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Tweed & Co. #6
The Greek Key
"He will be assassinated - the general took the decision last night." Murder - committed over forty years ago, is the detonator which triggers off Tweed, Paula Grey and Newman in their quest for The Greek Key. On Exmoor live three former Commandos who raided the island of Siros during World War 2. What is the secret which binds the trio in a state of terror years later? When agent Harry Masterson is found dead in Greece, Tweed marshals his forces, including the ruthless, cynical Marler, to hunt down the killer. But what is the connection linking Athens with Exmoor and an unsolved murder case over forty years old? What part is played by the mysterious Christina? And why are so many terrified of identifying The Greek Key? Trapped in a vortex of violence and death, Tweed begins to uncover a diabolical plot to destroy detente. As time runs out, only Tweed can neutralize catastrophe - if he isn't already too late..."Colin Forbes 'has no equal'" - "Sunday Mirror".
567 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
13 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
Colin Forbes
157 books117 followersRaymond Harold Sawkins was a British novelist, who mainly published under the pseudonym Colin Forbes, but also as Richard Raine, Jay Bernard and Harold English. He only published three of his first books under his own name.Sawkins wrote over 40 books, mostly as Colin Forbes. He was most famous for his long-running series of thriller novels in which the principal character is Tweed, Deputy Director of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Sawkins attended The Lower School of John Lyon in Harrow, London. At the age of 16 he started work as a sub-editor with a magazine and book publishing company. He served with the British Army in North Africa and the Middle East during World War II. Before his demobilization he was attached to the Army Newspaper Unit in Rome. On his return to civilian life he joined a publishing and printing company, commuting to London for 20 years, until he became successful enough to be a full-time novelist.
Sawkins was married to a Scots-Canadian, Jane Robertson (born 31 March 1925, died 1993). Together they had one daughter, Janet.Sawkins died of a heart attack on August 23, 2006.
Sawkins was often quoted as personally visiting every location he features in his books to aid the authenticity of the writing. As a result, there is detailed description of the places where the action in his books takes place.
Fury (1995) was inspired by the courage of his wife before she died, and he set it apart from his other novels “because of the strong emotion and sense of loss that runs through it”.
Just one of Forbes' novels was made into a film: Avalanche Express, directed by Mark Robson and starring Lee Marvin and Robert Shaw, which was released in 1979 to generally poor reviews.
Sawkins attended The Lower School of John Lyon in Harrow, London. At the age of 16 he started work as a sub-editor with a magazine and book publishing company. He served with the British Army in North Africa and the Middle East during World War II. Before his demobilization he was attached to the Army Newspaper Unit in Rome. On his return to civilian life he joined a publishing and printing company, commuting to London for 20 years, until he became successful enough to be a full-time novelist.
Sawkins was married to a Scots-Canadian, Jane Robertson (born 31 March 1925, died 1993). Together they had one daughter, Janet.Sawkins died of a heart attack on August 23, 2006.
Sawkins was often quoted as personally visiting every location he features in his books to aid the authenticity of the writing. As a result, there is detailed description of the places where the action in his books takes place.
Fury (1995) was inspired by the courage of his wife before she died, and he set it apart from his other novels “because of the strong emotion and sense of loss that runs through it”.
Just one of Forbes' novels was made into a film: Avalanche Express, directed by Mark Robson and starring Lee Marvin and Robert Shaw, which was released in 1979 to generally poor reviews.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 31, 2023
An enjoyable but forgetable book.
The story introduces the reader to a lot of characters too fast, without spending time to build around them except for the 2-3 main ones. On top of that, it jumps quite unexpectedly and abruptly between different places and points in history, making it even harder to follow.
Reaching the the third act, the book really takes off. Somehow it finds a way to link every loose end in a tidy and interesting way, reaching a satisfying climax. Even though it manages to profit around the story it builds, i felt it took too long to get there.
The story introduces the reader to a lot of characters too fast, without spending time to build around them except for the 2-3 main ones. On top of that, it jumps quite unexpectedly and abruptly between different places and points in history, making it even harder to follow.
Reaching the the third act, the book really takes off. Somehow it finds a way to link every loose end in a tidy and interesting way, reaching a satisfying climax. Even though it manages to profit around the story it builds, i felt it took too long to get there.
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October 12, 2020Vintage Tweed !!!! With Gorbachev Attempted Assassination (Fiction) thrown in!
December 1, 2021
The Tweed books just get better and better as you work through the series.
December 19, 2021
An enjoyable historical espionage mystery thriller.
January 30, 2023
I still don't understand these books. They are extremely unrealistic, the dialogue is ridiculous, and the characters are just weird. But I still enjoy them. So there.
April 12, 2025
DNF I ground to a halt halfway.
May 13, 2016
How long does it take to completely forget a book? 27 years it would seem because that is when I last read this book and it has been sitting on a book shelf ever since but I couldn’t remember a single thing. It was like reading a brand new book I had never read before. So much so I started wondering if I had ever read the book at all, but I did find a small descriptive piece about two thirds of the way through which I remembered vividly so it seems I had actualy read this book along with quite a few others of Colin Forbes’ Tweed books in my early twenties. This was the only ever hardback one and therefore the only one ever to be kept. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. It’s a cross between a good old fashioned cold war thriller and a whodunit. It was sort of weird reading about a world before the breakup of the Soviet union and even though I read a lot of old books and love that they don’t have mobile phones and the internet etc. this wasn’t a book way back from history, this described a time from my own life. One that I remember although has now long since gone. Made me start feeling my age if I’m honest. Anyway, Forbes wasn’t the greatest ever thriller writer and some of his plot devices are occasionally farfetched and his character’s dialogue slightly unbelievable but its still enjoyable and I’ve actually hit a couple of online second hand book sellers and have some more Tweed books to enjoy, although whether I remember the plots I’ll have to wait and see.
June 26, 2024
The first of Colin Forbes’ books that I read.
The story was complex, unexpected and absolutely insane. I probably went through 50 different theories as to who the culprit could be while I was reading. The murder scenes are gruesome and often very creative. My favourite part is that Colin made use of evidence as well as human psychology when pointing to the killer and if you play close attention or you might catch it.
At the start it was a tad confusing as you would’ve expected the story to centre around the lead detective Tweed, but as you read on you realise that the different characters are what gives it it’s charm. I fell in love with Marler and Newman, the two who were stuck in Greece, very quickly and was glad for a chance to get a peek into their characters rather that just the main ones as you would expect. Marler, the coolheaded sharpshooter and Newman with his near constant annoyance towards the younger man was my favourite relationship dynamic in the book.
I would recommend reading Colin’s first books before this one though, as that gives some more insight into his writing style.
The female characters are strong, despite being in an era that belonged to the men. I always appreciate Colin Forbes’ effort to put women in roles they would not have normally been in and then defending their right to be there. That said, Christina Galavas was a pain, so Forbes clearly plays favourites.
The story was complex, unexpected and absolutely insane. I probably went through 50 different theories as to who the culprit could be while I was reading. The murder scenes are gruesome and often very creative. My favourite part is that Colin made use of evidence as well as human psychology when pointing to the killer and if you play close attention or you might catch it.
At the start it was a tad confusing as you would’ve expected the story to centre around the lead detective Tweed, but as you read on you realise that the different characters are what gives it it’s charm. I fell in love with Marler and Newman, the two who were stuck in Greece, very quickly and was glad for a chance to get a peek into their characters rather that just the main ones as you would expect. Marler, the coolheaded sharpshooter and Newman with his near constant annoyance towards the younger man was my favourite relationship dynamic in the book.
I would recommend reading Colin’s first books before this one though, as that gives some more insight into his writing style.
The female characters are strong, despite being in an era that belonged to the men. I always appreciate Colin Forbes’ effort to put women in roles they would not have normally been in and then defending their right to be there. That said, Christina Galavas was a pain, so Forbes clearly plays favourites.
February 2, 2021
Bit of a different outing from Colin Forbes in ‘The Greek Key’. It has all the usual characters and traits of Forbes novel, namely lots of data /information as the plot develops, annoying and cryptic hints from Tweed, plot spread across different countries and a build up to an action packed and dramatic conclusion. Where this story differs is that a lot of story is about trying to solve murders that took place 40 years ago during WWII.
It is obvious that there is some link between these old deaths and the new ones that are taking place and which started with the death of one of Tweed’s section chiefs. What the link is, however, is somewhat less obvious. For a lot of the novel Forbes is trying to steer you towards the ‘revenge’ motive, but I found this too pat and new there must be something else, but didn’t get to identify what before Forbes unveiled it.
It could be argued that the Tweed series is somewhat fanciful and formulaic, but for me they are a good example of a really good tale that keeps me turning the pages and coming back for more. Shockwave is next as I continue re-reading the series in order, and I can’t wait.
It is obvious that there is some link between these old deaths and the new ones that are taking place and which started with the death of one of Tweed’s section chiefs. What the link is, however, is somewhat less obvious. For a lot of the novel Forbes is trying to steer you towards the ‘revenge’ motive, but I found this too pat and new there must be something else, but didn’t get to identify what before Forbes unveiled it.
It could be argued that the Tweed series is somewhat fanciful and formulaic, but for me they are a good example of a really good tale that keeps me turning the pages and coming back for more. Shockwave is next as I continue re-reading the series in order, and I can’t wait.
March 19, 2014
This is one of the worst-written and most repetitive 'thrillers' I've ever read. I finished it because I took it on holiday with me and didn't have another book, but otherwise I would have stopped reading it.
The story involves a group of men investigating a Greek man who has a vendetta because his sons were killed in World War Two. Forbes repeatedly goes over plot points and over-explains what's going on. I'm pretty sure about 100 pages could have been knocked off the story by gettting rid of it. I know it was written in the late 1980s, but the attitudes to the female characters were also very patronising.
The story was OK, but the way it was told wasn't.
This book really annoyed me, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
The story involves a group of men investigating a Greek man who has a vendetta because his sons were killed in World War Two. Forbes repeatedly goes over plot points and over-explains what's going on. I'm pretty sure about 100 pages could have been knocked off the story by gettting rid of it. I know it was written in the late 1980s, but the attitudes to the female characters were also very patronising.
The story was OK, but the way it was told wasn't.
This book really annoyed me, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
October 24, 2021
One of the best mystery novels ever. Colin Forbes is gripping. His core team of investigators (who appear in all his novels) are a wonderful bunch, and he paints their personalities so well that by the time you get into the story, they feel like old friends. His description of scenery, environments, and historical locales in his books adds to the storyline. Every book is a page-turner, but The Greek Key is by far my favorite.
July 7, 2014
Should be 2.6 star so make it 3. If you looking for education and enrichment, not here. Quick easy fiction reading, with sufficient drama to hold your attention. The usual Tweed team getting up to new exploits in the customary farfetched enthusiasm.
May 5, 2024
Good book very atmospheric of the late 80's the writer shows throughout this book that he did not like modern technology some plot holes which are not explain properly, part of Colin Forbes great epics thrillers from the 80's and 90's
September 2, 2014
A very enjoyable read.
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January 31, 2016read at Brian's Bach. Not particularly memorable
September 18, 2011
Took me a while to read, but wasn't a bad story :)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews