrayal, nobody does it better than the Brits. Something about the miserable weather in London, maybe? That whole declining Empire thing? Whatever the reason, the good news is that there’s a new heir to the throne: Charles Cumming, whose latest novel, The Trinity Six, reminds me of those classic Ambler stories about an ordinary man who gets caught up in circumstances beyond his control and must run for his life. Cummins bases his tale on the real-life ring of spies called the Cambridge Five, run by Kim Philby, whose revelation rocked the West during the peak of the Cold War. His hero, a divorced, fortyish academic in dire financial straits, discovers that there may have been an undiscovered sixth mole. And then the real trouble starts. If the spy novel is like a well-loved old leather briefcase that’s seen better days, Cumming—who’s on his way to becoming one of our best spy writers—takes it down from the attic, restores it and buffs it and makes it new again.
What is it about British spy novelists? From Graham Greene and Geoffrey Household and Eric Ambler to Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, and John le Carre—for some reason, when it comes to writing about espionage and betrayal, nobody does it better than the Brits. Something about the miserable weather in London, maybe? That whole declining Empire thing? Whatever the reason, the good news is that there’s a new heir to the throne: Charles Cumming, whose latest novel, The Trinity Six, reminds me of those classic Ambler stories about an ordinary man who gets caught up in circumstances beyond his control and must run for his life. Cummins bases his tale on the real-life ring of spies called the Cambridge Five, run by Kim Philby, whose revelation rocked the West during the peak of the Cold War. His hero, a divorced, fortyish academic in dire financial straits, discovers that there may have been an undiscovered sixth mole. And then the real trouble starts. If the spy novel is like a well-loved old leather briefcase that’s seen better days, Cumming—who’s on his way to becoming one of our best spy writers—takes it down from the attic, restores it and buffs it and makes it new again.
December 4, 2016
I had stumbled upon this book in my library. The author was new to me but the interesting storyline made me give this book a try.
Before I come to my review of the book, please allow me to say a few lines about the Cambridge Spy Ring . The Cambridge Spy rings refers to the students of Trinity College, University of Cambridge who had been recruited by the Russian intelligence. Members of the ring identified: Kim Philby, Donald Duart Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross. Later, these people went to work for the Foreign Office and SIS (the British secret service) and passed on intelligence to the Soviets during World War II and early years of the Cold War.
You can refer to the following links if you want to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrid...
The exposure of the ring created furore in the UK and caused much embarrassment to the authorities, but also provider fodder to spy thriller and non-fiction writers, conspiracy theorists,
TV series and movie creators.
The plot of this novel is based on the premise that a sixth member of the Cambridge Spy Ring existed and this fact has been kept hidden by the SIS. My interest was greatly piqued and started reading with pretty high expectations.
The protagonist, Dr. Sam Gaddis, is a professor of history and written a book entitled “Tsars” whcih criticized the current Russian government, headed by Sergei Platov , an ex-KGB agent. The book was not destined to be bestseller though.
Gaddis is under heavy debts due to payments made to his ex-wife for child support and also to sponsor her new boyfriend. He learns from his journalist friend that a sixth member existed and she is on the verge of uncovering his identity. No prizes for guessing that the friend was killed before she do that and Gaddis decides to investigate and write a bestselling book to expose the truth and also to tackle his impending financial crisis. So Gaddis enters the world of spies and assassins and soon is running for his life - that's what spy thriller protagonists do if they are not the ones doing the chasing.
We have deceit, betrayal, murders -- as both the SIS and the Russian agency both try to prevent old secrets from being exposed. Different people have different motives behind their actions and humans can do anything for their self-interests.
We get to meet the supposed sixth member and he really is quite a character.
This novel is pretty realistic or what passes for realistic spy fiction. Gaddis is no James Bond and there is little of the so called "high octane" action here. He is a bit of a ladies man and this is his only similarity with the great British icon. On the contrary, he solely depends upon others especially SIS officer Tanya Acocella for his survival.
The story would take us on a journey from the UK to Continental Europe and even New Zealand. More people would be murdered and the mystery would keep you guessing. The Brits want to keep the sixth member a secret but why are the Russians on a killing spree. Is something far bigger at stake!!
There is mystery, suspense, tension and the novel made for a decent read. It certainly had all the ingredients for a great thriller and the author tried - at least I felt so, but still somethings were amiss.
I could not feel for the protagonist - his love for his daughter made him a little likable, but a character need not be likable to make the readers root for him.
I liked the character of Tanya the most. She stood up to her superior for Gaddis's sake and even jeopardized her career and even life to protect him.
The ending was tooooo simplistic and convenient. I was expecting something more, you know, climactic - the words I would have liked to use are eluding me right now.
If you like spy thrillers where the operatives don't carry exploding pens and you don't want too much blood and gore in it - then you might want to give it a try. I won't say this is a very good book but I do not regret the time I invested in it.
Before I come to my review of the book, please allow me to say a few lines about the Cambridge Spy Ring . The Cambridge Spy rings refers to the students of Trinity College, University of Cambridge who had been recruited by the Russian intelligence. Members of the ring identified: Kim Philby, Donald Duart Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross. Later, these people went to work for the Foreign Office and SIS (the British secret service) and passed on intelligence to the Soviets during World War II and early years of the Cold War.
You can refer to the following links if you want to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrid...
The exposure of the ring created furore in the UK and caused much embarrassment to the authorities, but also provider fodder to spy thriller and non-fiction writers, conspiracy theorists,
TV series and movie creators.
The plot of this novel is based on the premise that a sixth member of the Cambridge Spy Ring existed and this fact has been kept hidden by the SIS. My interest was greatly piqued and started reading with pretty high expectations.
The protagonist, Dr. Sam Gaddis, is a professor of history and written a book entitled “Tsars” whcih criticized the current Russian government, headed by Sergei Platov , an ex-KGB agent. The book was not destined to be bestseller though.
Gaddis is under heavy debts due to payments made to his ex-wife for child support and also to sponsor her new boyfriend. He learns from his journalist friend that a sixth member existed and she is on the verge of uncovering his identity. No prizes for guessing that the friend was killed before she do that and Gaddis decides to investigate and write a bestselling book to expose the truth and also to tackle his impending financial crisis. So Gaddis enters the world of spies and assassins and soon is running for his life - that's what spy thriller protagonists do if they are not the ones doing the chasing.
We have deceit, betrayal, murders -- as both the SIS and the Russian agency both try to prevent old secrets from being exposed. Different people have different motives behind their actions and humans can do anything for their self-interests.
We get to meet the supposed sixth member and he really is quite a character.
This novel is pretty realistic or what passes for realistic spy fiction. Gaddis is no James Bond and there is little of the so called "high octane" action here. He is a bit of a ladies man and this is his only similarity with the great British icon. On the contrary, he solely depends upon others especially SIS officer Tanya Acocella for his survival.
The story would take us on a journey from the UK to Continental Europe and even New Zealand. More people would be murdered and the mystery would keep you guessing. The Brits want to keep the sixth member a secret but why are the Russians on a killing spree. Is something far bigger at stake!!
There is mystery, suspense, tension and the novel made for a decent read. It certainly had all the ingredients for a great thriller and the author tried - at least I felt so, but still somethings were amiss.
I could not feel for the protagonist - his love for his daughter made him a little likable, but a character need not be likable to make the readers root for him.
I liked the character of Tanya the most. She stood up to her superior for Gaddis's sake and even jeopardized her career and even life to protect him.
The ending was tooooo simplistic and convenient. I was expecting something more, you know, climactic - the words I would have liked to use are eluding me right now.
If you like spy thrillers where the operatives don't carry exploding pens and you don't want too much blood and gore in it - then you might want to give it a try. I won't say this is a very good book but I do not regret the time I invested in it.
May 11, 2015
It is 1992, a few years after the cold war and in a hospital in London late one night, a low level diplomat, Edward Crane is declared dead. But Crane was much more than that, and not everything is as it seems.
A decade and a half later, Sam Gaddis, an academic with a particular interest in Russia, suddenly has a mountain of debt to pay. The huge tax bill, and demands from his ex wife means he needs to land a lucrative book deal. An old friend hints that she is onto the story of a lifetime, that she has discovered that there was a sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring. He agrees to help with the research. But both the British and the Russians want this secret suppressed, and within a few hours she is dead from a heart attack.
With the blessing of her late husband, he picks up the investigation. His research is flagged at the heart of the British Secret service and the wheels are set in motion to counter what Gaddis is trying to find out. As he contacts people that knew about Crane, the Russians are not far behind, and they are taking steps to ensure that no secrets are ever spoken again.
He is contacted by a man in a nursing home, who hints that he knows about the enigmatic man, Crane. With his details and the records of a Russian journalist, Gaddis is closing in on his scoop of the century, but the threat to his life is ever more perilous.
Cummings has written here a magnificent spy thriller. He has plenty of tension, a plausible plot that rings almost true, and a way of writing that means that you connect with the main character Gaddis. It has a good pace too, even though it is just over 400 page in this edition, I zipped through this in no time at all. It has all the hallmarks of a classic spy novel too, cold war history, double agents, tradecraft and secrets. Cumming has also managed to convey that feeling of fear that as Gaddis suddenly realises that he is in way deeper than he imagined was possible.
Great stuff. Will definitely be reading all his others.
A decade and a half later, Sam Gaddis, an academic with a particular interest in Russia, suddenly has a mountain of debt to pay. The huge tax bill, and demands from his ex wife means he needs to land a lucrative book deal. An old friend hints that she is onto the story of a lifetime, that she has discovered that there was a sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring. He agrees to help with the research. But both the British and the Russians want this secret suppressed, and within a few hours she is dead from a heart attack.
With the blessing of her late husband, he picks up the investigation. His research is flagged at the heart of the British Secret service and the wheels are set in motion to counter what Gaddis is trying to find out. As he contacts people that knew about Crane, the Russians are not far behind, and they are taking steps to ensure that no secrets are ever spoken again.
He is contacted by a man in a nursing home, who hints that he knows about the enigmatic man, Crane. With his details and the records of a Russian journalist, Gaddis is closing in on his scoop of the century, but the threat to his life is ever more perilous.
Cummings has written here a magnificent spy thriller. He has plenty of tension, a plausible plot that rings almost true, and a way of writing that means that you connect with the main character Gaddis. It has a good pace too, even though it is just over 400 page in this edition, I zipped through this in no time at all. It has all the hallmarks of a classic spy novel too, cold war history, double agents, tradecraft and secrets. Cumming has also managed to convey that feeling of fear that as Gaddis suddenly realises that he is in way deeper than he imagined was possible.
Great stuff. Will definitely be reading all his others.
July 9, 2011
It wasn’t just MaClean, Burgess, Philby, Cairncross and Blunt in the Cambridge Spy Ring – there was a sixth man. In Charles Cumming’s novel his history emerges and promptly entangles itself with the past of a Putin-like Russian President; whist in the middle a battered, but oh-so-sexy, historian tries to figure out the truth in an ever more dangerous world where murder is stalking him.
There are good ideas in this book, and it would have been interesting to see what a Le Carre, Deighton or even a Fleming would have done with them (even if the first name on that list would surely have dismissed the amount of coincidence involved). However, despite a good set-up, what we’re left with is a ploddingly pedestrian thriller – starring a crumpled, yet charismatic, handsome, ladies-man professor. In short, the kind of figure that any academic slogging through essay marking at a crumbling university wishes he actually was.
What particularly annoyed me about ‘The Sixth Man’ though was the portrayal of the female characters. The two he meets are both young, highly attractive and potentially available to crumpled history professors – but scarcely have any character beyond that. (Even Fleming works harder to give Bond’s love interest a sense of personality). In addition, the possible motivations for one of characters – the actual ‘why’ she met the professor and entered the narrative – is seemingly forgotten about. In a paranoid moment, questions are actually raised as to why Holly should trust this professor so much that she falls immediately into bed with him and gives him this wealth of material. The short answer to that is that the plot demands it, but it’s just incredibly lazy for the author to raise the issue, but not bother to find a decent character-related answer.
There are good ideas in this book, and it would have been interesting to see what a Le Carre, Deighton or even a Fleming would have done with them (even if the first name on that list would surely have dismissed the amount of coincidence involved). However, despite a good set-up, what we’re left with is a ploddingly pedestrian thriller – starring a crumpled, yet charismatic, handsome, ladies-man professor. In short, the kind of figure that any academic slogging through essay marking at a crumbling university wishes he actually was.
What particularly annoyed me about ‘The Sixth Man’ though was the portrayal of the female characters. The two he meets are both young, highly attractive and potentially available to crumpled history professors – but scarcely have any character beyond that. (Even Fleming works harder to give Bond’s love interest a sense of personality). In addition, the possible motivations for one of characters – the actual ‘why’ she met the professor and entered the narrative – is seemingly forgotten about. In a paranoid moment, questions are actually raised as to why Holly should trust this professor so much that she falls immediately into bed with him and gives him this wealth of material. The short answer to that is that the plot demands it, but it’s just incredibly lazy for the author to raise the issue, but not bother to find a decent character-related answer.
January 7, 2015
What is it about certain male authors who feel the need to create good-looking, bad boy men in their forties who are irresistible to women half their age? Is it wish fulfillment? Or do these men really believe that all hot twentysomething women are panting after fortyish men? I specify hot, of course, because these male characters certainly wouldn’t care if a non-hot twentysomething wanted to leap into bed with them.
This particular fortyish bad boy is Sam Gaddis, the main character of The Trinity Six, by Charles Cumming. He is a rumpled, debt-ridden academic with boyish good looks and charm (although I found him to be annoying and dickish) who stumbles upon one of the greatest kept spy secrets of the British government. While pursuing the truth of this secret, he manages to bed one hot young woman, makes a play at another (who is a spy) and admires a third (who he will keep an eye on because she may be susceptible to his creepy bad boy charm). Gaddis is also a major fuck-up who manages to get at least one person killed and puts many others’ lives in danger because he is, as I’ve said, a fuck-up. He knows he’s pursing a huge secret that neither the Russian government nor the British government want exposed yet seems surprised when people he talks to about this super-hush-hush secret keep turning up dead. Gee, I wonder what’s going on? Perhaps if Gaddis would put more effort into keeping the blood circulating to his brain instead of his penis, he’d have a clue.
I didn’t really like this book. It’s a fast-paced read and it kept me interested (although early on there is a good bit of Gaddis just sitting around listening to an old man tell stories about the super-hush-hush secret so that gets tedious), but novels about British and Russian spies from World War Two don’t seem all that relevant. Cumming doesn’t tie the big secret to modern political goings-on (other than the most bland and obvious of connections) and as I kept reading, I found myself thinking…so what? Nothing really happens in the book. Seriously. After all the wire-tapping and killing and running around and sneaking out of countries with no passport, pretty much nothing changes. Gaddis does learn the truth of the Big Secret, but he can’t really do anything with that knowledge except I also got irritated with Gaddis the Lothario. While he has one hottie waiting for him in the bedroom, he is eyeing up two others. Since the book is written in third person omniscient, you the reader also know that these women are interested in him. With the one woman, it is just a suggestive, “I’d like to get to know you better” glance, but the other woman, the spy, is engaged to another man, but still finds herself unwillingly drawn to Gaddis. Well, of course she is—he’s a chick-magnet! What young, desirable, intelligent, modern woman wouldn’t be drawn to a debt-ridden fortyish academic with Russians trying to kill him? C’mon, ladies! The queue (since this is a British novel) forms here. There is a particular series of scenes showing Gaddis at his most creepy and weird. The British spy, Tanya, has just used government spy resources without permission to extract Gaddis from Austria quickly before the Russians can kill him. She got him money, a fake passport, and two people to safely escort him back to London. Once there, Tanya retrieves him at the airport and takes him to her flat (again, without permission) to keep him safe until the Russian threat can be assessed. She’s done all this at great personal risk to herself and her career. So how does Gaddis respond? By creepily imaging that everything she’s doing is about having sex with him. It begins with them trying to get an old VHS machine to work to watch a videotape. “They knelt in front of the television. He could smell her perfume and wondered if she had applied more in the bedroom upstairs…Tanya laughed. Her knee was touching his and he was aware that she did not seem interested in moving it” (309). Ugh. After flipping through two videotapes looking for top secret information and not finding it, they are both exhausted but Gaddis says that Holly (his current bed warmer) must have more videotapes at her flat and he wants to call her. Tanya says no, don’t call her because her phone may be compromised and the Russians may be watching her. That makes sense, right? Here’s Gaddis’s reaction: “He wondered why Tanya’s mood had changed at the very mention of Holly’s name. Was she jealous? As the evening had drawn on, they had been as relaxed in each other’s company as lovers. Now she had offered him a stark, blunt reminder of his circumstances. He began to resent the power that she held over him” (311). He’s such a fucking creeper. This isn’t the first time he’s thought of them as lovers (even though they never are) and yeah, that’s why Tanya doesn’t want you to call Holly. She’s jealous. The fact that she just extracted your ass from Vienna because the Russians shot the guy you were talking to and were probably after you too doesn’t have anything to do with, right? So Gaddis is angry because she tells him not to leave the flat and not call his girlfriend. “He was amazed at how quickly their flirtatious rapport had evaporated; there had been several moments during the course of the evening when he had even entertained the possibility that they might spend the night together. Now Tanya seemed to be taunting him with the stark fact of his imprisonment” (312). Now he’s all pissy because not only can he not call his girlfriend, Tanya has decided that she can, after all, resist his overwhelming charm. So he’s snarky to her, drinks her whiskey, then stands outside her closed bedroom door: “There was a line of light under Tanya’s bedroom door. He thought of the pleasure, the blessed release of spending the night with her, but walked resignedly in the other direction, down the corridor towards Jeremy’s [the absent fiancé] study” (313). Gaddis is such an ungrateful, creepy asshole. He seems like one of those date rape type of guys, the “no means yes” guy. I’m surprised the author didn’t have Gaddis walking into Tanya’s bedroom and having sex with her anyway. I mean, they touched knees!
I don’t know if the author deliberately wrote his character to be such a douche, but he is. That’s probably the most disturbing (in terms of sexual creepiness) scene in the book, but Gaddis displays his idiocy and his callous disregard for others’ safety throughout the book. In the beginning, he has an excuse—he’s not a spy and he doesn’t realize how dangerous the information is that he’s seeking. But once there’s a trail of dead bodies and people following him, he should have a grip. But he blatantly ignores advice given to him, says he won’t do something then does it anyway, and basically behaves like a 4 year old running around with a very sharp knife. People keep telling him to put the knife down but he sticks out his tongue and keeps waving the knife around until people get hurt. He’s a jerk. Cummings does spend a certain amount of time trying to show how much he loves his young daughter, but it feels insincere, especially since he ditches the kid to go to Vienna to talk to a guy who didn’t want to talk. And then, because Gaddis is such a fuck-up (even though he should know better by this time),
So yeah, I didn’t like the book much. I’ll give it two stars for fast pacing and holding my attention, but it’s not all that well-written, Gaddis is a creepy douche, and when it’s done you think: what the fuck was the point of that? I have another Charles Cumming (but not Gaddis) book on my reading list. I may or may not read it. I added it because the NPR reviewer was panting heavily over the book and it sounded appealing (plus I’m a sucker for British thrillers). I’m curious to see if Cummings’ other male characters are creepy sex pervs or if Gaddis is just an exception. However, I will not buy it (as I did this one). I’ll get out my public library card.
This particular fortyish bad boy is Sam Gaddis, the main character of The Trinity Six, by Charles Cumming. He is a rumpled, debt-ridden academic with boyish good looks and charm (although I found him to be annoying and dickish) who stumbles upon one of the greatest kept spy secrets of the British government. While pursuing the truth of this secret, he manages to bed one hot young woman, makes a play at another (who is a spy) and admires a third (who he will keep an eye on because she may be susceptible to his creepy bad boy charm). Gaddis is also a major fuck-up who manages to get at least one person killed and puts many others’ lives in danger because he is, as I’ve said, a fuck-up. He knows he’s pursing a huge secret that neither the Russian government nor the British government want exposed yet seems surprised when people he talks to about this super-hush-hush secret keep turning up dead. Gee, I wonder what’s going on? Perhaps if Gaddis would put more effort into keeping the blood circulating to his brain instead of his penis, he’d have a clue.
I didn’t really like this book. It’s a fast-paced read and it kept me interested (although early on there is a good bit of Gaddis just sitting around listening to an old man tell stories about the super-hush-hush secret so that gets tedious), but novels about British and Russian spies from World War Two don’t seem all that relevant. Cumming doesn’t tie the big secret to modern political goings-on (other than the most bland and obvious of connections) and as I kept reading, I found myself thinking…so what? Nothing really happens in the book. Seriously. After all the wire-tapping and killing and running around and sneaking out of countries with no passport, pretty much nothing changes. Gaddis does learn the truth of the Big Secret, but he can’t really do anything with that knowledge except I also got irritated with Gaddis the Lothario. While he has one hottie waiting for him in the bedroom, he is eyeing up two others. Since the book is written in third person omniscient, you the reader also know that these women are interested in him. With the one woman, it is just a suggestive, “I’d like to get to know you better” glance, but the other woman, the spy, is engaged to another man, but still finds herself unwillingly drawn to Gaddis. Well, of course she is—he’s a chick-magnet! What young, desirable, intelligent, modern woman wouldn’t be drawn to a debt-ridden fortyish academic with Russians trying to kill him? C’mon, ladies! The queue (since this is a British novel) forms here. There is a particular series of scenes showing Gaddis at his most creepy and weird. The British spy, Tanya, has just used government spy resources without permission to extract Gaddis from Austria quickly before the Russians can kill him. She got him money, a fake passport, and two people to safely escort him back to London. Once there, Tanya retrieves him at the airport and takes him to her flat (again, without permission) to keep him safe until the Russian threat can be assessed. She’s done all this at great personal risk to herself and her career. So how does Gaddis respond? By creepily imaging that everything she’s doing is about having sex with him. It begins with them trying to get an old VHS machine to work to watch a videotape. “They knelt in front of the television. He could smell her perfume and wondered if she had applied more in the bedroom upstairs…Tanya laughed. Her knee was touching his and he was aware that she did not seem interested in moving it” (309). Ugh. After flipping through two videotapes looking for top secret information and not finding it, they are both exhausted but Gaddis says that Holly (his current bed warmer) must have more videotapes at her flat and he wants to call her. Tanya says no, don’t call her because her phone may be compromised and the Russians may be watching her. That makes sense, right? Here’s Gaddis’s reaction: “He wondered why Tanya’s mood had changed at the very mention of Holly’s name. Was she jealous? As the evening had drawn on, they had been as relaxed in each other’s company as lovers. Now she had offered him a stark, blunt reminder of his circumstances. He began to resent the power that she held over him” (311). He’s such a fucking creeper. This isn’t the first time he’s thought of them as lovers (even though they never are) and yeah, that’s why Tanya doesn’t want you to call Holly. She’s jealous. The fact that she just extracted your ass from Vienna because the Russians shot the guy you were talking to and were probably after you too doesn’t have anything to do with, right? So Gaddis is angry because she tells him not to leave the flat and not call his girlfriend. “He was amazed at how quickly their flirtatious rapport had evaporated; there had been several moments during the course of the evening when he had even entertained the possibility that they might spend the night together. Now Tanya seemed to be taunting him with the stark fact of his imprisonment” (312). Now he’s all pissy because not only can he not call his girlfriend, Tanya has decided that she can, after all, resist his overwhelming charm. So he’s snarky to her, drinks her whiskey, then stands outside her closed bedroom door: “There was a line of light under Tanya’s bedroom door. He thought of the pleasure, the blessed release of spending the night with her, but walked resignedly in the other direction, down the corridor towards Jeremy’s [the absent fiancé] study” (313). Gaddis is such an ungrateful, creepy asshole. He seems like one of those date rape type of guys, the “no means yes” guy. I’m surprised the author didn’t have Gaddis walking into Tanya’s bedroom and having sex with her anyway. I mean, they touched knees!
I don’t know if the author deliberately wrote his character to be such a douche, but he is. That’s probably the most disturbing (in terms of sexual creepiness) scene in the book, but Gaddis displays his idiocy and his callous disregard for others’ safety throughout the book. In the beginning, he has an excuse—he’s not a spy and he doesn’t realize how dangerous the information is that he’s seeking. But once there’s a trail of dead bodies and people following him, he should have a grip. But he blatantly ignores advice given to him, says he won’t do something then does it anyway, and basically behaves like a 4 year old running around with a very sharp knife. People keep telling him to put the knife down but he sticks out his tongue and keeps waving the knife around until people get hurt. He’s a jerk. Cummings does spend a certain amount of time trying to show how much he loves his young daughter, but it feels insincere, especially since he ditches the kid to go to Vienna to talk to a guy who didn’t want to talk. And then, because Gaddis is such a fuck-up (even though he should know better by this time),
So yeah, I didn’t like the book much. I’ll give it two stars for fast pacing and holding my attention, but it’s not all that well-written, Gaddis is a creepy douche, and when it’s done you think: what the fuck was the point of that? I have another Charles Cumming (but not Gaddis) book on my reading list. I may or may not read it. I added it because the NPR reviewer was panting heavily over the book and it sounded appealing (plus I’m a sucker for British thrillers). I’m curious to see if Cummings’ other male characters are creepy sex pervs or if Gaddis is just an exception. However, I will not buy it (as I did this one). I’ll get out my public library card.
December 28, 2014
I'm a bit astonished about the praise this book received. It's not total crap, but flawed in many ways. The writing style is not very elegant and absolutely humourless. Most annoyingly, Cumming likes to state the obvious again and again, explaining and interpreting everything that happens and is said, so the readers don't have to use their brains by themselves - it's almost insulting. This book has been written mainly for people who don't like to think on their own.
So fantastically clever as he apparantly thinks, Cumming isn't. I knew EVERYTHING after one third at the latest. It's perfectly clear who Neame is (is there anyone out there who didn't see that coming?), and it's also absolutely obvious who are the Goodies and who are the Baddies, what they have done, what they are doing and why. There is absolutely no mystery in this book at all.
Gaddis is an unconvincing hero, mostly boring and kind of stupid, unless all of a sudden he turns into James Bond and shoots a Russian killer. Oh yes - it's basically the noble and brave British against the evil, mendacious Russians. Great. It's like John le Carré never existed.
Maybe so many people were fooled by the book because it's full of detailed information about the Trinity affair and other stuff. Cumming has done a lot of research, but how good is it really? Living in Berlin myself, I noticed a lot of mistakes and misunderstandings during the time Gaddis spent there. Cumming stuffed those chapters full of street names to fake authenticity, but I didn't recognise the place. It may be the same with everything else in this book - who knows?
It's still readable and an acceptable book for a long train journey, I reckon. But since the largest part of the book consists of nothing but talking, you will probably lose patience quickly and skip to the ending as your arrrival station comes closer.
So fantastically clever as he apparantly thinks, Cumming isn't. I knew EVERYTHING after one third at the latest. It's perfectly clear who Neame is (is there anyone out there who didn't see that coming?), and it's also absolutely obvious who are the Goodies and who are the Baddies, what they have done, what they are doing and why. There is absolutely no mystery in this book at all.
Gaddis is an unconvincing hero, mostly boring and kind of stupid, unless all of a sudden he turns into James Bond and shoots a Russian killer. Oh yes - it's basically the noble and brave British against the evil, mendacious Russians. Great. It's like John le Carré never existed.
Maybe so many people were fooled by the book because it's full of detailed information about the Trinity affair and other stuff. Cumming has done a lot of research, but how good is it really? Living in Berlin myself, I noticed a lot of mistakes and misunderstandings during the time Gaddis spent there. Cumming stuffed those chapters full of street names to fake authenticity, but I didn't recognise the place. It may be the same with everything else in this book - who knows?
It's still readable and an acceptable book for a long train journey, I reckon. But since the largest part of the book consists of nothing but talking, you will probably lose patience quickly and skip to the ending as your arrrival station comes closer.
April 10, 2012
With my library copy and a few days off over the Easter period, this was a page turning and enjoyable read.
With not too much cerebral investment required by me, I met Dr Sam Gaddis and the other characters in this novel of spies, espionage and deception of a retired Secret Intelligence Service officer who being the undiscovered Sixth Man of the Cambridge Five (the real spy ring who were recruited by the Russians in WWII and the 1950s and who successfully in various guises passed information about the UK to the USSR), was continuing to be denied his moment in history by MI6.
In the main Charles Cumming's book and his characters were plausible (for a non-spook) and having read other leading thriller authors no more far-fetched. The meeting with a key person in Vienna, following Sam's ease of infiltrating (pun intended) the wedding, was perhaps too simple as was the events thereafter but not once did I groan or consider putting it down. In fact it was a great way to end a day at the beach, at an old castle or charging around the hills, and that is really all I ask of a "holiday" novel.
With not too much cerebral investment required by me, I met Dr Sam Gaddis and the other characters in this novel of spies, espionage and deception of a retired Secret Intelligence Service officer who being the undiscovered Sixth Man of the Cambridge Five (the real spy ring who were recruited by the Russians in WWII and the 1950s and who successfully in various guises passed information about the UK to the USSR), was continuing to be denied his moment in history by MI6.
In the main Charles Cumming's book and his characters were plausible (for a non-spook) and having read other leading thriller authors no more far-fetched. The meeting with a key person in Vienna, following Sam's ease of infiltrating (pun intended) the wedding, was perhaps too simple as was the events thereafter but not once did I groan or consider putting it down. In fact it was a great way to end a day at the beach, at an old castle or charging around the hills, and that is really all I ask of a "holiday" novel.
August 21, 2016
A tribute to wily 90 year-olds!
Sam Gaddis, a Russian scholar, is broke, but thinks he can write a best-selling book from research left by a journalist friend.
Before she unexpectedly dies, Gaddis’s friend, Charlotte Berg, confides she’s unearthed a possible sixth to a notorious 1930s ring of Cambridge-recruited Russian spies. Her source? Irascible Thomas Neame. He claims he’s the sixth man’s confidante, is ninety-one and hard to find. But Gaddis, aided by Charlotte’s notes, tracks Neame down in a nursing home, receives his story and likes what he hears.
More or less—for awhile, at least.
Happily, I faced no learning curve. I’d heard of this gang of traitors before (Philby, Burgess, Mclean et al.). Guy Burgess, especially, is vividly drawn in Michael Dobbs’ Winston’s War. What did come across, though, as kind of a stretch, was how deeply-in-debt, impoverish Sam could always come up with a wad of dough. (Three thousand pounds to pay off a source Charlotte had tapped before she died.)
Not that this stopped me from liking the book or secretly cheering Thomas Neame. Deprived of his freedom, passport and cash, he still outwits the M16—and wickedly gets the last word in the end.
Three and a half stars rounded up to four.
Sam Gaddis, a Russian scholar, is broke, but thinks he can write a best-selling book from research left by a journalist friend.
Before she unexpectedly dies, Gaddis’s friend, Charlotte Berg, confides she’s unearthed a possible sixth to a notorious 1930s ring of Cambridge-recruited Russian spies. Her source? Irascible Thomas Neame. He claims he’s the sixth man’s confidante, is ninety-one and hard to find. But Gaddis, aided by Charlotte’s notes, tracks Neame down in a nursing home, receives his story and likes what he hears.
More or less—for awhile, at least.
Happily, I faced no learning curve. I’d heard of this gang of traitors before (Philby, Burgess, Mclean et al.). Guy Burgess, especially, is vividly drawn in Michael Dobbs’ Winston’s War. What did come across, though, as kind of a stretch, was how deeply-in-debt, impoverish Sam could always come up with a wad of dough. (Three thousand pounds to pay off a source Charlotte had tapped before she died.)
Not that this stopped me from liking the book or secretly cheering Thomas Neame. Deprived of his freedom, passport and cash, he still outwits the M16—and wickedly gets the last word in the end.
Three and a half stars rounded up to four.
January 6, 2020
I’ve always been intrigued by the UK’s Cambridge Five. My local Bookstore owner didn’t have a good non-fiction on hand for the subject, but instead recommended “The Trinity Six” - a “what if” fictional mystery about a sixth Cambridge spy.
I hadn’t read a good spy novel in many years, and this book makes me excited to continue with the genre once again.
I hadn’t read a good spy novel in many years, and this book makes me excited to continue with the genre once again.
February 22, 2011
The film “The Third Man”, the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (or KGB as it’s widely known in the West) and Katarina Witt all have something in common – although the latter is a tenuous link at best, they are all mentioned in Charles Cumming’s “Trinity Six” – a tale of spies, political skullduggery, cold war secrets and a Russian expert hell-bent on discovering an intriguing truth that has remained a secret for decades.
Full Review on my blog:- http://www.milorambles.com/2011/02/22...
Way back in the late 80’s I was visiting a friend of mine in California – a US Marine (Ooh-rah)– and I remember calling him a few days before the flight and mentioned I was after a book that had been banned in the UK called “Spycatcher” by Peter Wright – ex MI5 assistant director and operative - who had sold his soul and secrets to make a fast buck. Having secured a copy in the US I remember gorging on the secrets and Wright’s public outing of Sir Roger Hollis who he claimed was a double agent – although this was later disproved. (I still have a copy in my study gathering dust!)
“Spycatcher” was my first introduction to a world of conspiracy and chicanery igniting an interest in all matters espionage in me that has lasted ever since – I can’t get enough of tales of “The Cambridge Five”, undercover operatives in the war, double agents and the ramifications of their actions. Harper Collins recently released “Trinity Six” where Charles Cumming runs with the assumption that not only were there five spies in Cambridge, all discovered by Arnold Deutsch, but adds another for luck – the supposition that there was another double agent allows Cumming to run riot and deliver a breathtaking story that you will never want to end – I know I didn’t!
“Europe is still littered with the darkest secrets of the Cold War. And the most deadly revelation of them all is about to be made…
Hard-up Russia expert Dr Sam Gaddis finally has a lead for a book that could set his career back on track. He has staggering new information about an unknown sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring – a man who has evaded detection for his entire life.
But when his source suddenly dies, Gaddis is left with just shreds of his investigation, and no idea that he is already in too deep. He is threatened, betrayed, hunted – and alone. To get his life back, he must scour a continent still laced with lies to find the truth behind the “Trinity Six”.
Both Moscow and MI6 will use everything in their power to keep their fragile peace intact. But why murder people to hide secrets that should by now be history? Gaddis starts to understand – far too late – that he is closing in on a discovery that will shake Europe to its foundations…”
Trinity Six had me gripped from the very first chapter. The narrative is so slick that I never once wanted to put the book down – forget food, forget drink – I just wanted to know what would happen to the dogged and determined Sam Gaddis. A likeable chap who is struggling to make ends meet – he isn’t your typical espionage hero – in fact Cumming has made a point of making him an “ordinary” but intelligent intellectual. He isn’t suave, he isn’t debonair – he’s a down to earth guy, heavily in debt, fighting for his beliefs and protecting those he loves and has loved.
Full Review on my blog:- http://www.milorambles.com/2011/02/22...
Way back in the late 80’s I was visiting a friend of mine in California – a US Marine (Ooh-rah)– and I remember calling him a few days before the flight and mentioned I was after a book that had been banned in the UK called “Spycatcher” by Peter Wright – ex MI5 assistant director and operative - who had sold his soul and secrets to make a fast buck. Having secured a copy in the US I remember gorging on the secrets and Wright’s public outing of Sir Roger Hollis who he claimed was a double agent – although this was later disproved. (I still have a copy in my study gathering dust!)
“Spycatcher” was my first introduction to a world of conspiracy and chicanery igniting an interest in all matters espionage in me that has lasted ever since – I can’t get enough of tales of “The Cambridge Five”, undercover operatives in the war, double agents and the ramifications of their actions. Harper Collins recently released “Trinity Six” where Charles Cumming runs with the assumption that not only were there five spies in Cambridge, all discovered by Arnold Deutsch, but adds another for luck – the supposition that there was another double agent allows Cumming to run riot and deliver a breathtaking story that you will never want to end – I know I didn’t!
“Europe is still littered with the darkest secrets of the Cold War. And the most deadly revelation of them all is about to be made…
Hard-up Russia expert Dr Sam Gaddis finally has a lead for a book that could set his career back on track. He has staggering new information about an unknown sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring – a man who has evaded detection for his entire life.
But when his source suddenly dies, Gaddis is left with just shreds of his investigation, and no idea that he is already in too deep. He is threatened, betrayed, hunted – and alone. To get his life back, he must scour a continent still laced with lies to find the truth behind the “Trinity Six”.
Both Moscow and MI6 will use everything in their power to keep their fragile peace intact. But why murder people to hide secrets that should by now be history? Gaddis starts to understand – far too late – that he is closing in on a discovery that will shake Europe to its foundations…”
Trinity Six had me gripped from the very first chapter. The narrative is so slick that I never once wanted to put the book down – forget food, forget drink – I just wanted to know what would happen to the dogged and determined Sam Gaddis. A likeable chap who is struggling to make ends meet – he isn’t your typical espionage hero – in fact Cumming has made a point of making him an “ordinary” but intelligent intellectual. He isn’t suave, he isn’t debonair – he’s a down to earth guy, heavily in debt, fighting for his beliefs and protecting those he loves and has loved.
August 13, 2020
A dear friend recommended this to me, so I was thrilled to dive in.
Unfortunately, I wasn't so thrilled by actually reading it.
The setting is interesting, as are the historical elements. I love Cold War history and so reading about the Cambridge Five was fascinating. I'm also a bit of a Russophile - I'll admit to having read almost every major book on post-Communist politics in Russia. It's obvious that Cumming has done his homework.
However, the book itself is beset by a few problems.
Firstly, it's poorly paced. By the halfway mark, barely anything had happened. It should have started from that point. The first half is a long slog. I recognise that a political-historical thriller needs to percolate and do some exposition, but he could have combined it with some action.
Second of all, the main character is a bit wet. Not wet in a, charming-and-not-your-usual-hero kind of way, but just in a rather... well, he's a bit of a snob and I didn't like him at all. I think you're supposed to. He's not a Jack Reacher type or a clever spy type. He's a stuffy academic who spends most of the book whinging about how poor he is.
I understand that's the initial plot motive (academic in desperate need of a moneyed book deal uncovers untold secrets about Cambridge spy ring), but to be frank it's hard to sympathise with the financial woes of a tenured academic at a prestigious university who owns his own flat in central London whilst buying wine and fags on every page. It's like the uni friend who complains about how poor they are whilst going out every night. It's not done in a dissolute libertine way, either - the main character is an utterly charmless whinger. I can't even remember his name.
But I think the worst part of this book is the way he talks about women. For a book only published in 2011, it's jarring to have to read about the attractiveness of every single female character. Even the strictly platonic old friend (a ex-war correspondent) is described in terms of her looks (she's ugly, by the way, because she's damaged goods). The romantic interests are half the main character's age (was his name Mary Sue?) and have little to distinguish them beyond fetishes (brown skin for one, leather boots for another).
You get the impression that Charles Cumming doesn't mix with the lower classes much. Every character in this book who isn't a journalist, celebrated historian, MI6 agent or other generic private school type either cannot string two sensible thoughts together beyond school playground levels of greed... or they smell. Literally.
I wanted to like this book. A dear friend told me it was fantastic. I trust their judgement usually, but this isn't worth reading. I would be willing to overlook the stinky proles or pert-breasted young women if it was a real pageturner (let's be honest: we all overlook some clunky social values if it's a ripping read), but it's not. It's actually quite dull.
If you want clunky class values from the old boys club and a thrilling spy story, go for John lé Carre. This is a poor imitation. It gets two stars because Cumming has done his research, which I do appreciate.
Unfortunately, I wasn't so thrilled by actually reading it.
The setting is interesting, as are the historical elements. I love Cold War history and so reading about the Cambridge Five was fascinating. I'm also a bit of a Russophile - I'll admit to having read almost every major book on post-Communist politics in Russia. It's obvious that Cumming has done his homework.
However, the book itself is beset by a few problems.
Firstly, it's poorly paced. By the halfway mark, barely anything had happened. It should have started from that point. The first half is a long slog. I recognise that a political-historical thriller needs to percolate and do some exposition, but he could have combined it with some action.
Second of all, the main character is a bit wet. Not wet in a, charming-and-not-your-usual-hero kind of way, but just in a rather... well, he's a bit of a snob and I didn't like him at all. I think you're supposed to. He's not a Jack Reacher type or a clever spy type. He's a stuffy academic who spends most of the book whinging about how poor he is.
I understand that's the initial plot motive (academic in desperate need of a moneyed book deal uncovers untold secrets about Cambridge spy ring), but to be frank it's hard to sympathise with the financial woes of a tenured academic at a prestigious university who owns his own flat in central London whilst buying wine and fags on every page. It's like the uni friend who complains about how poor they are whilst going out every night. It's not done in a dissolute libertine way, either - the main character is an utterly charmless whinger. I can't even remember his name.
But I think the worst part of this book is the way he talks about women. For a book only published in 2011, it's jarring to have to read about the attractiveness of every single female character. Even the strictly platonic old friend (a ex-war correspondent) is described in terms of her looks (she's ugly, by the way, because she's damaged goods). The romantic interests are half the main character's age (was his name Mary Sue?) and have little to distinguish them beyond fetishes (brown skin for one, leather boots for another).
You get the impression that Charles Cumming doesn't mix with the lower classes much. Every character in this book who isn't a journalist, celebrated historian, MI6 agent or other generic private school type either cannot string two sensible thoughts together beyond school playground levels of greed... or they smell. Literally.
I wanted to like this book. A dear friend told me it was fantastic. I trust their judgement usually, but this isn't worth reading. I would be willing to overlook the stinky proles or pert-breasted young women if it was a real pageturner (let's be honest: we all overlook some clunky social values if it's a ripping read), but it's not. It's actually quite dull.
If you want clunky class values from the old boys club and a thrilling spy story, go for John lé Carre. This is a poor imitation. It gets two stars because Cumming has done his research, which I do appreciate.
February 25, 2015
An extremely good Cold War thriller set in the present day when our protagonist, a British professor, finds himself investigating claims surrounding the classic Cambridge affair and the Cold War decades afterwards. It seems that there are still people out there who don't particularly like the fact that he's doing research and dredging up old stories, but who's trying to kill him and those close to him? In today's thriller world, most geopolitical thrillers involve Muslim extremists, and for good reason, but it was a blast here to get something of a flashback to the glory days of the likes of Ludlum and Le Carre, when the Russians were the bad guys and the global stakes were huge. This was a joy to read and fun from start to finish. It was full of good characters, starting with the protagonist and carrying through to the "retired" spies and the new breed of spies who have replaced them. And then there are the bad guys, of course. The story was good, as well, and I had no complaints with the pacing, which seems to be a rarity for me these days. Really, the only beef I had was in the fact that there really weren't any last-minute plot twists, or anything. In that sense, you could have pretty much figured out where this was all headed when you were about halfway to two-thirds of the way through it. An eleventh-hour surprise or two could have lifted this one to five-star status, but instead it's "just" a very solid four.
January 26, 2011
Comparisons and marketing can often hurt a book more that help it. The Trinity Six is a case in point. When you start comparing a book to LeCarre's Karla Trilogy, you start raising the bar pretty high - and it's a bar set too high for Charles Cumming's somewhat perfunctory thriller. If anything, this feels more Dan Brown than Len Deighton, with a professor protagonist, huge swaths of poorly-disguised exposition and backgrounding, and a series of twists and turns always laid out in the last sentence of a chapter.
Honestly, as the novel wore on and the comparisons wore off, I warmed to The Trinity Six. There are a number of characters and relationships that start in cliche, but then grow into a life of their own. Had I encountered this in mass market paperback at a checkout stand, I may have reacted with pleasant surprise. It's a fun romp that occasionally breaks out of the airport paperback mold, but only occasionally.
(This is an Advanced Readers Edition I received through a Goodreads Giveaway.)
Honestly, as the novel wore on and the comparisons wore off, I warmed to The Trinity Six. There are a number of characters and relationships that start in cliche, but then grow into a life of their own. Had I encountered this in mass market paperback at a checkout stand, I may have reacted with pleasant surprise. It's a fun romp that occasionally breaks out of the airport paperback mold, but only occasionally.
(This is an Advanced Readers Edition I received through a Goodreads Giveaway.)
November 28, 2013
The fact that the book has only two stars from me is because I struggled to come to terms with fact and fiction.
'The Trinity Six' begins by outlining what Burgess, MacLean, Blunt, Philby and Cairncross had been up to so was quite gripping. It then drifted to fiction, which in fairness it is and doesn't claim to be anything else, when Sam Gaddis appeared and, hard up, he wanted to make some money by exposing the sixth member of the Cambridge group. And he went to any sort of length to get the truth.
Yes, there are moments of excitement as Gaddis and his various lady friends wander around Europe in an attempt to get to the truth but overall it rather left me cold, with the ending particularly disappointing.
'The Trinity Six' begins by outlining what Burgess, MacLean, Blunt, Philby and Cairncross had been up to so was quite gripping. It then drifted to fiction, which in fairness it is and doesn't claim to be anything else, when Sam Gaddis appeared and, hard up, he wanted to make some money by exposing the sixth member of the Cambridge group. And he went to any sort of length to get the truth.
Yes, there are moments of excitement as Gaddis and his various lady friends wander around Europe in an attempt to get to the truth but overall it rather left me cold, with the ending particularly disappointing.
January 26, 2012
A quotation from a review in the UK Sunday newspaper The Observer on the inside front cover of the paperback edition of this book compares its author with Len Deighton and John le Carre, and states that he is a natural successor to both those giants of recent espionage fiction. However, on the evidence of The Trinity Six, which is the first novel by Charles Cumming that I have read, I think the author is actually carrying on where Eric Ambler left off. A typical Ambler hero is an ordinary person such as an engineer or minor industrialist who becomes unwittingly involved in circumstances and the activities of secret agents that are completely beyond his control and experience, usually in East Europe - perhaps what was then known as The Balkans - in the 1930s. That scenario is very similar to the one in The Trinity Six, the only difference being that the latter takes place in more recent times.
Dr Sam Gaddis is an academic, author and Russian expert. He needs money to pay his daughter's school fees in Spain and to clear his burgeoning bank overdraft. Through a close friend who is a broadsheet newspaper journalist, he becomes aware of a Cold War story with high-profile political implications that provides potential material for a best-selling book. The information concerned relates to the possibility that there was a sixth member of the notorious Cambridge spy ring of the 1930s onwards whose known members were Burgess, Philby, MacLean, Blunt and Cairncross. Burgess and his cronies were recruited as Soviet agents while studying at Trinity Hall and Trinity College, Cambridge. The possibility that there was a further accomplice gives the novel its title. When Gaddis's friend and informant dies, he decides to proceed with the research for his book and, as a consequence, becomes embroiled in a series of potentially deadly exploits in a world that is known for its half-truths, double dealing and secrecy. The disclosure of the secret at the root of these events is likely to have widespread political ramifications throughout Europe and indeed the rest of the world.
The Trinity Six is an enjoyable and readable novel. It can reasonably be described as a book of two halves. The first describes the activities of espionage in a quiet, understated manner and is centred on Gaddis's discussions with an elderly ex-secret agent who is living anonymously in retirement. The second half of the book is much more a rollercoaster ride of thrills, adventure, murder and mayhem as the action flits between Moscow, Vienna, Barcelona and London. Few readers will have any personal experience of the activities of secret service agents. I have none whatsoever. But, given that Charles Cumming has worked for the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), it is probably reasonable to assume that the events he describes have an air of authenticity about them. Whether that is the case or not, this novel is undoubtedly a page-turner, with good characterisation and enough hooks and plot twists to keep the reader guessing and to encourage him or her to read on. It does perhaps rely a little too much on coincidence and plot contrivance. I was not convinced, for example, by the ease with which Gaddis is successfully able to gatecrash a wedding party in Vienna. There are a few other implausibilities of that sort but all in all The Trinity Six is a good, solid read that will please anyone who enjoys reading spy fiction. 7/10.
Dr Sam Gaddis is an academic, author and Russian expert. He needs money to pay his daughter's school fees in Spain and to clear his burgeoning bank overdraft. Through a close friend who is a broadsheet newspaper journalist, he becomes aware of a Cold War story with high-profile political implications that provides potential material for a best-selling book. The information concerned relates to the possibility that there was a sixth member of the notorious Cambridge spy ring of the 1930s onwards whose known members were Burgess, Philby, MacLean, Blunt and Cairncross. Burgess and his cronies were recruited as Soviet agents while studying at Trinity Hall and Trinity College, Cambridge. The possibility that there was a further accomplice gives the novel its title. When Gaddis's friend and informant dies, he decides to proceed with the research for his book and, as a consequence, becomes embroiled in a series of potentially deadly exploits in a world that is known for its half-truths, double dealing and secrecy. The disclosure of the secret at the root of these events is likely to have widespread political ramifications throughout Europe and indeed the rest of the world.
The Trinity Six is an enjoyable and readable novel. It can reasonably be described as a book of two halves. The first describes the activities of espionage in a quiet, understated manner and is centred on Gaddis's discussions with an elderly ex-secret agent who is living anonymously in retirement. The second half of the book is much more a rollercoaster ride of thrills, adventure, murder and mayhem as the action flits between Moscow, Vienna, Barcelona and London. Few readers will have any personal experience of the activities of secret service agents. I have none whatsoever. But, given that Charles Cumming has worked for the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), it is probably reasonable to assume that the events he describes have an air of authenticity about them. Whether that is the case or not, this novel is undoubtedly a page-turner, with good characterisation and enough hooks and plot twists to keep the reader guessing and to encourage him or her to read on. It does perhaps rely a little too much on coincidence and plot contrivance. I was not convinced, for example, by the ease with which Gaddis is successfully able to gatecrash a wedding party in Vienna. There are a few other implausibilities of that sort but all in all The Trinity Six is a good, solid read that will please anyone who enjoys reading spy fiction. 7/10.
April 6, 2017
Much of the latter-day literature of espionage is based, directly or indirectly, on the notorious “Cambridge Five” — young, bright Cambridge men seduced by the lure of Communism as undergraduates during the tumultuous 1930s who spied for the Soviet Union during World War II. Their defection to the USSR following the war created what was arguably the greatest spy scandal in modern history. For many years thereafter, rumors of a “sixth man” continued to roil the waters of the British Secret Intelligence Service. The Trinity Six relates an ingenious story about that sixth man and his longer and even more consequential career.
The protagonist of this tightly written novel is an English scholar of Soviet and modern Russian history named Sam Gaddis. Heavily in debt and under pressure from his ex-wife for more money to support their daughter, Gaddis finds himself facing what seems the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to learn the truth about the sixth man and publish a best-seller that will cure his financial troubles once and for all. The problem is, nearly everyone Sam talks to ends up dead — and Sam soon finds himself in desperate flight from their killers.
The Trinity Six abounds with tension and offers up enough surprises along the way to satisfy a jaded reader of genre fiction. However, like most other spy stories, this book raises a familiar question: why are all the women beautiful? Surely, any Hollywood producer willing to option the novel for the screen could cast the film version any way he wishes!
The Trinity Six is the fourth of Charles Cumming’s spy novels. The first, A Spy by Nature, loosely based on his recruitment by MI6, appeared in 2001.
(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)
The protagonist of this tightly written novel is an English scholar of Soviet and modern Russian history named Sam Gaddis. Heavily in debt and under pressure from his ex-wife for more money to support their daughter, Gaddis finds himself facing what seems the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to learn the truth about the sixth man and publish a best-seller that will cure his financial troubles once and for all. The problem is, nearly everyone Sam talks to ends up dead — and Sam soon finds himself in desperate flight from their killers.
The Trinity Six abounds with tension and offers up enough surprises along the way to satisfy a jaded reader of genre fiction. However, like most other spy stories, this book raises a familiar question: why are all the women beautiful? Surely, any Hollywood producer willing to option the novel for the screen could cast the film version any way he wishes!
The Trinity Six is the fourth of Charles Cumming’s spy novels. The first, A Spy by Nature, loosely based on his recruitment by MI6, appeared in 2001.
(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)
June 27, 2013
So, Hannah and Kate having made me dive into my first spy thriller with the wonderful “A Foreign Country” by the same author, were kind enough to send me a copy of one of his other novels “The Trinity Six” Yes I love those girls! Because this was absolutely superb once again.
Sam Gaddis, Academic, needing money after facing rising childcare costs and a huge tax bill, is searching around for a story that he can turn into a book. He stumbles onto the possibility of a sixth spy, hidden from history, involved with the so called Cambridge Spy Ring…and falls into an adventure beyond his wildest imagination. With people dying all around him, it turns into a desperate race against time to uncover the truth of the matter and save himself from harm. Twists and turns abound – I was surprised every step of the way and the story was intensely exciting.
Sam was a great character – kind of tumbling from one disaster to the next but still with a practical head on his shoulders. Caught between two beautiful women, neither of which are good for him it seems, I loved his attempts to get some kind of order to the chaos he found himself in. The resolution was satisfying and the whole novel is peppered with terrific supporting characters all of whom have their own quirks.
I never really thought I would enjoy books of this nature. I’m fairly convinced that it is because Mr Cumming is such a good writer – he has inspired me to try some John Le Carre who I’m told by those in the know is also quite good at this sort of thing. I will certainly be reading more from Charles Cumming as well. Because who DOESNT love a good adventure. Happy Reading!
Sam Gaddis, Academic, needing money after facing rising childcare costs and a huge tax bill, is searching around for a story that he can turn into a book. He stumbles onto the possibility of a sixth spy, hidden from history, involved with the so called Cambridge Spy Ring…and falls into an adventure beyond his wildest imagination. With people dying all around him, it turns into a desperate race against time to uncover the truth of the matter and save himself from harm. Twists and turns abound – I was surprised every step of the way and the story was intensely exciting.
Sam was a great character – kind of tumbling from one disaster to the next but still with a practical head on his shoulders. Caught between two beautiful women, neither of which are good for him it seems, I loved his attempts to get some kind of order to the chaos he found himself in. The resolution was satisfying and the whole novel is peppered with terrific supporting characters all of whom have their own quirks.
I never really thought I would enjoy books of this nature. I’m fairly convinced that it is because Mr Cumming is such a good writer – he has inspired me to try some John Le Carre who I’m told by those in the know is also quite good at this sort of thing. I will certainly be reading more from Charles Cumming as well. Because who DOESNT love a good adventure. Happy Reading!
July 7, 2012
At the heart of The Trinity Six are two compelling premises: that there was a sixth Cambridge-recruited Russian spy working at the heart of British intelligence, and that Platov (a thinly disguised Putin) has a dark secret that would topple him and which needs protecting at any cost. The plot cleverly twists these in and around each other, providing a compelling reason for the danger in Gaddis’ investigation. The novel unfolds as a pretty conventional spy thriller (including Gaddis bedding a much younger woman that seems to be a staple trope of the genre), told in fairly workmanlike prose, unlike the more understated and literary spy stories of Le Carre or Furst. The result is a page-turner, with a number of feints, twists and turns, and a nice building of intrigue and tension. The characterization is nicely observed, if a little clichéd, and Gaddis makes a decent lead as man increasingly out of his depth, trying to use spy tricks picked up from research and popular culture to take on professional spooks. Overall, an entertaining read, with a well constructed plot.
July 9, 2012
I'm a huge Le Carré fan and enjoy British secret service shenanigans, moles, deceptions and the like. Charles Cumming mixes in the real history of Philby, Bland and the other Trinity Five traitors with his fictitious tale of a possibly secret sixth participant in the counterspy episode. It is a quick-reading novel that I read at bedtime and found myself staying up later and later to find out the important part of any book -- the "what happens next" part.
The protagonist, Sam Gaddis, is a professor of Russian History at University College or London who becomes enmeshed in a a series of mysterious deaths related to knowledge of the possibility of a sixth turncoat. He, too, becomes a target being sought by the Russians as well as MI6. The telling is straight-forward and from Gaddis' POV. Unlike some thrillers in the genre, Trinity Six does not bog down in too much dark inner-workings of the British Secret Intelligence Service, so following along is easier than many.
The protagonist, Sam Gaddis, is a professor of Russian History at University College or London who becomes enmeshed in a a series of mysterious deaths related to knowledge of the possibility of a sixth turncoat. He, too, becomes a target being sought by the Russians as well as MI6. The telling is straight-forward and from Gaddis' POV. Unlike some thrillers in the genre, Trinity Six does not bog down in too much dark inner-workings of the British Secret Intelligence Service, so following along is easier than many.
April 18, 2014
The Trinity Six reads like the work of an author who has read a lot of espionage stories without conveying a sense of really knowing it from the inside. No amount of research into the names of streets in Berlin or railway stations in Hungary can compensate for this absence of authentic knowledge. Credulity struggles to accept staff of the Secret Intelligence Services in London frequently referring to each other as "spies."
The writing is at best competent, the characterisation superficial and structure perfunctory; without revealing much it can be said that near the end when it become necessary to transport the protagonist from Vienna to London, several chapters can be skipped with no loss whatsoever.
Attempts at adding details the author seems to feel sophisticated - names of wines, classical music items - are seriously undermined by the suggestion that guests at a fairly ritzy wedding in Vienna should sit down to a wedding breakfast of Wienerschnitzels!
The writing is at best competent, the characterisation superficial and structure perfunctory; without revealing much it can be said that near the end when it become necessary to transport the protagonist from Vienna to London, several chapters can be skipped with no loss whatsoever.
Attempts at adding details the author seems to feel sophisticated - names of wines, classical music items - are seriously undermined by the suggestion that guests at a fairly ritzy wedding in Vienna should sit down to a wedding breakfast of Wienerschnitzels!
July 27, 2011
A modern Le Carre - maybe better. If you like spy thrillers try Cumming - all of his books are exellent.
Read
March 11, 2019DNF. I tried with this one, maybe it was the narrator because his voice was so monotonous it sent me to sleep. So boring. Almost halfway and can’t give it more than two stars.
October 23, 2011
Hmm not convinced and only on p56
December 22, 2012
Sam Gaddis ist Professor für russische Geschichte am angesehenen University College London und hat sich durch seine Veröffentlichungen einen Ruf als ausgesprochener Russlandexperte erarbeitet. Dazu zählt auch sein neuestes Buch “Zaren”, in dem Gaddis einen Vergleich zwischen Peter den Großen und dem derzeitigen russischen Präsidenten Sergej Platow zieht. Allerdings wird das Werk trotz der Reputation seines Autors von der Presse weitestgehend vernachlässigt und bleibt auch kommerziell hinter den Erwartungen seines Verlages. Dabei kann der Historiker derzeit jeden Penny gut gebrauchen, denn von der britischen Einkommenssteuerbehörde flattert ihm ein Schreiben ins Haus, in dem eine Steuerschuld von über 20.000 Pfund angemahnt wird. Außerdem fordert seine von ihm getrennt lebende Ehefrau wieder einmal Geld für die gemeinsame Tochter, da die Schulkosten enorm angestiegen seien.
Ein Geschichtsprofessor in Geldnöten auf der Suche nach einem Bestseller
Sam Gaddis braucht also mal wieder einen richtigen Bestseller, doch leider hat er gerade kein spannendes Thema zur Hand, das genug Potenzial für einen aufsehenerregenden Enthüllungsroman bietet. Da trifft es sich gut, dass seine langjährige Freundin Charlotte, eine erfolgreiche Journalistin, genau zu diesem Zeitpunkt ein richtig heißes Eisen in der Hinterhand hat. Ihr liegen nämlich Dokumente vor, aus denen hervorgeht, dass der berüchtigte Spionagering der Cambridge Five zur Zeit des Zweiten Weltkrieges nicht nur aus fünf, sondern aus sechs abtrünnigen Agenten des britischen Geheimdienstes bestanden hat. Sollte sich dieser Verdacht bewahrheiten und es tatsächlich noch einen sechsten russischen Spion des KGB gegeben haben, wäre dies eine absolute Sensation – und für Sam Gaddis die große Chance auf den dringend benötigten Bestseller…
Basierend auf dem berüchtigten Spionagering der “Cambridge Five”
Hinter der Bezeichnung “Cambridge Five” verbirgt sich ein ehemaliger Spionagering des KGB innerhalb des britischen Geheimdienstes MI5. Die fünf Mitglieder Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt und John Cairncross wurden in den 1930er Jahren während ihres Studiums am Trinity College der Universität Cambridge von den Russen angeworben und versorgten diese bis in die 1950er hinein mit vertraulichen Informationen. Durch diesen Verrat stürzten die Spione den britischen Geheimdienst in eine tiefe Krise und bis zum heutigen Tage halten sich Gerüchte um weitere Mitglieder des Spionagerings. Als dem britischen Autor Charles Cumming von einer Freundin unveröffentlichte Dokumente über Anthony Blunt ausgehändigt wurden, brachte ihn dies auf die Idee zu seinem neuen Roman “Die Trinity Verschwörung”. Was wäre, wenn er in diesen Aufzeichnungen Hinweise auf ein sechstes “Cambridge Five”-Mitglied gefunden hätte, dessen Verrat bis heute unentdeckt geblieben ist?
Das Geheimnis um einen ominösen sechsten KGB-Spion
Somit überrascht es nicht, dass sich die Hauptfigur des Buches, der Geschichtsprofessor Sam Gaddis, zu Beginn der Handlung genau in dieser Situation befindet. Aufgrund von ein paar gefloppten Veröffentlichungen, Steuerschulden und ausstehenden Unterhaltszahlungen befindet sich Gaddis in akuten Geldnöten und braucht dringend eine Idee für eine spektakuläre Enthüllungsstory, die seine leere Finanzkasse wieder etwas auffüllt. Da kommt das Angebot seiner Journalistenfreundin Charlotte, ein Buch über einen möglichen sechsten Mann des Spionagerings zu schreiben, natürlich gerade richtig. Bevor ihn Charlotte jedoch in ihre Recherchen näher einweihen kann, erliegt sie in ihrem Haus einem plötzlichen Herzinfarkt. Für Gaddis ist der Verlust seiner langjährigen Freundin ein Schock, zumal er damit auch die Hoffnungen auf den Bestseller begraben kann. Glücklicherweise bekommt er vom Witwer der Toten jedoch deren Unterlagen ausgehändigt und kann sich doch noch mit vollem Einsatz in seine Nachforschungen stürzen. Was wusste Charlotte über den sechsten Mann und wer waren ihre Informanten?
Was Sam Gaddis nicht weiß: Charlotte starb nicht an einem Herzinfarkt – was aufgrund ihres ungesunden Lebensstils gar nicht mal so unwahrscheinlich gewesen wäre –, sondern wurde von einem Auftragskiller gezielt ausgeschaltet. Hier ist der Hörer der Hauptfigur einen Schritt voraus und ahnt daher schon, dass sich Gaddis mit seinen Recherchen aller Voraussicht nach in große Gefahr bringen wird. Irgendjemand scheint ein gesteigertes Interesse daran zu haben, dass das Mysterium um ein sechstes Mitglied der “Cambridge Five” auch tatsächlich ein Geheimnis bleibt. Von dieser Erkenntnis ist der Protagonist allerdings noch ein Stück entfernt, denn Sam Gaddis muss zunächst einmal mühsam die Spuren seiner gestorbenen/getöteten Freundin zurückverfolgen, um an weitere Informationen zu gelangen.
Wenig Action, viel Recherche
Wer von “Die Trinity-Verschwörung” also einen actionreichen Agententhriller im Stil von James Bond oder “Mission: Impossible” erwartet, der ist mit Cummings Roman überwiegend auf dem falschen Dampfer. Über weite Strecken ist das Buch ein waschechter Polit- und Journalismus-Thriller: Dokumente müssen auf Hinweise durchgearbeitet, Zeugen ausfindig gemacht und befragt sowie kleinste Puzzleteile mühsam zusammengesetzt werden. Dabei wirkt Cummings Geschichte zu jeder Zeit glaubwürdig und realitätsnah, wofür auch Bezüge auf die aktuelle Weltpolitik sorgen. So ist beispielsweise die Ähnlichkeit zwischen dem fiktionalen russischen Präsidenten Sergej Platow und dem realen Vorbild Wladimir Putin mehr als offensichtlich. Außerdem hat Charles Cumming bei der Recherche für sein Buch viele Gespräche mit ehemaligen oder aktiven Geheimdienstmitarbeitern des MI5 oder MI6 geführt. Interessant ist hierbei auch die Tatsache, dass der Autor 1995 selbst vom britischen Secret Intelligence Service kontaktiert wurde und auch an einem längeren Auswahlverfahren für potenzielle Mitarbeiter teilgenommen hat.
Spannende Geschichte nach dem klassischen Schema
Damit die Story aber bei dem ganzen Papierkram und Zeugenbefragungen nicht allzu dröge gerät, hat Cumming sein Werk mit den gängigen Agententhriller-Zutaten gehörig aufgepeppt. So macht die Hauptfigur im Verlauf der Handlung u.a. Bekanntschaft mit skrupellosen Auftragskillern, raffinierten Doppelagenten oder der obligatorischen Verschwörung und muss sich permanent vor unsichtbaren Verfolgern in Acht nehmen. Dass der Autor dabei zuweilen auch auf die beliebten Klischees zurückgreift und zum Beispiel Informanten genau in dem Moment ausgeschaltet werden, im dem sie Gaddis geheime Informationen anvertrauen wollten, fällt dabei nicht negativ ins Gewicht, sondern sorgt eher für willkommenen Nervenkitzel. Überdies ist die Story clever konstruiert und packend geschrieben, wenngleich Cummings manches Geheimnis vielleicht ein wenig zu früh lüftet. Das gleicht er aber auf der anderen Seite durch eine sympathische Hauptfigur aus, die von einem erfahrenen Agenten doch recht weit entfernt ist und mit den auf ihn einstürzenden Ereignissen schon auch etwas überfordert ist – schließlich ist Gaddis normalerweise in einem Hörsaal zuhause und nicht in tödlichen Verfolgungsjagden. Mit diesem “Normalo” kann man sich als Hörer wunderbar identifizieren, zumal der Professor immer wieder auf semi-professionelle Tricks aus Agentenromanen oder Fernsehserien zurückgreift, um beispielsweise seine Verfolger abzuschütteln.
Der Sprecher:
Ich hatte bei “Die Trinity Verschwörung” eine Weile überlegt, ob ich auf das Buch oder die Hörbuchversion zurückgreifen sollte, da mir der Sprecher Markus Klauk zunächst einmal gar nichts gesagt hat. Da ich die Hörprobe aber recht ansprechend fand, habe ich mich dann schließlich doch für das Audiobook entschieden – Gott sei Dank, denn Klauk ist mit dieser Lesung für mich eindeutig die Sprecherentdeckung des Jahres. Zunächst einmal ist seine Stimme an sich bereits sehr angenehm, andererseits kann der Schauspieler (u.a. “Alarm für Cobra 11″, “Der Clown” oder “SOKO Köln”) diese auch bestens einsetzen. Klauk liest sehr facettenreich, schlüpft mühelos in diverse Männer- und Frauenrollen und bringt auch die unterschiedlichsten Emotionen wie Angst, Anspannung oder Verärgerung sehr gut rüber. Mir hat Klauks Vorstellung insgesamt richtig gut gefallen, leider gibt es derzeit bei Audible.de kaum weitere Hörbücher mit diesem Sprecher – bitte unbedingt mehr davon!
Schlussfazit:
Einen gut gemeinten Rat gleich vorweg: Bevor man mit der Lektüre von “Die Trinity Verschwörung” anfängt, sollte man sich vielleicht einmal kurz den Wikipedia-Artikel über die “Cambridge Five” zu Gemüte fügen, denn leider verzichtet Cummings in seiner Story auf eine ausführlichere Erklärung über den Spionagering und rückt nur vereinzelt mit diesen Informationen heraus. Erst im Nachwort geht der Autor näher auf dieses Thema ein – als Vorwort wäre dies deutlich hilfreicher und sinnvoller gewesen.
Packender und realitätsnaher Spionage-Thriller mit wahrem Hintergrund
Von diesem kleinen Patzer sollte man sich aber nicht abschrecken lassen, denn ansonsten kann man der Geschichte sehr gut folgen und auch die teilweise recht komplexen Ausführungen problemlos nachvollziehen. Trotz weitestgehendem Verzicht auf spektakuläre Action-Einlagen und einem Fokus auf mühsame Journalismus-Arbeit ist “Die Trinity Verschwörung” durchweg packend und kurzweilig und bietet für Anhänger klassischer Agentenromane beste Thriller-Unterhaltung. Daher und auch aufgrund des wirklich sehr überzeugenden Sprecher Markus Klauk landet das Buch souverän im oberen Wertungsbereich.
Ein Geschichtsprofessor in Geldnöten auf der Suche nach einem Bestseller
Sam Gaddis braucht also mal wieder einen richtigen Bestseller, doch leider hat er gerade kein spannendes Thema zur Hand, das genug Potenzial für einen aufsehenerregenden Enthüllungsroman bietet. Da trifft es sich gut, dass seine langjährige Freundin Charlotte, eine erfolgreiche Journalistin, genau zu diesem Zeitpunkt ein richtig heißes Eisen in der Hinterhand hat. Ihr liegen nämlich Dokumente vor, aus denen hervorgeht, dass der berüchtigte Spionagering der Cambridge Five zur Zeit des Zweiten Weltkrieges nicht nur aus fünf, sondern aus sechs abtrünnigen Agenten des britischen Geheimdienstes bestanden hat. Sollte sich dieser Verdacht bewahrheiten und es tatsächlich noch einen sechsten russischen Spion des KGB gegeben haben, wäre dies eine absolute Sensation – und für Sam Gaddis die große Chance auf den dringend benötigten Bestseller…
Basierend auf dem berüchtigten Spionagering der “Cambridge Five”
Hinter der Bezeichnung “Cambridge Five” verbirgt sich ein ehemaliger Spionagering des KGB innerhalb des britischen Geheimdienstes MI5. Die fünf Mitglieder Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt und John Cairncross wurden in den 1930er Jahren während ihres Studiums am Trinity College der Universität Cambridge von den Russen angeworben und versorgten diese bis in die 1950er hinein mit vertraulichen Informationen. Durch diesen Verrat stürzten die Spione den britischen Geheimdienst in eine tiefe Krise und bis zum heutigen Tage halten sich Gerüchte um weitere Mitglieder des Spionagerings. Als dem britischen Autor Charles Cumming von einer Freundin unveröffentlichte Dokumente über Anthony Blunt ausgehändigt wurden, brachte ihn dies auf die Idee zu seinem neuen Roman “Die Trinity Verschwörung”. Was wäre, wenn er in diesen Aufzeichnungen Hinweise auf ein sechstes “Cambridge Five”-Mitglied gefunden hätte, dessen Verrat bis heute unentdeckt geblieben ist?
Das Geheimnis um einen ominösen sechsten KGB-Spion
Somit überrascht es nicht, dass sich die Hauptfigur des Buches, der Geschichtsprofessor Sam Gaddis, zu Beginn der Handlung genau in dieser Situation befindet. Aufgrund von ein paar gefloppten Veröffentlichungen, Steuerschulden und ausstehenden Unterhaltszahlungen befindet sich Gaddis in akuten Geldnöten und braucht dringend eine Idee für eine spektakuläre Enthüllungsstory, die seine leere Finanzkasse wieder etwas auffüllt. Da kommt das Angebot seiner Journalistenfreundin Charlotte, ein Buch über einen möglichen sechsten Mann des Spionagerings zu schreiben, natürlich gerade richtig. Bevor ihn Charlotte jedoch in ihre Recherchen näher einweihen kann, erliegt sie in ihrem Haus einem plötzlichen Herzinfarkt. Für Gaddis ist der Verlust seiner langjährigen Freundin ein Schock, zumal er damit auch die Hoffnungen auf den Bestseller begraben kann. Glücklicherweise bekommt er vom Witwer der Toten jedoch deren Unterlagen ausgehändigt und kann sich doch noch mit vollem Einsatz in seine Nachforschungen stürzen. Was wusste Charlotte über den sechsten Mann und wer waren ihre Informanten?
Was Sam Gaddis nicht weiß: Charlotte starb nicht an einem Herzinfarkt – was aufgrund ihres ungesunden Lebensstils gar nicht mal so unwahrscheinlich gewesen wäre –, sondern wurde von einem Auftragskiller gezielt ausgeschaltet. Hier ist der Hörer der Hauptfigur einen Schritt voraus und ahnt daher schon, dass sich Gaddis mit seinen Recherchen aller Voraussicht nach in große Gefahr bringen wird. Irgendjemand scheint ein gesteigertes Interesse daran zu haben, dass das Mysterium um ein sechstes Mitglied der “Cambridge Five” auch tatsächlich ein Geheimnis bleibt. Von dieser Erkenntnis ist der Protagonist allerdings noch ein Stück entfernt, denn Sam Gaddis muss zunächst einmal mühsam die Spuren seiner gestorbenen/getöteten Freundin zurückverfolgen, um an weitere Informationen zu gelangen.
Wenig Action, viel Recherche
Wer von “Die Trinity-Verschwörung” also einen actionreichen Agententhriller im Stil von James Bond oder “Mission: Impossible” erwartet, der ist mit Cummings Roman überwiegend auf dem falschen Dampfer. Über weite Strecken ist das Buch ein waschechter Polit- und Journalismus-Thriller: Dokumente müssen auf Hinweise durchgearbeitet, Zeugen ausfindig gemacht und befragt sowie kleinste Puzzleteile mühsam zusammengesetzt werden. Dabei wirkt Cummings Geschichte zu jeder Zeit glaubwürdig und realitätsnah, wofür auch Bezüge auf die aktuelle Weltpolitik sorgen. So ist beispielsweise die Ähnlichkeit zwischen dem fiktionalen russischen Präsidenten Sergej Platow und dem realen Vorbild Wladimir Putin mehr als offensichtlich. Außerdem hat Charles Cumming bei der Recherche für sein Buch viele Gespräche mit ehemaligen oder aktiven Geheimdienstmitarbeitern des MI5 oder MI6 geführt. Interessant ist hierbei auch die Tatsache, dass der Autor 1995 selbst vom britischen Secret Intelligence Service kontaktiert wurde und auch an einem längeren Auswahlverfahren für potenzielle Mitarbeiter teilgenommen hat.
Spannende Geschichte nach dem klassischen Schema
Damit die Story aber bei dem ganzen Papierkram und Zeugenbefragungen nicht allzu dröge gerät, hat Cumming sein Werk mit den gängigen Agententhriller-Zutaten gehörig aufgepeppt. So macht die Hauptfigur im Verlauf der Handlung u.a. Bekanntschaft mit skrupellosen Auftragskillern, raffinierten Doppelagenten oder der obligatorischen Verschwörung und muss sich permanent vor unsichtbaren Verfolgern in Acht nehmen. Dass der Autor dabei zuweilen auch auf die beliebten Klischees zurückgreift und zum Beispiel Informanten genau in dem Moment ausgeschaltet werden, im dem sie Gaddis geheime Informationen anvertrauen wollten, fällt dabei nicht negativ ins Gewicht, sondern sorgt eher für willkommenen Nervenkitzel. Überdies ist die Story clever konstruiert und packend geschrieben, wenngleich Cummings manches Geheimnis vielleicht ein wenig zu früh lüftet. Das gleicht er aber auf der anderen Seite durch eine sympathische Hauptfigur aus, die von einem erfahrenen Agenten doch recht weit entfernt ist und mit den auf ihn einstürzenden Ereignissen schon auch etwas überfordert ist – schließlich ist Gaddis normalerweise in einem Hörsaal zuhause und nicht in tödlichen Verfolgungsjagden. Mit diesem “Normalo” kann man sich als Hörer wunderbar identifizieren, zumal der Professor immer wieder auf semi-professionelle Tricks aus Agentenromanen oder Fernsehserien zurückgreift, um beispielsweise seine Verfolger abzuschütteln.
Der Sprecher:
Ich hatte bei “Die Trinity Verschwörung” eine Weile überlegt, ob ich auf das Buch oder die Hörbuchversion zurückgreifen sollte, da mir der Sprecher Markus Klauk zunächst einmal gar nichts gesagt hat. Da ich die Hörprobe aber recht ansprechend fand, habe ich mich dann schließlich doch für das Audiobook entschieden – Gott sei Dank, denn Klauk ist mit dieser Lesung für mich eindeutig die Sprecherentdeckung des Jahres. Zunächst einmal ist seine Stimme an sich bereits sehr angenehm, andererseits kann der Schauspieler (u.a. “Alarm für Cobra 11″, “Der Clown” oder “SOKO Köln”) diese auch bestens einsetzen. Klauk liest sehr facettenreich, schlüpft mühelos in diverse Männer- und Frauenrollen und bringt auch die unterschiedlichsten Emotionen wie Angst, Anspannung oder Verärgerung sehr gut rüber. Mir hat Klauks Vorstellung insgesamt richtig gut gefallen, leider gibt es derzeit bei Audible.de kaum weitere Hörbücher mit diesem Sprecher – bitte unbedingt mehr davon!
Schlussfazit:
Einen gut gemeinten Rat gleich vorweg: Bevor man mit der Lektüre von “Die Trinity Verschwörung” anfängt, sollte man sich vielleicht einmal kurz den Wikipedia-Artikel über die “Cambridge Five” zu Gemüte fügen, denn leider verzichtet Cummings in seiner Story auf eine ausführlichere Erklärung über den Spionagering und rückt nur vereinzelt mit diesen Informationen heraus. Erst im Nachwort geht der Autor näher auf dieses Thema ein – als Vorwort wäre dies deutlich hilfreicher und sinnvoller gewesen.
Packender und realitätsnaher Spionage-Thriller mit wahrem Hintergrund
Von diesem kleinen Patzer sollte man sich aber nicht abschrecken lassen, denn ansonsten kann man der Geschichte sehr gut folgen und auch die teilweise recht komplexen Ausführungen problemlos nachvollziehen. Trotz weitestgehendem Verzicht auf spektakuläre Action-Einlagen und einem Fokus auf mühsame Journalismus-Arbeit ist “Die Trinity Verschwörung” durchweg packend und kurzweilig und bietet für Anhänger klassischer Agentenromane beste Thriller-Unterhaltung. Daher und auch aufgrund des wirklich sehr überzeugenden Sprecher Markus Klauk landet das Buch souverän im oberen Wertungsbereich.
February 9, 2019
Spy stories broadly follow two templates: either they are stories “of spies”, i.e. involving professional agents, or they are stories “about spies”, in which case an outsider (most often a journalist), willingly or unwillingly, is lured in some espionage plot.
My experience is that a good story of spies is generally better than a good story about spies.
The Trinity Six is a book about spies (just our dude is an academic instead of a journalist), but it is an exception as it takes the template to a superior level.
The book in fact makes the ambitious attempt to connect very old and trite cold war events to contemporary times and characters; this opens the way to a smart gimmick, that is using the goldmine of espionage stories (cold war) and to make it relevant to our days. So this is more than just another broth stirring the Philby, Burgess and McLean defections; The Trinity Six succeeds in putting up a plausible and compelling plot populated by credible characters.
So this makes quite an enjoyable read, all the opposite of the most recent work by Mr Cummings (The Man Between), another story about spies, with a novelist as the spy-by-chance hero, which however turned out to be a genuine disappointment to me.
My experience is that a good story of spies is generally better than a good story about spies.
The Trinity Six is a book about spies (just our dude is an academic instead of a journalist), but it is an exception as it takes the template to a superior level.
The book in fact makes the ambitious attempt to connect very old and trite cold war events to contemporary times and characters; this opens the way to a smart gimmick, that is using the goldmine of espionage stories (cold war) and to make it relevant to our days. So this is more than just another broth stirring the Philby, Burgess and McLean defections; The Trinity Six succeeds in putting up a plausible and compelling plot populated by credible characters.
So this makes quite an enjoyable read, all the opposite of the most recent work by Mr Cummings (The Man Between), another story about spies, with a novelist as the spy-by-chance hero, which however turned out to be a genuine disappointment to me.
May 12, 2021
Superb!
What a story. Fact and fiction intermingled to produce a spy thriller both outrageous and utterly believable at the same time. A possible "sixth man" alongside the Cambridge set of traitors, who did so much damage to Britain. How tantalising was the suspicion surrounding the 1960s British prime minister, Harold Wilson. Was he really a Soviet spy or a much maligned Labour politician? The oblique references to a fictitious (ex KGB) Russian premier who, years ago, wanted to defect to the West. Platov was the book's character or, should we read that as Putin? I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
What a story. Fact and fiction intermingled to produce a spy thriller both outrageous and utterly believable at the same time. A possible "sixth man" alongside the Cambridge set of traitors, who did so much damage to Britain. How tantalising was the suspicion surrounding the 1960s British prime minister, Harold Wilson. Was he really a Soviet spy or a much maligned Labour politician? The oblique references to a fictitious (ex KGB) Russian premier who, years ago, wanted to defect to the West. Platov was the book's character or, should we read that as Putin? I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
April 16, 2018
History professor Sam Gaddis learns from a journalist friend that she has uncovered leads indicating that there may have been a sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring, one who was never revealed to the public and may even be still alive. Shortly after the conversation, the friend turns up dead. Trying to follow in her footsteps and unravel the mystery behind the potential sixth man himself, Sam begins to track down her contacts and gets himself embroiled in mortal danger as one by one, the people he talks to end up killed, and Sam himself is almost certainly already in the crosshairs of those trying to suppress the truth.
An extremely intriguing premise, but I would have enjoyed this book a lot more had Sam not been such a complete and utter moron stumbling from one mistake to the next. The man is, quite frankly, too stupid to live, which is not how I like my protagonists in any genre - especially this one.
An extremely intriguing premise, but I would have enjoyed this book a lot more had Sam not been such a complete and utter moron stumbling from one mistake to the next. The man is, quite frankly, too stupid to live, which is not how I like my protagonists in any genre - especially this one.
April 2, 2019
Entertaining, extremely fast-paced and, I think, credible with regards to the history that Cumming explores. I enjoyed listening to the audio by John Lee, who coincidentally narrated the last spy book that I read (albeit nonfiction), A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre, also about the Cambridge Five. Cumming has a way with setting, and I don't often pay close attention to setting; it surprised me how vividly he conjures up the places Gaddis visits (New Zealand, Berlin, Budapest, Vienna, and of course, London). The place names and the little details about cafés, food, street names, nightclubs - all added up to paint a very real picture of the different locales.
The characters were also well-drawn and I particularly liked the scenes between Gaddis and the curmudgeonly, but still whip-smart and energetic, 91-year-old Neame. Their encounter in the cathedral and the cat-and-mouse game it took Neame's handler to lure Gaddis there in the first place - both exemplary of "Moscow Rules" - were near-perfect.
The characters were also well-drawn and I particularly liked the scenes between Gaddis and the curmudgeonly, but still whip-smart and energetic, 91-year-old Neame. Their encounter in the cathedral and the cat-and-mouse game it took Neame's handler to lure Gaddis there in the first place - both exemplary of "Moscow Rules" - were near-perfect.
March 20, 2019
Cumming's work is very good. I've been reading his more recents books and decided to go back to the beginning and read this one. It's always interesting to read a work produced early in an author's career, and then follow the development of his/her talent and poise, something you can do after reading The Trinity Six. I rank his later works higher than this one, but even in this book you can see the promise of his talent.
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