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Tommy Hambledon #17
Not for Export
"Some very sensitive airplane design documents who better to find them than British intelligence agent Tommy Hambledon? Much action in West Germany, particularly Berlin, but Russia also plays a role. "Familiar mixture of international mayhem and mirth... Peppy as ever." (Saturday Review,)
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 16, 1988
4 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Manning Coles
48 books10 followersFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Manning Coles is the pseudonym of two British writers, Adelaide Frances Oke Manning (1891–1959) and Cyril Henry Coles (1899–1965), who wrote many spy thrillers from the early 40s through the early 60s. The fictional protagonist in 26 of their books was Thomas Elphinstone Hambledon, who works for the Foreign Office.
Manning and Coles were neighbors in East Meon, Hampshire. Coles worked for British Intelligence in both the World Wars. Manning worked for the War Office during World War I. Their first books were fairly realistic and with a touch of grimness; their postwar books perhaps suffered from an excess of lightheartedness and whimsy. They also wrote a number of humorous novels about modern-day ghosts, some of them involving ghostly cousins named Charles and James Latimer. These novels were published in England under the pseudonym of Francis Gaite but released in the United States under the Manning Coles byline.
Many of the original exploits were based on the real-life experiences of Coles, who lied about his age and enlisted under an assumed name in a Hampshire regiment during World War I while still a teenager. He eventually became the youngest officer in British intelligence, often working behind German lines, due to his extraordinary ability to master languages. Coles had 2 sons (Michael and Peter, who were identical twins and who are both still alive, living in the UK) and the Ghost stories were based on the tales he used to tell his young sons when he was 'back from his travels'.
Manning Coles is the pseudonym of two British writers, Adelaide Frances Oke Manning (1891–1959) and Cyril Henry Coles (1899–1965), who wrote many spy thrillers from the early 40s through the early 60s. The fictional protagonist in 26 of their books was Thomas Elphinstone Hambledon, who works for the Foreign Office.
Manning and Coles were neighbors in East Meon, Hampshire. Coles worked for British Intelligence in both the World Wars. Manning worked for the War Office during World War I. Their first books were fairly realistic and with a touch of grimness; their postwar books perhaps suffered from an excess of lightheartedness and whimsy. They also wrote a number of humorous novels about modern-day ghosts, some of them involving ghostly cousins named Charles and James Latimer. These novels were published in England under the pseudonym of Francis Gaite but released in the United States under the Manning Coles byline.
Many of the original exploits were based on the real-life experiences of Coles, who lied about his age and enlisted under an assumed name in a Hampshire regiment during World War I while still a teenager. He eventually became the youngest officer in British intelligence, often working behind German lines, due to his extraordinary ability to master languages. Coles had 2 sons (Michael and Peter, who were identical twins and who are both still alive, living in the UK) and the Ghost stories were based on the tales he used to tell his young sons when he was 'back from his travels'.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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November 22, 2022Not my fave Manning Coles. There's a complicated multi part plot set in post war Berlin, with missing jewels and stolen plans. It has quite a strong espionage vibe and a great sense of place but lacks the charm of the best books.
January 28, 2024
Great writing, lousy editing
These funny, exciting ebooks were obviously digitally re-created from their original sources after the copyright expired. The editors should have gone the extra mile and run them through a word checking program to flag the many, many errors. Then paid someone to correct said errors. Authors Manning and Coles are undoubtedly spinning in their graves. Also should have numbered them in order. Still very worthwhile reading.
These funny, exciting ebooks were obviously digitally re-created from their original sources after the copyright expired. The editors should have gone the extra mile and run them through a word checking program to flag the many, many errors. Then paid someone to correct said errors. Authors Manning and Coles are undoubtedly spinning in their graves. Also should have numbered them in order. Still very worthwhile reading.
June 9, 2024
That avatar of composed British spydom, Tommy Hambledon, is asked to visit divided Germany to help figure out why an aircraft designer has been attacked in his quiet rural home. Joining forces with German policeman Spelmann, Tommy reluctantly returns to war-damaged Berlin, where a young orphan and some old friends provide him with some invaluable advice. Tommy encounters war criminals, Russians, policemen and thugs, on his way to determining why the designer was targeted (hint: it wasn't the plans), who the Polish displaced persons haunting the scene are, why a Russian designer is also on the run, and how he and Spelmann are going to get out of the Russian zone safely.]
Also published under the title "All that Glitters."
Also published under the title "All that Glitters."
April 8, 2015
Tommy Hambledon is requested by his friend in the Bonn police to consider a robbery at the home of an aircraft designer. The designer is in a coma, but his family insists that nothing of value was taken. But there's a large safe in the study--why do they have that? The trail takes Tommy to a still-shattered Berlin, where he realizes the theft may be a very different type of crime. But he also gets wind of a possible defecting Russian designer, who may be worth talking to--if he can find the man before the MVD does.
November 17, 2018
I love the Tommy Hambledon spy novels for their quirky humour, able and amiable hero, and well-crafted plots, so I would be personally inclined to give this 4 stars. But objectivity compels me to only award 3. Compared to other books in the series, the humour is not as spontaneous, the plot twists are routine, the milieu is the all-too-familiar divided Germany and Berlin of the early fifties. Good for a rainy afternoon, but not up to this author's best, e.g. "Green Hazard", Alias Uncle Hugo"
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews