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The Kremlin Letter
New York Times Six American spies embark on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines in this classic Cold War espionage thriller.
Lt. Cmdr. Charles Rone, a young naval intelligence officer with a sterling record, finds himself abruptly discharged from the service. Without his consent, Rone has been recruited to join a top-secret network of agents who operate independently of the US government. Led by a cynical spymaster known only as the Highwayman, the group will break any law and destroy as many innocent lives as necessary to stop the spread of communism.
In Moscow, the Americans must make contact with a high-level mole in the Kremlin and recover a letter that could spark a nuclear war if it falls into the wrong hands. But treachery is an integral part of this shadow conflict between superpowers, and no sooner has the team arrived in the Soviet capital than the double-crossing begins. One devastating betrayal follows the next as Rone desperately tries to stay alive and out of the clutches of the KGB long enough to find out who compromised the mission.
Inspired by author Noel Behn’s service in the US Army’s Counterintelligence Corps, The Kremlin Letter is a realistic and hard-edged tale of international intrigue that ranks with the best of John Le Carré and Len Deighton. A New York Times bestseller, it was the basis for a John Huston film starring Orson Welles and Max von Sydow.
Lt. Cmdr. Charles Rone, a young naval intelligence officer with a sterling record, finds himself abruptly discharged from the service. Without his consent, Rone has been recruited to join a top-secret network of agents who operate independently of the US government. Led by a cynical spymaster known only as the Highwayman, the group will break any law and destroy as many innocent lives as necessary to stop the spread of communism.
In Moscow, the Americans must make contact with a high-level mole in the Kremlin and recover a letter that could spark a nuclear war if it falls into the wrong hands. But treachery is an integral part of this shadow conflict between superpowers, and no sooner has the team arrived in the Soviet capital than the double-crossing begins. One devastating betrayal follows the next as Rone desperately tries to stay alive and out of the clutches of the KGB long enough to find out who compromised the mission.
Inspired by author Noel Behn’s service in the US Army’s Counterintelligence Corps, The Kremlin Letter is a realistic and hard-edged tale of international intrigue that ranks with the best of John Le Carré and Len Deighton. A New York Times bestseller, it was the basis for a John Huston film starring Orson Welles and Max von Sydow.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1966
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224 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
March 2, 2023
Sloppy. Sloppy.
I was really disappointed in this book. Plot meandered all over the place and was very hard for me to follow.
The characters are inconsistent and overall I do not recommend this book.
I was really disappointed in this book. Plot meandered all over the place and was very hard for me to follow.
The characters are inconsistent and overall I do not recommend this book.
June 27, 2018
I think the plot was interesting, but I was too confused to know.
March 27, 2017
Continually on crack; occasionally entertaining.
September 8, 2016
This book was everything "The Sandbaggers" wasn't. I don't mean that as a complement, either.
September 24, 2024
Glimpses of plot thread but too meandering to complete for me. 67% complete then on to better things. Not to be read as I tried by reading some each day.
September 26, 2024
This is a twisted, ambiguous Cold War thriller. It has the immediacy of having been written during the era, but the body count is very high. The style saves the novel from being mediocre, but in the end it was not satisfying either. A mixed bag.
September 10, 2016
Characterizations were lacking and disjointed plot exposition left me with a "couldn't care less" mindset. This novel skated very close to my Awful & Abandoned booklist. One star. But the ending was good enough to earn it an additional star.
September 7, 2016
Good but not great.
Want to read
October 2, 2018Synopsis: a cold-war spy novel from the American point of view; it became a movie in 1970.
March 19, 2023
review
Great story! A lot of twists and turns but it was all explained at the end. Definitely worth the time and enjoyment to read.
Great story! A lot of twists and turns but it was all explained at the end. Definitely worth the time and enjoyment to read.
June 4, 2023
When I read a Thriller, I expect not to be able to put down the book. To NEED to know what happens next, to be tense and sucked into the story.
This really was not it for me.
The story line was scattered, and really not easy to follow. That in itself would not be a problem, if I, as the reader, knew or at least had a teeny tiny glimpse of what the goal of the characters was. But I didn't. I got through 60% of the book, and maybe I just missed the moment, but at no point did I learn about the "Kremlin Letter" or about what Intelligence the agents were going to try to retrieve in Russia. If I didn't read the title and the book description, I would have no idea what the book is about, and if I'm brutally honest, I wouldn't care to find out.
To me, none of the characters really stood out, I could not give you a physical description of any one of them. The only outstanding thing I remember about the protagonist is his extraordinaire memory.
My main issue is that I had to put energy into reading this book. I had to motivate myself to pick it up, and that is just not what I'm looking for in a Thriller. That's why it went to my DNFs, I just don't care about the book enough to put in that energy when I could read something that actually appeals to me. The fact that the version I read contained more than 10 spelling errors also didn't make it any better.
But now, after all that negative information, here's some good:
- I did like the writing style, the third person writing fitted the book really well.
- The actions seemed very realistic, and it was interesting to read about the connections and ways of intelligence agencies
This really was not it for me.
The story line was scattered, and really not easy to follow. That in itself would not be a problem, if I, as the reader, knew or at least had a teeny tiny glimpse of what the goal of the characters was. But I didn't. I got through 60% of the book, and maybe I just missed the moment, but at no point did I learn about the "Kremlin Letter" or about what Intelligence the agents were going to try to retrieve in Russia. If I didn't read the title and the book description, I would have no idea what the book is about, and if I'm brutally honest, I wouldn't care to find out.
To me, none of the characters really stood out, I could not give you a physical description of any one of them. The only outstanding thing I remember about the protagonist is his extraordinaire memory.
My main issue is that I had to put energy into reading this book. I had to motivate myself to pick it up, and that is just not what I'm looking for in a Thriller. That's why it went to my DNFs, I just don't care about the book enough to put in that energy when I could read something that actually appeals to me. The fact that the version I read contained more than 10 spelling errors also didn't make it any better.
But now, after all that negative information, here's some good:
- I did like the writing style, the third person writing fitted the book really well.
- The actions seemed very realistic, and it was interesting to read about the connections and ways of intelligence agencies
May 21, 2025
I was tempted to read this after a recommendation on Five Books that mentioned its unusual level of cruelty. I don’t why it appealed. Maybe I felt that somewhere a gauntlet had been thrown down. Maybe I heard the call of toxic masculinity and couldn’t resist.
It does feature cruelty but it’s not especially jarring. After all we are following a gang of mercenary spies, a kind of Dirty half Dozen. Being mercenaries they don’t have much fellow feeling for the rest of humanity. Add to this that they are going up against soviet spies who don’t seem to feel much brotherhood for any other people including their comrades and it’s hard to feel too much sympathy. But I suppose it is the collateral damage that sticks in the mind.
What stuck with me most though is just what an eccentric spy novel this is. Their preparations our mercenaries make to go into the Soviet Union are so over the top and insane that they are utterly improbable. And then there are the absolutely insane levels of cross and double cross, of constant twists and turns. I could barely keep up. I think I understood what happened but I’m not entirely sure.
It is an entertaining read for anyone who has a taste for spy novels and wants something that goes completely bananas. It is about as far from John Le Carre as it is possible to get, so if you fancy briefly swapping the world of buff folders carefully filed for a world of improbably elite mercenaries indulging in violence and torture caught up in Byzantine plots that I’m not sure even the author understands then this may be for you!
It does feature cruelty but it’s not especially jarring. After all we are following a gang of mercenary spies, a kind of Dirty half Dozen. Being mercenaries they don’t have much fellow feeling for the rest of humanity. Add to this that they are going up against soviet spies who don’t seem to feel much brotherhood for any other people including their comrades and it’s hard to feel too much sympathy. But I suppose it is the collateral damage that sticks in the mind.
What stuck with me most though is just what an eccentric spy novel this is. Their preparations our mercenaries make to go into the Soviet Union are so over the top and insane that they are utterly improbable. And then there are the absolutely insane levels of cross and double cross, of constant twists and turns. I could barely keep up. I think I understood what happened but I’m not entirely sure.
It is an entertaining read for anyone who has a taste for spy novels and wants something that goes completely bananas. It is about as far from John Le Carre as it is possible to get, so if you fancy briefly swapping the world of buff folders carefully filed for a world of improbably elite mercenaries indulging in violence and torture caught up in Byzantine plots that I’m not sure even the author understands then this may be for you!
April 16, 2024
finished 14th april 2024 good read three stars i liked it kindle library loaner first from behn...another "spy' story...did i just read two of them in a row...without trying to...cue the soundtrack. send in the dancing pigs. there were times early on...when i wondered if this was trying to parody spy stories, the use of fancy nicknames for various characters seemed almost like parody satire. story is about a failed attempt to do one over on russia and another attempt with all the bells and whistles, preparation of the characters, the infiltration, time spent in russia...all toward the ends of discovery. just looked at page one reviews seems many didn't think highly of the story. i liked it. it does have a finish like there could be a sequel...don't know if one exists.
September 20, 2025
Cold War espionage and cunning, unexpected deception. Strong start, the middle feels like it tries to stuff in too many details, ending more or less ties things together.
Favorite Quotes:
“It’s a funny thing about social decay—it always expands in proportion to peace and prosperity. When you’ve got a nice healthy war or depression on your hands, everything seems okay. Take away fear and poverty and Sodom walks right in. Maybe folks just can’t handle time on their hands. Maybe we just ain’t equipped to do anything better than blow one another’s brains out” (167).
“When you have no place to give your love it often comes out as hate, but once you can love again it takes all your strength. You have nothing left to hate with. You can’t be bothered” (210).
Favorite Quotes:
“It’s a funny thing about social decay—it always expands in proportion to peace and prosperity. When you’ve got a nice healthy war or depression on your hands, everything seems okay. Take away fear and poverty and Sodom walks right in. Maybe folks just can’t handle time on their hands. Maybe we just ain’t equipped to do anything better than blow one another’s brains out” (167).
“When you have no place to give your love it often comes out as hate, but once you can love again it takes all your strength. You have nothing left to hate with. You can’t be bothered” (210).
July 11, 2021
An interesting flick which can be resumed in three sentences:
The first half of the book is interesting, suspenseful and evokes the espionage feeling all around.
The second half is an unconventional romance with sickening attitudes.
The ending shows how once you are immersed in political conflicts you cannot escape.
Aside from this, the author comes up with interesting concepts such as: “mass production of secret information” and “mechanization of techniques”.
This risky attitude of proposing philosophical terms is what saves for me the whole novel because the prose is plain and dull (not difficult but neither captivating).
The first half of the book is interesting, suspenseful and evokes the espionage feeling all around.
The second half is an unconventional romance with sickening attitudes.
The ending shows how once you are immersed in political conflicts you cannot escape.
Aside from this, the author comes up with interesting concepts such as: “mass production of secret information” and “mechanization of techniques”.
This risky attitude of proposing philosophical terms is what saves for me the whole novel because the prose is plain and dull (not difficult but neither captivating).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2023
It was Ooooook. The tone is all over the place. About halfway in, I remarked to my wife how tame the whole thing was compared to some suspense thrillers I had been reading before that. And then the second half kicks in and we get drugs, prostitutes, violent deaths, rape, torture - you name it!
Admittedly, the plot is kinda hard to follow. I fancy myself a pretty bright person, but I kept going back to double check actions by certain characters. I didn't even realize one supporting character was dead until another character mentioned it near the end.
The fun part is the 1960s, post-Krushchev setting.
Admittedly, the plot is kinda hard to follow. I fancy myself a pretty bright person, but I kept going back to double check actions by certain characters. I didn't even realize one supporting character was dead until another character mentioned it near the end.
The fun part is the 1960s, post-Krushchev setting.
April 15, 2018
Kindle edition very poorly edited. Read in print if possible.
