The Line-crosser

by Ted Allbeury

Charlie Foster runs an SIS network into East Berlin. WhenThree of his couriers are arrested and London is ready tolet them rot, Charlie, in anger, does his own deal. He tradeshis services to the East Germans and the Russians in exchangefor his people's freedom.From his collaboration he builds up a complete picture of allthose in Europe who were Stasi and KGB informers. When theBerlin Wall comes down Charlie Foster has something everybodywants. SIS, the West Germans, the Americans and all the collaborators.They are all determined to get Charlie Foster's list. Or Charlie himself.

Genres: Espionage

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 1993

About the author

1917 - 2005. Also wrote under the pseudonyms Richard Butler and Patrick Kelly.

Ted Allbeury was a lieutenant-colonel in the Intelligence Corps during World War II, and later a successful executive in the fields of marketing, advertising and radio. He began his writing career in the early 1970s and became well known for his espionage novels, but also published one highly-praised general novel, THE CHOICE, and a short story collection, OTHER KINDS OF TREASON. His novels have been published in twenty-three languages, including Russian. He died on 4th December 2005.


See also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/j...
and
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/t...

Reviews

[Nigel Pinkus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, authentic, original and thoroughly engrossing! The book had two parts to it. In the first part, there was an agent, John Tarrant, with the usual failed marriage and divorce troubles who took on the case to find Charlie Foster. He's a little naive and thought that it was just a case for the moment that it would do until something better came along. The first part has similarities to, "A wilderness full of mirrors", but the story soon swept along in a new direction. What this reader liked most from this story was that the writer was able to write it from different points of view. In the first part, for example, it was predominately about John Tarrant and all the troubles that he had. Then, the story changed and Charlie Foster entered the scene. But, the story changed again, and most importantly of all, in the last few chapters were about the English SIS and their elusive manoeuvre's in the story.

Also, Allbeury was able to weave the fall of the Berlin Wall into the background where there were spies scurrying about the shadows, hoping that their cover wasn't blown. It was an excellent expose of the 1989 - 1990 period where there was terrible political unrest obviously in Germany, but also in the Soviet Union where 'Glasnost & Perestroika' had been declared. Gorbachev was under fire for his 'capitalist' policies and could suffer a coupe from the left (where else) and be ousted (without elections of course). While in East German, the stazi police could be ordered to open fire on up to 50,000 ordinary people who were demonstrating that could lead to incredibly violent riots and quite terrible chaos. But, this is all background to main story where Charlie Forster was running for his life because the SIS in England and their collaborators want what Charlie has got and they want it really badly.

Ted Allbeury lengthened this story to finish at 370 pages and it was well worth reading the characterisations that occur throughout the book. It made for a harrowing climax that wasn't for the faint hearted. Things that stayed in this readers mind well after finishing the story included: A CD that didn't work was thrown into the rubbish. A hit squad was formed by the SIS. (I thought they were suppose to be the good guys). Century House saying that, they "didn't know that person" and then a body was found a week later in a disused block of flats. "For a long time she (Gala) thought of Charlie Foster everyday". p367. I agree with 'The Daily Telegraph' that said on the cover that Allbeury, is quite literally, "the doyen of contemporary spy writers". Just fantastic! 5 Stars!

[Jak60 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spy catcher is tasked with chasing an agent disappeared into thin air, supposedly having defected; so a delicious ballet among spies and the organisations behind them gets started and keeps going with a series of twists and turns. All against the backdrop of the last days of the falling Soviet empire: the Warsaw Pact is crumbling but spy games are still being played on the Berlin stage.
The Line-crosser is an old style espionage novel by Ted Allbeury; its atmosphere reminded me of the best classics of the genre, especially Len Deighton (I loved in particular his Bernard Samson series) but it has several original touches. At the centre of the plot we have the unusual concept of "Intelligence of intentions", ie the attempt to influence the policies of the key constituencies of the Eastern bloc by obtaining insights into the uprisings spreading across the Warsaw pact in those days (the story is set between 1989-1990).
The plot in itself is rather engrossing, enjoyably complex and keeps the reader wondering if one of the protagonists, Charlie Foster, an SIS agent in place operating on the Berlin theatre, is a defector or a double agent and, in case, if he's going to be turned as a triple.
I think the book has just a little plausibility issue: after a row with his superiors, one day Charlie Foster walks over the other side and knocks at the Stasi door. His defection story is immediately bought by the opposition, his deal proposal is quickly accepted by the other side, he's introduced into the most secret inner circles of Stasi first and KGB after and the top Soviet brass make one of them in no time. After a few weeks from his defection, Charlie is assigned one of the most sensitive and confidential missions by the KGB and given total and unlimited access to all their files....This was just a little too easy and smooth to be totally plausible to my eyes.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Tom Clancy very well said: "A new book by Ted Allbeury is like a visit from an old friend".

This is the third Allbeury novel I've read in recent times and is more similar to A Wilderness of Mirrors rather than Show Me A Hero. Even the pattern is the same, as men working for British Intelligence Services, decide, for the same type of reasons, to leave their post.
So, we have a story about comradeship, empathy, moral ethics, strongly tied to real historical events, as the book has also the merit of introducing us to one of the biggest events of the XXth century, the fall of the Berlin Wall.

There is one single point I like less in this novel, and that's unfortunately the final, but maybe I'm too sensible and the book is quite a very good one indeed.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie Foster runs an SIS network into East Berlin. He trades his services for the release of some of his couriers. From his collaboration he builds up a list of Stasi and KGB informers. When the Berlin Wall comes down everybody's determined to get Charlie's list, or Charlie himself.