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Harry Fielding #1
The Crooked Man
A freelance operative for Britain's MI5, Harry Fielding is given the task of cleaning up the crime scene where a murder committed by a high-ranking cabinet minister and ensuring that the guilty man does not become a suspect in the killing. Original.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 1997
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76 people want to read
About the author
Philip Davison
13 books8 followersPhilip Davison is an Irish novelist, screenwriter and playwright. He was born in 1957 in Dublin, Ireland. He is perhaps best known for his series of spy novels which follow Harry Fielding's activities as an understrapper for the MI5.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 16, 2020
One of those random books I picked up in a store and said, "oh this sounds interesting, I'll read it" then got set on my to-read pile to languish and what a mistake that was.
The languishing part, not the buying part.
Philip Davison should be more well known than he is outside of a select small number of readers. His prose is simple and lean as can be and yet feels like it flickers between the world of the mundane and a surreal world of murder and doublecrosses. There is no high dramatic language, nothing in the purple prose of Derek Raymond, but there is a kinship in the way the world, every inch of it, feels slightly damp and clammy and sticky, soiled but with what? It's too hard to tell in the dark.
An understrapper is a sort of freelancer with British intelligence and their work is not framed as any noble God Save the Queen kind of twaddle, but is instead a bit more downlow, a bit more thuggish. Yet not strictly muscle work either. Off the books work inside Great Britain and her allies, crooked work for a crooked man in a crooked house.
And it's somehow very sedately written edge-of-your-seat stuff. It's James M. Cain in its leanness, if Cain were an acerbic dry Irish wit. I somehow managed to find myself picking up the remainder of the book as soon as I could, but I'm pacing myself for now, as there are only 4 total. Alas, more's the pity.
The languishing part, not the buying part.
Philip Davison should be more well known than he is outside of a select small number of readers. His prose is simple and lean as can be and yet feels like it flickers between the world of the mundane and a surreal world of murder and doublecrosses. There is no high dramatic language, nothing in the purple prose of Derek Raymond, but there is a kinship in the way the world, every inch of it, feels slightly damp and clammy and sticky, soiled but with what? It's too hard to tell in the dark.
An understrapper is a sort of freelancer with British intelligence and their work is not framed as any noble God Save the Queen kind of twaddle, but is instead a bit more downlow, a bit more thuggish. Yet not strictly muscle work either. Off the books work inside Great Britain and her allies, crooked work for a crooked man in a crooked house.
And it's somehow very sedately written edge-of-your-seat stuff. It's James M. Cain in its leanness, if Cain were an acerbic dry Irish wit. I somehow managed to find myself picking up the remainder of the book as soon as I could, but I'm pacing myself for now, as there are only 4 total. Alas, more's the pity.
July 23, 2016
One of my all time favorite genre books. Throughout the entire novel, I couldn't decide if he was a good man who did bad things, or a bad man who did good things. Totally felt his loneliness, though, and the heart of a poet, albeit one who would slit your throat if he felt he had to.
March 13, 2022
The crooked man by Shelley Smith.
Shelley Smith displays the downward spiral from petty thievery to murder through the life and crimes of Thomas Bates.
With multiple personas on the go, Bates seems unafraid of going too far.
There’s Grace Pickering, whose life he saves and who rewards him with an affection he avoids, until he finds out about her savings account, which he can only disengage through marriage.
His next victim, a man, he is forced to kill.
He marries again, for a dowry in jewels, but returns to Grace until he disposes of her with greater finality.
Bates’ past seems to be left behind him, until his last and final enterprise unexpectedly ends in suicide.
The story makes the headlines and Bates’ anonymous façade is put in jeopardy.
The innocence of the crime is invalidated by his past - will Bates get away with it this time..?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I do love this author. Great story and characters. 5*.
Shelley Smith displays the downward spiral from petty thievery to murder through the life and crimes of Thomas Bates.
With multiple personas on the go, Bates seems unafraid of going too far.
There’s Grace Pickering, whose life he saves and who rewards him with an affection he avoids, until he finds out about her savings account, which he can only disengage through marriage.
His next victim, a man, he is forced to kill.
He marries again, for a dowry in jewels, but returns to Grace until he disposes of her with greater finality.
Bates’ past seems to be left behind him, until his last and final enterprise unexpectedly ends in suicide.
The story makes the headlines and Bates’ anonymous façade is put in jeopardy.
The innocence of the crime is invalidated by his past - will Bates get away with it this time..?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I do love this author. Great story and characters. 5*.
January 23, 2020
Read a long time ago, but it stuck in my mind. Davison excels in writing low-key characters who make decisions that have important consequences. This is probably his best-known book. It was made into a TV drama starring Ross Kemp as the main character. Well worth a look for fans of spy novels: Ireland's John le Carré.
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June 17, 2024A low ranking MI6 stringer gets embroiled in some nefarious deeds above his pay grade, is forced to consider the moral ramifications of doing evil things for the government.
February 27, 2017
This book was a much quicker read than the previous novel I read. However, perhaps due to its short nature, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, let alone the main one, Harry. To me, the story lacked depth and the character development fell flat. As a result, the actions seemed choppy with little emotion. I felt as if I was thrust into scenes with little explanation of how I arrived there.
The premise of the novel is interesting, with the description carrying words like “MI5” and “murders.” However, it was not as exciting or intriguing as I expected. Perhaps I just wasn’t drawn to the author’s writing style (and that happens sometimes). I might have better appreciated the story if I was not just engrossed in a longer, more detailed book. I’ll have to give it another go sometime in the future.
For people looking for a short read, this is the book for you.
The premise of the novel is interesting, with the description carrying words like “MI5” and “murders.” However, it was not as exciting or intriguing as I expected. Perhaps I just wasn’t drawn to the author’s writing style (and that happens sometimes). I might have better appreciated the story if I was not just engrossed in a longer, more detailed book. I’ll have to give it another go sometime in the future.
For people looking for a short read, this is the book for you.
October 29, 2008
When I first read the description on the back of the book I thought that it sounded very interesting. I like the idea of an undercover agent who spies on people. The subject of the book was right up my alley, but the book was kind of hard to follow at some points. The narrator, Harry Fielding, jumps around a lot. One minute he will be talking about how he hates his life, and then he will start talking about how the girl washing the dishes in the restaurant is kind of cute. It was things like this that made it hard to follow what was going on in the story. That was about the only things that I didn't like about the book, everything else was very good, and it kept my attention throughout the entire story.
February 2, 2008
Davison has created a great character to take through many novels, and in The Crooked Man presents an interesting but slow-starting plot. When you finally get into the groove, it's a decent ride. Will try another of his in the future.
February 20, 2010
Great writing style but the story is in three unnecessary parts. Each story is good on its own, but pretty distracting as a single story.
June 22, 2011
One word = conflicted
Quote, pg. 11, "I asked her where she wanted to go. She deliberately misunderstood me. She told me she wanted to learn Italian."
Quote, pg. 11, "I asked her where she wanted to go. She deliberately misunderstood me. She told me she wanted to learn Italian."
January 4, 2013
Strange, had to force myself to finish.
November 23, 2015
If the word I was taken out of this book it would be half as long. Very cold and non-engaging but you still want to read it all
January 20, 2016
The dark, depressing, and tersely-written tale of a outside contractor to MI5 who suddenly finds himself embroiled in 'wet work.'
January 27, 2023
This one was too jumpy, with a forgettable main character and equally forgettable clunky plot.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews