A Choice Of Enemies

by Ted Allbeury

Ted Bailey thought his days as an Intelligence Operative were long gone. He certainly wasn't expecting to be blackmailed back into action, especially not by his own side. But then Bailey is the only person left who ever encountered Berger, the KGB master-spy. Berger is running a major operation on US soil and both the CIA and SIS are desperate to track him down. So Bailey returns to the arena of international espionage and finds that little has changed. The spy game is just the same, even after 25 years. There's the same brutality. The same cold fear. The same violence and death. And the same choice of enemies.

Genres: Fiction, Espionage

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

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

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second division spy thriller

This is my third Allbeury book and whilst I thought the crossing excellent, I have come to the conclusion that was the exception to the rule.

This is an interesting story with some flaws (I don't buy the love story, it's obviously just a plot device that is unconvincing) but the writing is at average at best, sophisticated it is not.

However, the pacing is good and it cracks along nicely but I can't say that overall, this did a lot for me and this will be my last Allbeury read.

[Tim Trewartha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A massive disappointment. Allbeury's first novel promises a lot but delivers very little. Easily his worst book I have read thus far. Lots of good ideas and a couple of nice set pieces dominated by dull passages and conversations and too-clever-by-half writing. Thank god he improved.

[bransom bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

... really excellent ....

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent little spy story, which I enjoyed, but you need to give it a few chapters to get going.

[Ioana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book reminds me of the times when the world was split in two.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Ted Bailey thought his days as an Operative were over; reluctantly he's back chasing a KGB spy.