At times confusing, always on the move, a typical Cold War Thriller written in the 1960s. The Kremlin Letter was made into a movie, which might be a bit easier to follow than the book was.
At times confusing, always on the move, a typical Cold War Thriller written in the 1960s. The Kremlin Letter was made into a movie, which might be a bit easier to follow than the book was.
March 21, 2021
Very dated Cold War thriller in which mobile phones are still way into the future and early computers are slowly replacing agents in the field. Never realised writers can fill pages with telegrams and reports, no action etc whatsoever and still get paid. Plenty better ones available.
March 1, 2022
1966 standalone thriller by author Noel Behn. An old-fashioned group of spies is sent to Moscow to retrieve a mysterious letter pledging Allied support for a Russian attack on a Chinese nuclear test site.
July 25, 2023
Too Confusing
8 to 10 active characters with aliases. Just too much to keep track of. One ends up losing interest as one backtracks all the time. And I like thrillers with (at least somewhat) positive endings...
8 to 10 active characters with aliases. Just too much to keep track of. One ends up losing interest as one backtracks all the time. And I like thrillers with (at least somewhat) positive endings...
August 17, 2019
Very good thriller. Read in Danish.
Read
April 9, 2020Taut prose containing explosive action
March 28, 2023
I couldn’t bother to finish it. Cardboard characters. Lousy dialogue. Weird plot. Enough.
April 8, 2023
Could hardly finish it. Give me a LeCarre any day.
June 27, 2023
New hero to follow
Very good story line and characters. All were thought out and brought together well. Kept you interested. You wanted to finish the book expediently.
Very good story line and characters. All were thought out and brought together well. Kept you interested. You wanted to finish the book expediently.
July 18, 2023
3.75, rounded up - Classic Cold War spycraft, set in Moscow. If you like this genre, you're better off with Len Deighten, but this was still good.
July 30, 2023
There where quite a few typos and by the end, the story fell flat. It was a quick read, but not too exciting.
October 15, 2023
Sickening to read multiple times.
February 13, 2023
A fast paced Cold War spy thriller, set in 1964 just after the fall of Khrushchev. The freelance American agents are known by such nicknames: Highwayman, Erector Set, Puppet Maker, etc. – you could easily imagine a parody version of the novel. The character BA, the protagonist Charles Rone’s love interest, is portrayed much too sketchily. The twist ending is well done. The John Huston directed film adaptation follows the novel’s plot pretty closely.
July 19, 2016
“The Kremlin Letter” eBook was published in 2016 (the paper version was published in 1966) and was written by Noel Behn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Behn). Mr. Behn published seven novels, this being the first of those.
I received a galley of this novel for review through https://www.netgalley.com. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature situations. The story is set mostly in Moscow, Russia during the cold war.
The main character is US Navy Lieutenant Commander Charles Rone. Rone has been working intelligence for some years and is mysteriously recruited of a secret mission. A letter has been written by officials in the West and sent into Russia. Now it is the mission of Rone and the team of agents to which he is assigned to retrieve the letter.
This is a complicated and convoluted tale of conspiracy, intrigue and betrayal. I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent with this 288 page Spy Thriller novel. It was not an edge-of-your-seat read. I thought it was a little wordy and seemed to drag on forever. The plot was interesting, though often confusing. I give this novel a 3.5 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
I received a galley of this novel for review through https://www.netgalley.com. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature situations. The story is set mostly in Moscow, Russia during the cold war.
The main character is US Navy Lieutenant Commander Charles Rone. Rone has been working intelligence for some years and is mysteriously recruited of a secret mission. A letter has been written by officials in the West and sent into Russia. Now it is the mission of Rone and the team of agents to which he is assigned to retrieve the letter.
This is a complicated and convoluted tale of conspiracy, intrigue and betrayal. I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent with this 288 page Spy Thriller novel. It was not an edge-of-your-seat read. I thought it was a little wordy and seemed to drag on forever. The plot was interesting, though often confusing. I give this novel a 3.5 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews