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Gabriel Dax #2
The Predicament
“Boyd is one of my favorite authors.”—Kate Atkinson
From the internationally bestselling author, a thrilling novel starring the travel writer-turned-reluctant spy Gabriel Dax, who finds himself implicated in a dangerous conspiracy with global consequences
1963, Guatemala. The country is in turmoil, with a presidential election looming and a charismatic, left-wing ex-priest and trade union leader predicted to win. United Fruits, a giant American corporation responsible for a large percentage of the country’s GNP, meanwhile, is not pleased by this prospect. Neither is the CIA. Amid the uncertainty, Gabriel Dax arrives on orders from his MI6 handler Faith Green, who has tasked him with assessing the fallout from the election.
Upon arrival, Gabriel meets Frank Sartorius, the local CIA agent. Despite Sartorius’s genial manner, Gabriel suspects something untrustworthy brewing under the surface. Soon, a political assassination with suspicions of Mafia involvement leads to riots, and Dax escapes to Europe, thinking he will finally return to his normal life as a travel writer. But when Green compels him to investigate some shady characters in West Berlin, it becomes clear that an even greater danger is afoot as the magnetic young President Kennedy prepares to arrive for a state visit. A gripping novel of politics and spy craft with dramatic twists and turns, The Predicament shows Boyd to be one of our most masterful contemporary storytellers.
From the internationally bestselling author, a thrilling novel starring the travel writer-turned-reluctant spy Gabriel Dax, who finds himself implicated in a dangerous conspiracy with global consequences
1963, Guatemala. The country is in turmoil, with a presidential election looming and a charismatic, left-wing ex-priest and trade union leader predicted to win. United Fruits, a giant American corporation responsible for a large percentage of the country’s GNP, meanwhile, is not pleased by this prospect. Neither is the CIA. Amid the uncertainty, Gabriel Dax arrives on orders from his MI6 handler Faith Green, who has tasked him with assessing the fallout from the election.
Upon arrival, Gabriel meets Frank Sartorius, the local CIA agent. Despite Sartorius’s genial manner, Gabriel suspects something untrustworthy brewing under the surface. Soon, a political assassination with suspicions of Mafia involvement leads to riots, and Dax escapes to Europe, thinking he will finally return to his normal life as a travel writer. But when Green compels him to investigate some shady characters in West Berlin, it becomes clear that an even greater danger is afoot as the magnetic young President Kennedy prepares to arrive for a state visit. A gripping novel of politics and spy craft with dramatic twists and turns, The Predicament shows Boyd to be one of our most masterful contemporary storytellers.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2025
467 people are currently reading
7131 people want to read
About the author
William Boyd
69 books2,475 followersNote: William^^Boyd
Of Scottish descent, Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana on 7th March, 1952 and spent much of his early life there and in Nigeria where his mother was a teacher and his father, a doctor. Boyd was in Nigeria during the Biafran War, the brutal secessionist conflict which ran from 1967 to 1970 and it had a profound effect on him.
At the age of nine years he attended Gordonstoun school, in Moray, Scotland and then Nice University (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow University (MA Hons in English and Philosophy), where he edited the Glasgow University Guardian. He then moved to Jesus College, Oxford in 1975 and completed a PhD thesis on Shelley. For a brief period he worked at the New Statesman magazine as a TV critic, then he returned to Oxford as an English lecturer teaching the contemporary novel at St Hilda's College (1980-83). It was while he was here that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published.
Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. When he was offered a college lecturership, which would mean spending more time teaching, he was forced to choose between teaching and writing.
Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year, and is also an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling and Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
Boyd has been with his wife Susan since they met as students at Glasgow University and all his books are dedicated to her. His wife is editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar magazine, and they currently spend about thirty to forty days a year in the US. He and his wife have a house in Chelsea, West London but spend most of the year at their chateau in Bergerac in south west France, where Boyd produces award-winning wines.
Of Scottish descent, Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana on 7th March, 1952 and spent much of his early life there and in Nigeria where his mother was a teacher and his father, a doctor. Boyd was in Nigeria during the Biafran War, the brutal secessionist conflict which ran from 1967 to 1970 and it had a profound effect on him.
At the age of nine years he attended Gordonstoun school, in Moray, Scotland and then Nice University (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow University (MA Hons in English and Philosophy), where he edited the Glasgow University Guardian. He then moved to Jesus College, Oxford in 1975 and completed a PhD thesis on Shelley. For a brief period he worked at the New Statesman magazine as a TV critic, then he returned to Oxford as an English lecturer teaching the contemporary novel at St Hilda's College (1980-83). It was while he was here that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published.
Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. When he was offered a college lecturership, which would mean spending more time teaching, he was forced to choose between teaching and writing.
Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year, and is also an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling and Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
Boyd has been with his wife Susan since they met as students at Glasgow University and all his books are dedicated to her. His wife is editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar magazine, and they currently spend about thirty to forty days a year in the US. He and his wife have a house in Chelsea, West London but spend most of the year at their chateau in Bergerac in south west France, where Boyd produces award-winning wines.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
September 30, 2025
Gabriel continues to lead a double life… Writing travel books above the ground… And doing some secret stuff underneath… He goes to London to meet his liaison…
He was sent to Guatemala ostensibly to take an interview… And a series of unpleasant and menacing surprises were waiting for him… A lot of double games… There is also love… Spies need love too… Then a special mission in Berlin…
Masquerading all over the world is a distinctive trait of secret agents.
A shadow fell across the table and he looked up to see Natalia Arkadina standing in front of him. At her shoulder was another woman, older, with short greying hair.
‘Mr Dax, how are you?’ Natalia said as he stood up and shook her hand, very aware of the fist-thud increase in his heartbeat. His parallel life reclaiming him.
He was sent to Guatemala ostensibly to take an interview… And a series of unpleasant and menacing surprises were waiting for him… A lot of double games… There is also love… Spies need love too… Then a special mission in Berlin…
‘But this life – this spying, covert life – isn’t something I chose, unlike you. It was kind of thrust upon me.’ He paused again. ‘Or, rather, it’s like quicksand, sucking me down.’
Masquerading all over the world is a distinctive trait of secret agents.
August 14, 2025
Whenever I read a novel by this author it cements in me the feeling that I spend too much time with storytellers who aren’t as gifted, who paint less vibrant pictures, and who demonstrate a more limited vocabulary. Boyd always seems able, often within just a few pages, to grab me and pull me into a tale. Once he’s got me, he never lets me go.
This is the second book featuring writer and reluctant MI6 puppet Gabriel Dax. His writing career is going surprisingly well, and his latest project – a book on rivers of the world – is nearing completion. New ideas are already germinating in his head. But Dax is tormented by his attraction to his intelligence service handler, and when she comes calling, he finds it impossible to say no.
This episode has some echoes of the first book, in that there’s an interview with a political figure, followed by a death. The setting for this action is Guatemala. The United Fruit Company of America is a shadowy presence in the background. History tells us that the company once owned a substantial portion of the country’s arable land and was known to exert economic and political influence in the early to mid-20th century. There’s also a sub-story concerning JFK here, though in truth it’s really the main story.
As always, Boyd entertains, informs, and shows his brilliance with the written word. He’s adept at using historical events and characters (often, as here, with licence to add elements of his own invention). I really enjoy this and it often stirs me to investigate and widen my knowledge of the times, people and events covered.This is another fine novel and, I hope, sets up the prospect of further adventures with Mr Dax.
My thanks to Penguin for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book featuring writer and reluctant MI6 puppet Gabriel Dax. His writing career is going surprisingly well, and his latest project – a book on rivers of the world – is nearing completion. New ideas are already germinating in his head. But Dax is tormented by his attraction to his intelligence service handler, and when she comes calling, he finds it impossible to say no.
This episode has some echoes of the first book, in that there’s an interview with a political figure, followed by a death. The setting for this action is Guatemala. The United Fruit Company of America is a shadowy presence in the background. History tells us that the company once owned a substantial portion of the country’s arable land and was known to exert economic and political influence in the early to mid-20th century. There’s also a sub-story concerning JFK here, though in truth it’s really the main story.
As always, Boyd entertains, informs, and shows his brilliance with the written word. He’s adept at using historical events and characters (often, as here, with licence to add elements of his own invention). I really enjoy this and it often stirs me to investigate and widen my knowledge of the times, people and events covered.This is another fine novel and, I hope, sets up the prospect of further adventures with Mr Dax.
My thanks to Penguin for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 16, 2025
There's something delightful about a literary author taking on a genre novel, and William Boyd writing a series of spy novels fills the void left by le Carre. Laced with humour and nostalgic references and wearing in 60s history, this is a treat to be enjoyed.
September 22, 2025
Gabriel Dax is certainly in a predicament. He’s in thrall to Faith Green, the head of the MI6 section known as ‘the termite hunters’ charged with rooting out traitors within the service. He finds her alluring but something of an enigma. Indeed he refers to her as ‘the Sphinx of the Institute of Developmental Studies’, the cover name for her section.
Does she feel the same way about him? Sometimes he thinks the answer is yes, at other times he wonders if he’s just being manipulated because his travel writing provides useful cover for trips abroad and opens doors that might otherwise be closed. Such is the case when he’s sent to Guatamala to interview an influential presidential candidate. His last interview with a similar figure didn’t end well, and this time is no different.
So enmeshed in the secret world of espionage has Gabriel become that he’s found himself in the dubious position of posing as a double agent for the Russians, acting as decoy for a British triple agent. The only upside is the Russians are generous with money enabling him to move to the countryside in the hope of finding some peace and quiet to work on his latest book. Some hope…
Gabriel is someone you can’t help rooting for even though he often makes foolish blunders and lets his fascination with Faith lead him into all sorts of dangerous situations. Having said that, Faith is facing her own challenges just at the moment. To quote Shakespeare, ‘When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions’ because a problem Gabriel encountered on his previous mission, which he thought he’d put to bed permanently, resurfaces (literally), he’s being sued for plagiarism and his ex-girlfriend Lorraine is keen to rekindle their relationship. His only respite from his problems is his sessions with his therapist, Dr Katrina Haas.
The book has all the hallmarks of an espionage thriller with Gabriel forced to adopt the sort of spycraft you’d find in a John lé Carre novel, including how to lose someone trying to follow you. He’s also given a quick lesson in how to kill using only the contents of your pockets, such as a notebook or set of keys. The prospect of finding himself in a dangerous situation involving some very nasty people is never far away.
From Guatemala the action moves to West Berlin (don’t worry, there are connections) and sees Gabriel become involved in frantic attempts to disrupt a plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. You might be thinking, we all know JFK wasn’t assassinated in Berlin so where’s the tension? But of course Gabriel doesn’t know that. His frenzied efforts to spot a face in the crowd, a face only he has seen, and then the sudden realisation that everyone is on the wrong track is absolutely gripping even if it does have strong ‘The Day of the Jackal’ vibes.
The Predicament is a thoroughly enjoyable, stylish spy thriller with a great sense of time and place.
Does she feel the same way about him? Sometimes he thinks the answer is yes, at other times he wonders if he’s just being manipulated because his travel writing provides useful cover for trips abroad and opens doors that might otherwise be closed. Such is the case when he’s sent to Guatamala to interview an influential presidential candidate. His last interview with a similar figure didn’t end well, and this time is no different.
So enmeshed in the secret world of espionage has Gabriel become that he’s found himself in the dubious position of posing as a double agent for the Russians, acting as decoy for a British triple agent. The only upside is the Russians are generous with money enabling him to move to the countryside in the hope of finding some peace and quiet to work on his latest book. Some hope…
Gabriel is someone you can’t help rooting for even though he often makes foolish blunders and lets his fascination with Faith lead him into all sorts of dangerous situations. Having said that, Faith is facing her own challenges just at the moment. To quote Shakespeare, ‘When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions’ because a problem Gabriel encountered on his previous mission, which he thought he’d put to bed permanently, resurfaces (literally), he’s being sued for plagiarism and his ex-girlfriend Lorraine is keen to rekindle their relationship. His only respite from his problems is his sessions with his therapist, Dr Katrina Haas.
The book has all the hallmarks of an espionage thriller with Gabriel forced to adopt the sort of spycraft you’d find in a John lé Carre novel, including how to lose someone trying to follow you. He’s also given a quick lesson in how to kill using only the contents of your pockets, such as a notebook or set of keys. The prospect of finding himself in a dangerous situation involving some very nasty people is never far away.
From Guatemala the action moves to West Berlin (don’t worry, there are connections) and sees Gabriel become involved in frantic attempts to disrupt a plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. You might be thinking, we all know JFK wasn’t assassinated in Berlin so where’s the tension? But of course Gabriel doesn’t know that. His frenzied efforts to spot a face in the crowd, a face only he has seen, and then the sudden realisation that everyone is on the wrong track is absolutely gripping even if it does have strong ‘The Day of the Jackal’ vibes.
The Predicament is a thoroughly enjoyable, stylish spy thriller with a great sense of time and place.
December 14, 2025
This is every bit as good as Gabriel's Moon. Gabriel continues to be an interesting character, as does Faith. Their weird, on again, off again relationship keeps one guessing. Boyd continues to weave in actual historical events, such as the 1963 Guatemalan coup, Kennedy's visit to Berlin, and his assassination (which concludes the b00k). There is a lot of real history, a lot of made up events, and a lot of conspiracy theory. Boyd is a self-admitted conpiracy theorist on the JFK assassination, largely blaming the CIA (see his recent NPR interview). In any case, it is a good story and Boyd is better than most of the other spy novelists going (not that he is up to LeCarré).
August 29, 2025
The Predicament is the second in the Gabriel Dax trilogy and our reluctant spy is back but is no less reluctant than before. (I would advise reading Gabriel's Moon before reading this.)
We join the book in 1963. Gabriel is working on the last of his Rivers locations when he is contacted by Faith Green. This time he is being sent to Guatamala to interview an influential presidential candidate. However nobody seems to be telling Gabriel the full story and, while he has to pieces together on a trip to Berlin for himself, he comes into contact with rogue CIA agents and Mafia men intent on disrupting the world's political landscape.
I can't help feeling sorry for Gabriel. MI6 seem to throw him into all sorts of dangerous situations but, since he'd do anything for Faith Green, he only has himself to blame when he comes a cropper. More complications arrive in the shape of a man accusing him of plagiarism and his ex-girlfriend, Lorraine. Sometimes, Gabriel simply doesn't know who to trust, which could mean fatal mistakes as he becomes part of the CIA operation to keep John F Kennedy safe during his landmark visit to Berlin.
I really enjoy the gentle nature of this series. It's certainly not Le Carre. Gabriel is a really engaging character who seems happy to be used by Faith even as he's trying to escape from his obsession with her. The situations he finds himself seem to come out of nowhere and one minute he's researching for his book while the next he's trying to find an assassin. For some reason I imagine a lot of Cold War spies bumbling around like this, suspecting treachery everywhere.
I'm really looking forward to the final part of this trilogy. I hope it comes sooner rather than later.
Thankyou very much to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for the advance review copy. Most appreciated.
We join the book in 1963. Gabriel is working on the last of his Rivers locations when he is contacted by Faith Green. This time he is being sent to Guatamala to interview an influential presidential candidate. However nobody seems to be telling Gabriel the full story and, while he has to pieces together on a trip to Berlin for himself, he comes into contact with rogue CIA agents and Mafia men intent on disrupting the world's political landscape.
I can't help feeling sorry for Gabriel. MI6 seem to throw him into all sorts of dangerous situations but, since he'd do anything for Faith Green, he only has himself to blame when he comes a cropper. More complications arrive in the shape of a man accusing him of plagiarism and his ex-girlfriend, Lorraine. Sometimes, Gabriel simply doesn't know who to trust, which could mean fatal mistakes as he becomes part of the CIA operation to keep John F Kennedy safe during his landmark visit to Berlin.
I really enjoy the gentle nature of this series. It's certainly not Le Carre. Gabriel is a really engaging character who seems happy to be used by Faith even as he's trying to escape from his obsession with her. The situations he finds himself seem to come out of nowhere and one minute he's researching for his book while the next he's trying to find an assassin. For some reason I imagine a lot of Cold War spies bumbling around like this, suspecting treachery everywhere.
I'm really looking forward to the final part of this trilogy. I hope it comes sooner rather than later.
Thankyou very much to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for the advance review copy. Most appreciated.
October 2, 2025
As addictive as Slow Horses. I hope Gabriel makes it to the third instalment as he still survives on alcohol and French cigarettes.
Not sure I really trust his love interest Faith. The women in his life are a complex web.
Not sure I really trust his love interest Faith. The women in his life are a complex web.
October 18, 2025
enjoyed this spy novel based in 1963 where the action takes place in central America and Berlin. was easy to read
August 16, 2025
The Predicament is a sequel to Gabriel’s Moon, a book that I read only a year ago so I should have been primed, right? But no, I realised I had forgotten large parts of it. I’m a bit hopeless with sequels. Usually I remember the plot of the first book in broad brushes, but the author sometimes seems to expect me to remember every character and what happened to them in forensic detail, and I don’t.
The Predicament doesn’t work as a standalone, it’s very much a sequel, but it DOES work if you only have a fuzzy grasp on the previous book. Our “hero” is Gabriel Dax, a travel writer in 1960s London who was reluctantly roped into being a freelancer for MI6. Now he’s starting to grow in the role, picking up some spy techniques and a sense of what’s important and what isn’t. It’s a twisting story that takes us from London to Guatemala to West Berlin.
I loved the sense of time and place and I also loved the way Boyd has woven real people and events into The Predicament, something that he has done so well in several books. The Predicament has a tighter plot than Gabriel’s Moon and I liked it even more. It’s highly readable with a wry, understated comic edge.
The Predicament doesn’t work as a standalone, it’s very much a sequel, but it DOES work if you only have a fuzzy grasp on the previous book. Our “hero” is Gabriel Dax, a travel writer in 1960s London who was reluctantly roped into being a freelancer for MI6. Now he’s starting to grow in the role, picking up some spy techniques and a sense of what’s important and what isn’t. It’s a twisting story that takes us from London to Guatemala to West Berlin.
I loved the sense of time and place and I also loved the way Boyd has woven real people and events into The Predicament, something that he has done so well in several books. The Predicament has a tighter plot than Gabriel’s Moon and I liked it even more. It’s highly readable with a wry, understated comic edge.
October 21, 2025
Meet Gabriel Dax, a bookish travel writer who leads a double life as a double agent. He’s engaged in legitimate surveillance activities for the British but is also paid well to share secrets with the Russians. MI6 carefully prunes what Dax shares but the reader questions his loyalty from page one.
The best cover is always a real one and as a legitimate and well-respected travel writer Dax breezes through doors shut to most. He’s asked to head to Guatemala to interview priest and rising political star, Padre Tiago. The meeting does not go well and neither does Tiago’s existence after a brush with our protagonist. Dax believes he was used so one of the shady organizations he works for could locate the powerful priest and send him to his god early. He might not be wrong.
As the title hints, Dax’s predicaments are many. He’s out of depth in a deadly game of espionage, obsessively in love with his handler, is being sued by another writer for plagiarism and is used for food by a neighborhood cat. Some problems are solved while others grow pear-shaped, but the plot stays snappy and constantly gains momentum. Besides British locales, the story spans Guatemala, New York City and Berlin. Dax surprises us with creative tradecraft and proves himself especially worthy in the gripping scenes of a satisfying finale set in West Germany as President Kennedy visits the region. Threats are afoot from many directions.
Our author shows his off his talent as a storyteller and his experience as a screenwriter and director helps create fresh perspective in a genre lacking strong new books. I’d have enjoyed another a couple hundred more pages, but this is set as a trilogy, so fortunately another Gabriel Dax story is coming.
Recommended to fans of literary espionage in the spirit of John le Carre and Graham Greene.
Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Grove Atlantic | Atlantic Crime for a review copy.
The best cover is always a real one and as a legitimate and well-respected travel writer Dax breezes through doors shut to most. He’s asked to head to Guatemala to interview priest and rising political star, Padre Tiago. The meeting does not go well and neither does Tiago’s existence after a brush with our protagonist. Dax believes he was used so one of the shady organizations he works for could locate the powerful priest and send him to his god early. He might not be wrong.
As the title hints, Dax’s predicaments are many. He’s out of depth in a deadly game of espionage, obsessively in love with his handler, is being sued by another writer for plagiarism and is used for food by a neighborhood cat. Some problems are solved while others grow pear-shaped, but the plot stays snappy and constantly gains momentum. Besides British locales, the story spans Guatemala, New York City and Berlin. Dax surprises us with creative tradecraft and proves himself especially worthy in the gripping scenes of a satisfying finale set in West Germany as President Kennedy visits the region. Threats are afoot from many directions.
Our author shows his off his talent as a storyteller and his experience as a screenwriter and director helps create fresh perspective in a genre lacking strong new books. I’d have enjoyed another a couple hundred more pages, but this is set as a trilogy, so fortunately another Gabriel Dax story is coming.
Recommended to fans of literary espionage in the spirit of John le Carre and Graham Greene.
Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Grove Atlantic | Atlantic Crime for a review copy.
November 16, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed William Boyd's latest adventure with his swinging 60's spy, Gabriel Dax. This one races around the Cold War hotspots from Venezuela to Berlin, and as always with Boyd, the scene-setting is exquisite as are the clothes and the food! Slightly more plot- and less character- driven than the first one. Still, I'm looking forward to the next one, which (if the foreshadowing is on the money) will take us to Moscow.
September 28, 2025
A throughly enjoyable and entertaining follow-up to Boyd's previous book, "Gabriel's Moon." Like that earlier novel, "Predicament" chronicles the adventures of the reluctant spy/travel writer Gabriel Daxt. This one is set in 1962. Dax's travels take him to Guatemala where he interacts with the CIA and the company known as United Fruit, known to be very cozy with the CIA and very exploitative. From here Daxt is sent to Berlin where he is tasked to be part of a joint MI-6, CIA, and German law enforcement to protect President Kennedy when he gives his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" in June 1963.
Once again there are sinister conspiracies afoot. People are manipulated, betrayed, misled, and assassinated. Daxt himself survives an attempt on life. He still pines for his MI-6 handler. He doesn't know who to trust. And he -- like everyone else at the time, it seems -- drank a lot and smoked constantly. (I was in my early teens so I can't attest to the accuracy of this depiction but I am inclined to think it right.)
Running through all this is -- for me, at least -- the sense of a new world being born: the Kennedy years, coups, double- and triple-agents, and a song Daxt ubiquitous on London's radios about a boy and a girl in love ("yeah, yeah, yeah").
My thanks to Atlantic Books and Edelweis+ for providing a digital ARC in return for an honest review.
Once again there are sinister conspiracies afoot. People are manipulated, betrayed, misled, and assassinated. Daxt himself survives an attempt on life. He still pines for his MI-6 handler. He doesn't know who to trust. And he -- like everyone else at the time, it seems -- drank a lot and smoked constantly. (I was in my early teens so I can't attest to the accuracy of this depiction but I am inclined to think it right.)
Running through all this is -- for me, at least -- the sense of a new world being born: the Kennedy years, coups, double- and triple-agents, and a song Daxt ubiquitous on London's radios about a boy and a girl in love ("yeah, yeah, yeah").
My thanks to Atlantic Books and Edelweis+ for providing a digital ARC in return for an honest review.
September 8, 2025
William Boyd’s mellifluous writing is all but hypnotic. The daily life of a reluctant spy is gently and genteely woven with the threats and duplicity of events involving MI6, the CIA and the Russian secret service. Tap dancing around the demands of each of his handlers in the agencies, he navigates through Guatemala and then Berlin under the guise of travel writing. A sequel to ‘Gabriel’s Moon’, which I so enjoyed, ‘The Predicament’ is slightly less intriguing, slightly more predictable, but a thoroughly enjoyable read. Given the open-ended threads, I assume there will be another volume and very much look forward to it.
October 28, 2025
Boyd has written some fine spy novels and some shrewd criticism of the genre. Surprisingly, this was a let-down. It seems to lean too heavily on the previous book than necessary and I found the main character too snobbish and self-involved to be interesting.
October 21, 2025
4.5 stars. Didn’t love this as much as the last. Can’t quite put my finger on it but just didn’t feel like I always wanted to read it. I don’t like the characters particularly which doesn’t really matter but I don’t really care as much as I did about Gabriel. But still brilliantly written.
November 4, 2025
an amusing - and brief - spy yarn. I like Boyd's writing. This is the second, and I can't see any reason why there won't be more. I expect Netflix have been in touch.
September 9, 2025
5* The Predicament - William Boyd. Utterly brilliant slow burn 1960s spy romp with a glorious return for reluctant MI6 'agent' Gabriel Dax.
Travel writer Gabriel Dax has moved from his Chelsea flat to a cottage in the countryside, hopeful of finding peace in his life as a travel writer to complete his latest book. Until the enigmatic Faith Green from MI6 tracks him down to go on another undercover mission. Guatemala is on the cusp of a new Government, but one which powerful American organisations are suspicious of - the CIA and United Fruit who own large tranches of land and make huge profits in the country. The task is a simple one - Gabriel is to travel as a journalist and interview the elusive potential president who is causing the kerfuffle. Holed up in his Guatemalan hotel, Gabrielle meets the CIA Head of Station, suspecting that there is something a 'little off' about him, along with some other patrons of the hotel. He has stumbled into a hornet's nest and has no idea what he is in the middle of.
Returning to the UK and promising himself he won't get caught up in anymore MI6 high jinx, he is soon bundled off to Berlin where an even bigger threat is posed.
What an absolute gem of a book. This is the second of the Gabriel Dax series and I sincerely hope that it's going to be long running. The language and pacing are sublime, as you might expect from William Boyd. While Gabriel isn't a heroic spy thriller, the intense plots and some of the scenes have you holding your breath. The spy craft isn't meticulously set out in the way of writers such as Le Carre, but the enjoyment in the book is likely all the better for it.
Dax as a character is a great asset to the book. As are the many returning cast members including Faith Green and the ongoing tangle that Gabriel has got himself in with the KGB and his carousel of handlers.
If you haven't read Gabriel's Moon, the previous book, The Predicament will work as a standalone. However, as with most series, if you start at the beginning the love of the characters and appreciation of ongoing threads is all the richer. It also means that you can enjoy Gabriel's Moon without going backwards and having had some of the plot inevitable spoilt.
Fingers crossed that William Boyd has plenty of future plans for Gabriel Dax.
Thanks to Penguin General UK, Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking and Netgalley for an ARC.
Travel writer Gabriel Dax has moved from his Chelsea flat to a cottage in the countryside, hopeful of finding peace in his life as a travel writer to complete his latest book. Until the enigmatic Faith Green from MI6 tracks him down to go on another undercover mission. Guatemala is on the cusp of a new Government, but one which powerful American organisations are suspicious of - the CIA and United Fruit who own large tranches of land and make huge profits in the country. The task is a simple one - Gabriel is to travel as a journalist and interview the elusive potential president who is causing the kerfuffle. Holed up in his Guatemalan hotel, Gabrielle meets the CIA Head of Station, suspecting that there is something a 'little off' about him, along with some other patrons of the hotel. He has stumbled into a hornet's nest and has no idea what he is in the middle of.
Returning to the UK and promising himself he won't get caught up in anymore MI6 high jinx, he is soon bundled off to Berlin where an even bigger threat is posed.
What an absolute gem of a book. This is the second of the Gabriel Dax series and I sincerely hope that it's going to be long running. The language and pacing are sublime, as you might expect from William Boyd. While Gabriel isn't a heroic spy thriller, the intense plots and some of the scenes have you holding your breath. The spy craft isn't meticulously set out in the way of writers such as Le Carre, but the enjoyment in the book is likely all the better for it.
Dax as a character is a great asset to the book. As are the many returning cast members including Faith Green and the ongoing tangle that Gabriel has got himself in with the KGB and his carousel of handlers.
If you haven't read Gabriel's Moon, the previous book, The Predicament will work as a standalone. However, as with most series, if you start at the beginning the love of the characters and appreciation of ongoing threads is all the richer. It also means that you can enjoy Gabriel's Moon without going backwards and having had some of the plot inevitable spoilt.
Fingers crossed that William Boyd has plenty of future plans for Gabriel Dax.
Thanks to Penguin General UK, Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking and Netgalley for an ARC.
December 4, 2025
A very effectively written spy thriller, combining, once again, elements of John Le Carré with a Ripley-esque vibe. In this second book, our accidental spy gets increasingly comfortable in his skin as a double agent. The plot is quite familiar to the previous book - the world is a dangerous place in the 1960s, developing countries face constant interventions from the KGB, MI6, and CIA (the latter, naturally, being quite nasty), and spies are constantly trying to outsmart each other.
The pacing is superb and the book overall is a lot of fun - it's hard to put down, and can be read in one go. There's nothing overly complex here, and the characters are interesting without being too deep and complicated, making it easy to follow and empathise. Where I struggled a bit was the unusual number of coincidences interspersed with seriously idiotic blunders by the protagonist that beggar belief, but do help move the plot along. I also feel like the book, if compared to Le Carre, is much more focused on the action (and sex!), vs the psychology of the protagonists and the socio-political underpinnings of the events in question. Albeit very different, I was reminded of some elements of Stieg Larsson's books, and felt some of the loose threads to be similarly worked into the plot.
I highly recommend to spy action novel lovers, and especially those who are fascinated by the spy community during the Cold War.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in return for an honest review.
The pacing is superb and the book overall is a lot of fun - it's hard to put down, and can be read in one go. There's nothing overly complex here, and the characters are interesting without being too deep and complicated, making it easy to follow and empathise. Where I struggled a bit was the unusual number of coincidences interspersed with seriously idiotic blunders by the protagonist that beggar belief, but do help move the plot along. I also feel like the book, if compared to Le Carre, is much more focused on the action (and sex!), vs the psychology of the protagonists and the socio-political underpinnings of the events in question. Albeit very different, I was reminded of some elements of Stieg Larsson's books, and felt some of the loose threads to be similarly worked into the plot.
I highly recommend to spy action novel lovers, and especially those who are fascinated by the spy community during the Cold War.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in return for an honest review.
September 18, 2025
Travel writer turned spy turned double (triple?) agent, Gabriel Dax, is still in thrall to his MI5 handler, Faith Green, so when she gives him a new assignment, he is unable to resist. Anyway, it’s in Guatemala, so he’ll be able to combine it with research for his new book on rivers of the world, all expenses paid. His task is to interview a candidate in the troubled country’s upcoming presidential election, with a view to making a connection with a man who may be about to become powerful in the region. The assignment soon goes wrong and Gabriel leaves the country hurriedly, making for West Berlin, where his contacts with the CIA lead him into another, more dramatic assignment – to prevent an assassination attempt on JFK, which the CIA believes is planned to take place during his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech.
I loved the first Gabriel Dax book, Gabriel’s Moon, so had high expectations for this one, which it didn’t entirely meet. The first book told the story of how Gabriel became an accidental spy, but there was a second strand, at least as important, around an event in his childhood that had left him haunted and guilt-ridden, giving the book its emotional depth. This one is a straight spy novel – still entertaining and, of course, well written, but with fewer layers. It feels rather superficial in comparison to the first. My other problem with it is that, when an author picks an episode in history that is so well known, it’s very difficult to create suspense. We all know that JFK was not assassinated in West Berlin…
However, there’s still a lot to enjoy, not least the fun Boyd has with Gabriel’s day job as a travel writer. He has been accused of plagiarism by an elderly travel writer whose work he has long admired. He’s shocked by the allegation and denies it completely. But I felt Boyd was slyly giving the reader the option to wonder – Gabriel’s method of ‘researching’ the river in Guatemala is to spend an hour or two there and then look stuff up in the library. Does that count as travel writing? Or is it close to plagiarism even if he doesn’t directly copy from earlier books? It’s obvious Gabriel is far more interested in the being-published-and-getting-paid aspect of his writing career than the having-travel-adventures-and-writing-about-them part.
A slight spoiler for the first book now, so skip this paragraph if you haven’t read it yet and plan to. At the end of it, he was on the payroll of the Russians, with the full knowledge of his handler in MI5. This allows him to be the MI5 contact with a British spy living as a defector in Moscow, while the Russians think they’re both working for them. Confused? Me too! Two books in, and I still can’t see what anyone gains from this, but then I often find myself befuddled by the point of it all in spy fiction!
In this second book, that situation continues and gets referred to several times, but it doesn’t move along – it plays no real part in the plot. The fact that it continues in this way made me wonder if there is to be a third book which will tie that situation up and answer some of the questions raised about Faith in this one. And on checking, it appears that, yes, Boyd has confirmed this will be a trilogy. In this one, it’s still hard to know whether Faith is actually interested in Gabriel or is just using sex to keep him loyal and willing. I’m still somewhat baffled why anyone – MI5, CIA or KGB – would be interested in having Gabriel on the payroll, though – he seems such an ineffective spy!
Despite the slightly critical tone of this review, I found the book enjoyable to read. Boyd is always fun when he’s in spy mode, and he’s very good at evoking settings – unlike Gabriel, he does his research thoroughly! I enjoyed the brief visit to Guatemala, a country that doesn’t turn up in fiction often, and was mildly disappointed to find myself back in Western Europe. But seeing the JFK visit from behind the scenes, as it were, is interesting and Boyd captures well the excitement around this young, charismatic President, and the optimism he is bringing to Berlin. And it turns out there is a connection between the Guatemalan strand and the Berlin one, even if it’s so convoluted I’m glad I don’t have to try to explain it!
In summary, an enjoyable read but without the depth of the first book. With the unresolved threads hanging over from the previous instalment, this one feels like a bridge to the third novel, although it does have enough of an independent storyline to stand alone. However, assuming Boyd pulls it all together in the third book, as I’m confident he will, then I suspect my minor complaints about this one will disappear. I’m certainly intrigued by the Faith situation and keen to know whether Gabriel commits fully to life as a spy or finds a way back to normal life. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long to find out!
NB: This book was provided for review by the publisher, Viking via NetGalley.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
I loved the first Gabriel Dax book, Gabriel’s Moon, so had high expectations for this one, which it didn’t entirely meet. The first book told the story of how Gabriel became an accidental spy, but there was a second strand, at least as important, around an event in his childhood that had left him haunted and guilt-ridden, giving the book its emotional depth. This one is a straight spy novel – still entertaining and, of course, well written, but with fewer layers. It feels rather superficial in comparison to the first. My other problem with it is that, when an author picks an episode in history that is so well known, it’s very difficult to create suspense. We all know that JFK was not assassinated in West Berlin…
However, there’s still a lot to enjoy, not least the fun Boyd has with Gabriel’s day job as a travel writer. He has been accused of plagiarism by an elderly travel writer whose work he has long admired. He’s shocked by the allegation and denies it completely. But I felt Boyd was slyly giving the reader the option to wonder – Gabriel’s method of ‘researching’ the river in Guatemala is to spend an hour or two there and then look stuff up in the library. Does that count as travel writing? Or is it close to plagiarism even if he doesn’t directly copy from earlier books? It’s obvious Gabriel is far more interested in the being-published-and-getting-paid aspect of his writing career than the having-travel-adventures-and-writing-about-them part.
A slight spoiler for the first book now, so skip this paragraph if you haven’t read it yet and plan to. At the end of it, he was on the payroll of the Russians, with the full knowledge of his handler in MI5. This allows him to be the MI5 contact with a British spy living as a defector in Moscow, while the Russians think they’re both working for them. Confused? Me too! Two books in, and I still can’t see what anyone gains from this, but then I often find myself befuddled by the point of it all in spy fiction!
In this second book, that situation continues and gets referred to several times, but it doesn’t move along – it plays no real part in the plot. The fact that it continues in this way made me wonder if there is to be a third book which will tie that situation up and answer some of the questions raised about Faith in this one. And on checking, it appears that, yes, Boyd has confirmed this will be a trilogy. In this one, it’s still hard to know whether Faith is actually interested in Gabriel or is just using sex to keep him loyal and willing. I’m still somewhat baffled why anyone – MI5, CIA or KGB – would be interested in having Gabriel on the payroll, though – he seems such an ineffective spy!
Despite the slightly critical tone of this review, I found the book enjoyable to read. Boyd is always fun when he’s in spy mode, and he’s very good at evoking settings – unlike Gabriel, he does his research thoroughly! I enjoyed the brief visit to Guatemala, a country that doesn’t turn up in fiction often, and was mildly disappointed to find myself back in Western Europe. But seeing the JFK visit from behind the scenes, as it were, is interesting and Boyd captures well the excitement around this young, charismatic President, and the optimism he is bringing to Berlin. And it turns out there is a connection between the Guatemalan strand and the Berlin one, even if it’s so convoluted I’m glad I don’t have to try to explain it!
In summary, an enjoyable read but without the depth of the first book. With the unresolved threads hanging over from the previous instalment, this one feels like a bridge to the third novel, although it does have enough of an independent storyline to stand alone. However, assuming Boyd pulls it all together in the third book, as I’m confident he will, then I suspect my minor complaints about this one will disappear. I’m certainly intrigued by the Faith situation and keen to know whether Gabriel commits fully to life as a spy or finds a way back to normal life. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long to find out!
NB: This book was provided for review by the publisher, Viking via NetGalley.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
September 29, 2025
I’m not sure there’s quite enough in the character of Gabriel Dax to sustain a trilogy, but this is entertaining enough.
In the second of the trilogy Dax is now a travel writer just completing a book on rivers which gives him something in common with Robert MacFarlane.. This is 1963, and he is again recruited by MI6 and sent to Guatemala to observe the charismatic ‘Padre Tiago,’ an activist ex-priest who may become president. As Dax arrives Tiago is assassinated and a coup breaks out. The plot gives Boyd the excuse of sending his protagonist around the world chasing various threads, though still able to rekindle his love interest with Faith Green. It seems he is being turned into some sort of James Bond character.
It’s far from being Boyd at his best, and it makes me wonder why the great writer is spending his time doing stuff like this. I guess he must enjoy it, or the cynic in me sniffs a film script..
In the second of the trilogy Dax is now a travel writer just completing a book on rivers which gives him something in common with Robert MacFarlane.. This is 1963, and he is again recruited by MI6 and sent to Guatemala to observe the charismatic ‘Padre Tiago,’ an activist ex-priest who may become president. As Dax arrives Tiago is assassinated and a coup breaks out. The plot gives Boyd the excuse of sending his protagonist around the world chasing various threads, though still able to rekindle his love interest with Faith Green. It seems he is being turned into some sort of James Bond character.
It’s far from being Boyd at his best, and it makes me wonder why the great writer is spending his time doing stuff like this. I guess he must enjoy it, or the cynic in me sniffs a film script..
November 28, 2025
Generic & unlikeable characters, boring plot
November 28, 2025
Can't believe I dropped the ball on Mr. Boyd's writing. Started out with The New Confessions, and Brazzaville Beach, throughly enjoyed Restless and then, for some reason, forgot how much a loved his writing style. I am now totally all in on Gabriel Dax (#1 is just as entertaining). Boyd makes writing seem so effortless, transporting you to far of places and capturing just the right amount of detail to hold you enthralled and keep the pace. Can't wait for the next Dax installment.
July 17, 2025
With thanks to the publisher and to netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The Predicament picks up the story of Gabriel Dax, travel writer and part time, unintentional member of the underworld of secret information.
As he travels, researching his books, he also encounters and works for M16, the CIA and is also involved with KGB. This seems unlikely but is offered in a completely plausible, calmly factual way. Boyd skillfully blends his characters with real events in both Guatemala and Berlin, bringing the time of the Berlin Wall and the visit of Kennedy to Berlin, completely to life.
Woven within this interesting story of espionage is a love story, as he encounters the mysterious Faith, who might be using Gabriel but might have the potential to be much more in his life.
Beautifully paced, plotted and written, this is Boyd at his best. A super book.
The Predicament picks up the story of Gabriel Dax, travel writer and part time, unintentional member of the underworld of secret information.
As he travels, researching his books, he also encounters and works for M16, the CIA and is also involved with KGB. This seems unlikely but is offered in a completely plausible, calmly factual way. Boyd skillfully blends his characters with real events in both Guatemala and Berlin, bringing the time of the Berlin Wall and the visit of Kennedy to Berlin, completely to life.
Woven within this interesting story of espionage is a love story, as he encounters the mysterious Faith, who might be using Gabriel but might have the potential to be much more in his life.
Beautifully paced, plotted and written, this is Boyd at his best. A super book.
October 4, 2025
I’m not massively keen on Boyd’s writing style, I don’t particularly care for these characters and the plots feel a bit clumsy
Yet I know I’ll read the next one. I do want to see what happens to the irritating Gabriel, will he ever stop whining, will he actually fully embrace either one of his lives and will he ever grow up and realise Faith is bang out of order!
Yet I know I’ll read the next one. I do want to see what happens to the irritating Gabriel, will he ever stop whining, will he actually fully embrace either one of his lives and will he ever grow up and realise Faith is bang out of order!
December 13, 2025
“There is the story – and then there is the story within the story. And then there is another story, buried, that only a select few are able to read.” – Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau
That insightful quote, translated from its’ original French, underlines the latest Historical Thriller THE PREDICAMENT from author William Boyd. This novel features the political conflict in Guatemala from 1963 which involved multiple countries, international businesses, espionage organizations, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy. It is laid out like a work of fiction which makes for a read that is never dull and resembles a literary thriller.
Our story begins with travel writer and sometime MI6 operative Gabriel Dax working on a non-fiction book about rivers, cleverly entitled Rivers. He becomes curious about a car parked on the street near the cottage he is using and begins to get a feeling that his writing may be temporarily put on hold for another mission. He is first contacted by a Russian agent that asks to meet him at a nearby café. It is there where Natalia passes on her role as his Russian contact to a new woman named Varvara. They provide him with bribe money that is left inside a Russian novel, as they have done with their previous dealings with him. He then dutifully reports all of this to his MI6 handler, Faith Green, who asks him to keep up the pretense and get what information he can from the Russians.
As it turns out, the Russians have interest in learning more about Faith Green, which makes for an interesting predicament. It is shortly after this meeting that Gabriel is officially brought back in by Faith and MI6 and told about a joint mission, they are working on with the CIA that will involve his traveling to Guatemala, under the guise of travel writer observing the rivers there. In reality, he will be getting close to a political candidate vying for President there by the name of Santiago Angel Lopez. Specifically, they wish to know what his intentions on for a future relationship with the U.S. With that, Gabriel is off to Guatemala and caught between rival organizations and players that will keep him addled and in constant peril.
Gabriel arrives in Guatemala, with the false intention of studying the Rio Motagua for his book, and he gets his face-to-face meeting with Senor Lopez, known locally as Padre Tiago. Tiago is expecting that Gabriel has a message from Fidel Castro of Cuba, which is not the case, but also put the U.S. more firmly on the hook based on the crisis they had with the Cuban Missile matter. There is strong opposition to Padre Tiago nee Senor Cruz winning from the corporation known as United Fruit, who claims to have built Guatemala. Gabriel is quickly finding himself to be a puppet caught between strong opposing forces with no obvious way out.
Things become really explosive when Padre Tiago is shot dead at the same time a violent military coup takes place ousting the current President Ydigoras. Now, Gabriel is trapped in a country amidst seriously dangerous unrest and the potboiler that has begun is far from done with him. He escapes Guatemala City to New York where he seeks refuge in the upstate town of Hyde Park only to survive an attempt on his life via a stabbing. He eventually goes back to his Rose Cottage in London where Faith Green informs him that nothing is as it seems.
THE PREDICAMENT is an example of literary spy games of the highest order and William Boyd’s series featuring Gabriel Dax seems to get more and more intense with each new entry. There are so many balls being juggled by Dax in this story that it is hard to keep on top of where the threat is coming from and who will benefit from the next deadly move.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
That insightful quote, translated from its’ original French, underlines the latest Historical Thriller THE PREDICAMENT from author William Boyd. This novel features the political conflict in Guatemala from 1963 which involved multiple countries, international businesses, espionage organizations, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy. It is laid out like a work of fiction which makes for a read that is never dull and resembles a literary thriller.
Our story begins with travel writer and sometime MI6 operative Gabriel Dax working on a non-fiction book about rivers, cleverly entitled Rivers. He becomes curious about a car parked on the street near the cottage he is using and begins to get a feeling that his writing may be temporarily put on hold for another mission. He is first contacted by a Russian agent that asks to meet him at a nearby café. It is there where Natalia passes on her role as his Russian contact to a new woman named Varvara. They provide him with bribe money that is left inside a Russian novel, as they have done with their previous dealings with him. He then dutifully reports all of this to his MI6 handler, Faith Green, who asks him to keep up the pretense and get what information he can from the Russians.
As it turns out, the Russians have interest in learning more about Faith Green, which makes for an interesting predicament. It is shortly after this meeting that Gabriel is officially brought back in by Faith and MI6 and told about a joint mission, they are working on with the CIA that will involve his traveling to Guatemala, under the guise of travel writer observing the rivers there. In reality, he will be getting close to a political candidate vying for President there by the name of Santiago Angel Lopez. Specifically, they wish to know what his intentions on for a future relationship with the U.S. With that, Gabriel is off to Guatemala and caught between rival organizations and players that will keep him addled and in constant peril.
Gabriel arrives in Guatemala, with the false intention of studying the Rio Motagua for his book, and he gets his face-to-face meeting with Senor Lopez, known locally as Padre Tiago. Tiago is expecting that Gabriel has a message from Fidel Castro of Cuba, which is not the case, but also put the U.S. more firmly on the hook based on the crisis they had with the Cuban Missile matter. There is strong opposition to Padre Tiago nee Senor Cruz winning from the corporation known as United Fruit, who claims to have built Guatemala. Gabriel is quickly finding himself to be a puppet caught between strong opposing forces with no obvious way out.
Things become really explosive when Padre Tiago is shot dead at the same time a violent military coup takes place ousting the current President Ydigoras. Now, Gabriel is trapped in a country amidst seriously dangerous unrest and the potboiler that has begun is far from done with him. He escapes Guatemala City to New York where he seeks refuge in the upstate town of Hyde Park only to survive an attempt on his life via a stabbing. He eventually goes back to his Rose Cottage in London where Faith Green informs him that nothing is as it seems.
THE PREDICAMENT is an example of literary spy games of the highest order and William Boyd’s series featuring Gabriel Dax seems to get more and more intense with each new entry. There are so many balls being juggled by Dax in this story that it is hard to keep on top of where the threat is coming from and who will benefit from the next deadly move.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
October 2, 2025
After finishing last year’s Gabriel’s Moon, I was pleased to learn that William Boyd was writing a second book about Gabriel Dax. I’ve now read it and enjoyed it even more than the first.
The Predicament begins in March 1963 with travel writer Gabriel trying to lead a peaceful life in a small East Sussex village. However, his parallel life in the world of espionage just won’t leave him alone. His Russian contact, Natalia Arkadina of the KGB, still believes he is a double agent working on behalf of Russia and has requested a meeting with him to give him his latest assignment. Meanwhile, Faith Green of MI6 has also approached him with a new mission: to go to Guatemala and interview Padre Tiago, the man expected to win the upcoming presidential election there.
Gabriel is not thrilled about getting involved in spying again, but agrees to the Guatemala plan as he’ll be able to combine the trip with some research for his new book on the world’s rivers. Unfortunately, things go badly wrong and he leaves the country in a hurry, having made himself the target of some unscrupulous people. It’s not long before he is given a new task, though – this time he must go to Germany and try to prevent an assassination attempt on President Kennedy, who is visiting West Berlin.
I don’t often choose to read spy thrillers, but one of the things I find compelling about this series is that Gabriel is such a reluctant and accidental spy. He never intended to get mixed up in international espionage and is really not very good at it! We do see him adding to his skill set in this book, though, being trained on how to lose someone who is trying to follow him and how to use everyday items as weapons. And although his Guatemala mission is disastrous, he does play a part in foiling the conspiracy to kill JFK in Berlin (I’m sure it’s not a spoiler to say that it was foiled as everyone knows that he wasn’t assassinated in Germany). Boyd does a good job of creating tension in the Berlin sections, despite it already being obvious what the outcome is going to be!
Gabriel’s Moon probably had slightly more depth, as it also featured a storyline about a childhood trauma that affected Gabriel’s mental health, but I preferred this book overall – possibly because when I read the first one I was comparing it unfavourably with Boyd’s previous and very different novel, The Romantic, which I loved. And although the mental health storyline is pushed into the background in this book, Gabriel does find himself facing some other personal predicaments: he is being accused of plagiarism by another travel author, who is not pleased that Gabriel has written about the same group of islands; his ex-girlfriend Lorraine is trying to rekindle their relationship; and Gabriel himself is continuing to struggle with his feelings for his MI6 handler, Faith Green. Faith is an enigmatic character – is she really romantically interested in Gabriel or is she just stringing him along for her own purposes?
The Predicament is an entertaining read with some fascinating settings – Guatemala on the brink of a political revolution and post-war Berlin shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Throughout the book, Gabriel’s Russian contacts, Natalia and Varvara, keep pushing for him to also visit Moscow, so maybe that will finally happen in the next book! This is apparently intended to be a trilogy, so hopefully we’ll get answers to some of the other questions in the final novel too. Something to look forward to.
The Predicament begins in March 1963 with travel writer Gabriel trying to lead a peaceful life in a small East Sussex village. However, his parallel life in the world of espionage just won’t leave him alone. His Russian contact, Natalia Arkadina of the KGB, still believes he is a double agent working on behalf of Russia and has requested a meeting with him to give him his latest assignment. Meanwhile, Faith Green of MI6 has also approached him with a new mission: to go to Guatemala and interview Padre Tiago, the man expected to win the upcoming presidential election there.
Gabriel is not thrilled about getting involved in spying again, but agrees to the Guatemala plan as he’ll be able to combine the trip with some research for his new book on the world’s rivers. Unfortunately, things go badly wrong and he leaves the country in a hurry, having made himself the target of some unscrupulous people. It’s not long before he is given a new task, though – this time he must go to Germany and try to prevent an assassination attempt on President Kennedy, who is visiting West Berlin.
I don’t often choose to read spy thrillers, but one of the things I find compelling about this series is that Gabriel is such a reluctant and accidental spy. He never intended to get mixed up in international espionage and is really not very good at it! We do see him adding to his skill set in this book, though, being trained on how to lose someone who is trying to follow him and how to use everyday items as weapons. And although his Guatemala mission is disastrous, he does play a part in foiling the conspiracy to kill JFK in Berlin (I’m sure it’s not a spoiler to say that it was foiled as everyone knows that he wasn’t assassinated in Germany). Boyd does a good job of creating tension in the Berlin sections, despite it already being obvious what the outcome is going to be!
Gabriel’s Moon probably had slightly more depth, as it also featured a storyline about a childhood trauma that affected Gabriel’s mental health, but I preferred this book overall – possibly because when I read the first one I was comparing it unfavourably with Boyd’s previous and very different novel, The Romantic, which I loved. And although the mental health storyline is pushed into the background in this book, Gabriel does find himself facing some other personal predicaments: he is being accused of plagiarism by another travel author, who is not pleased that Gabriel has written about the same group of islands; his ex-girlfriend Lorraine is trying to rekindle their relationship; and Gabriel himself is continuing to struggle with his feelings for his MI6 handler, Faith Green. Faith is an enigmatic character – is she really romantically interested in Gabriel or is she just stringing him along for her own purposes?
The Predicament is an entertaining read with some fascinating settings – Guatemala on the brink of a political revolution and post-war Berlin shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Throughout the book, Gabriel’s Russian contacts, Natalia and Varvara, keep pushing for him to also visit Moscow, so maybe that will finally happen in the next book! This is apparently intended to be a trilogy, so hopefully we’ll get answers to some of the other questions in the final novel too. Something to look forward to.
December 6, 2025
This book picks up where “Gabriel’s Moon” leaves off, continuing the “spy” exploits of travel writer Gabriel Dax. It’s 1963 and Gabriel is sent to Guatemala to interview a leftist presidential candidate while ostensibly working on his travel book about great rivers of the world. When the candidate is assassinated, Gabriel is again in the middle of an international intrigue. Complicating his life and clandestine assignments is his continuing relationship with his MI6 handler Faith Green. Is Faith just using Gabriel or is there some reciprocal love interest? When it appears that some of the same players involved in the Guatemalan affair are planning to assassinate President Kennedy during his visit to Germany, Faith sends Gabriel to Germany to help the MI6 and CIA thwart the plot. While The Predicament stands on its own, I would certainly read the books in the order in which they were published. I’m not sure whether a third Gabriel Dax novel would hold my interest without more variations to the plot. How far can the reluctant agent, unrequited love, and confessional psychologist story line play out? Still, The Predicament is an engaging thriller set against a clever historical background.
December 16, 2025
The Predicament, Gabriel Dax #2, William Boyd, September 2025, iBook 14,99. 16/12/2025. 5/5.
Really recommend the two books so far in this new series by William Boyd. Absolute page turners and great reading about travel and events in the early 1960s…. The characters are well drawn and storylines really quite exciting. Really keen for more in this series and quickly.
‘’’Gabriel Dax, travel writer and accidental spy, is back in the shadows. Unable to resist the allure of his MI6 handler, Faith Green, he has returned to a life of secrets and subterfuge. Dax is sent to Guatemala under the guise of covering a tinderbox presidential election, where the ruthless decisions of the Mafia provoke pitch-black warfare in collusion with the CIA.
As political turmoil erupts, Gabriel's reluctant involvement deepens. His escape plan leads him to West Berlin, where he uncovers a chilling there is a plot to assassinate magnetic young President John F. Kennedy. In a race against time, Gabriel must navigate deceit and danger, knowing that the stakes have never been higher . . .
In The Predicament, the second novel starring accidental spy Gabriel Dax, William Boyd weaves yet another masterful tale of suspense, loyalty, love and the dark temptations of spy craft.’’’’
Really recommend the two books so far in this new series by William Boyd. Absolute page turners and great reading about travel and events in the early 1960s…. The characters are well drawn and storylines really quite exciting. Really keen for more in this series and quickly.
‘’’Gabriel Dax, travel writer and accidental spy, is back in the shadows. Unable to resist the allure of his MI6 handler, Faith Green, he has returned to a life of secrets and subterfuge. Dax is sent to Guatemala under the guise of covering a tinderbox presidential election, where the ruthless decisions of the Mafia provoke pitch-black warfare in collusion with the CIA.
As political turmoil erupts, Gabriel's reluctant involvement deepens. His escape plan leads him to West Berlin, where he uncovers a chilling there is a plot to assassinate magnetic young President John F. Kennedy. In a race against time, Gabriel must navigate deceit and danger, knowing that the stakes have never been higher . . .
In The Predicament, the second novel starring accidental spy Gabriel Dax, William Boyd weaves yet another masterful tale of suspense, loyalty, love and the dark temptations of spy craft.’’’’
October 16, 2025
4.25/5 Stars. This second Gabriel Dax novel really brings home the perils in the world during the Cold War Era. You can read my full review here https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2025/10/1...
November 1, 2025
Dax gets himself deeper into espionage, further in love with Faith, and embroiled in CIA plots. Boyd also begins to bring in real life people and historical events, reminiscent of Any Human Heart with an exciting set piece in Berlin with JFK.
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