Paris Spring: A Thriller

Will Flemyng #2

by James Naughtie

James Naughtie established himself a “capable and elegant writer” (Wall Street Journal) with his gripping and highly praised debut, The Madness of July. He sets his new, “brilliant spy thriller” (The Guardian) in the feverish atmosphere of Paris, in April of 1968. The cafes are alive with talk of revolution, but for Scottish-American Will Flemyng—a spy working in the British Embassy—the crisis is personal. A few words from a stranger on the metro change his life. His family is threatened with ruin and he now faces the spy’s oldest exposure.


Freddy Craven is the hero and mentor Flemyng would trust with his life, but when he is tempted into a dark, Cold War labyrinth, he chooses the dangerous path and plays his game alone. And when glamorous, globe-trotting journalist Grace Quincy, in pursuit of a big story, is found dead in the Pere Lachaise cemetery, the question is raised—what side was she on? Certainly she knew too much, and had become dangerous. But to whom? The bizarre murder reveals a web of secrets, and Fleming’s loyalty to family and friends is tested as never before. As the streets of Paris become a smoke-filled battleground, Flemyng, like his friends and enemies, discovers that where secrets are at stake, lives are too. Once again James Naughtie spins an irresistible, intelligent, and page turning thriller.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Espionage, Historical Fiction, Thriller, France, Spy Thriller

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2015

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this spy novel set during the Paris unrest of 1968. The author narrates his own book. That isn’t always a good choice but it is in this case. James Naughtie was a radio presenter in the UK for more than 20 years (news/current affairs programmes) so he knows what he is doing when it comes to audio work.

I quite liked James Naughtie when he was on the Today programme, so I wanted to give this a higher rating, but it didn’t work that well for me. The plus points were that it is well written in terms of the author’s use of language, and the plot is a lot more believable than many novels in this genre. On the other hand it was devoid of any tension or excitement, and that’s what I’m looking for if I read this type of novel. I also found the characters to be lifeless and didn’t connect emotionally with them at all. The author chose 1968 for the time setting because it was a year of crisis and tension around the world, and that affects spies even more than the rest of us. The background of the Paris protests isn’t that prominent in the book though. The scenes are in the background, but they don’t impinge that much on the lead characters.

Goodreads suggests that a 2-star rating equates to “It was OK”, and that’s what I felt about this book. It didn’t annoy me, it passed the time in the car, but ultimately I found it nothing more than “OK”.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed parts of this book especially the unfolding of a sinuous plot and the love of Paris. I did think though that the intelligent, sensitive, complicated souls who populate this novel would have been better off finding other employment than espionage.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paris Spring – An Old Fashioned Spy Thriller

Will Flemyng is a member of Her Majesty’s Secret Service Department Mi6, better known as a spy or spook based in the British Embassy in Paris. Set against the back drop of the Cold War and the rising tensions of the spring of 1968 across Europe when people’s rose up against their political masters. In particular, the Paris Spring is set up when the students took to the streets and rioted and revolution was on the lips of many.

When Flemyng is approached by an agent from East Germany, while dropping hints of a mole in the British Embassy, while threatening his brother. Talking to the Head of Station, Freddy Craven, who agrees that they should allow things to take their course to see what the agent is trying to sell or if he is trying to buy.

Things become rather more complicated when an award winning American female journalist turns up in Paris on the hunt for a big story. What happens to her while she is in Paris, sends everything in both the British and American Embassies in to a tail spin and heightens the tensions that are being felt across Paris.

A story that takes Freddy Craven from his Paris base to Scotland and Brussels via London and a visit to his doctor. Craven is the experienced Station Head who has seen much in his years of service from the end of the war to him on his last legs in Paris. The one thing he wishes to do is protect not only his country but also those who he works with.

Paris Spring is a well thought out Spy Thriller, in places fast in others it takes its time, it may not supply the action some modern readers may prefer. This spy thriller is more in the mould of John Buchan a classic thought out thriller, where the clues are throughout the story without telegraphing them. This is a well written, well researched thriller that sets its own pace, that is a pleasure to read as it draws you in and takes you back.

Paris Spring is an excellent spy thriller that entices you to a time when Europe was on edge and the innocent of the Cold War was coming to an end. When later that spring, tanks would roll in to Prague from the Warsaw Pact countries at the behest of their masters in Moscow.

The prose James Naughtie uses is clear and crisp, descriptive and colourful so you can imagine the sights and sounds of the time. Naughtie also uses his experience as a journalist to bring the story to life in the knowledge of how to draw a reader in and take them by the hand through a story.

Paris Spring is an old fashioned thriller that is a pleasure to read that takes you back to another age that will always excite.

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful and fulfilling espionage novel

Set in 1968 Paris with the city on the brink of insurgency MI5 agent Will Flemyng is drawn into personal doubts over his brothers loyalty to his country following an encounter on the Metro.

James Naughtie’s novel is full of imagery of the time from smoke filled bars, burning barricades to dead letter drops in remote cemeteries. The characters are richly drawn and if you’ve seen the recent version of Tinker, Taylor, Soldier Spy you will recognise a certain personality that becomes a spook.

It’s a rich story of tested personal and national loyalties that is both thoughtful and exciting and I’d highly recommend to any fans of classic espionage novels.

[Tripfiction]

Cold War Spy Thriller set in PARIS and SCOTLAND

This review first appeared on our website: http://www.tripfiction.com/books/pari...

Paris Spring is a classic cold war spy thriller. It is set in the Paris of 1968 (as the student revolution was in full swing) and at Altnabuie, a house in Scotland. It is nostalgic and le Carré-esque. Three brothers are involved – Will Flemyng, MI6 staff member based at the British Embassy in Paris, his brother Abel – in the US Secret Service, and the third brother Mungo who lives at the family home, Altnabuie.

An East German, Christof, clandestinely approaches Will on the Paris Metro – but is he planning to defect to the West or is he trying to entrap Will? Will investigates, but – because of something Christof said – he cannot be totally upfront with his boss and mentor, the ageing and increasingly infirm Freddy Craven. He works instead alongside Maria, a US ‘journalist’ and fellow spy…

The sense of location comes through loud and clear in Paris Spring – and James Naughtie without doubt knows Paris extremely well. From the restaurants to the back streets all is authentic. I was especially taken with his description of the Cimetière du Père Lachaise – one of the most iconic of all Paris landmarks (and one that is absolutely central to the story). And the sense of location loses nothing when the story moves to Altnabuie. James describes the family house and the surrounding countryside with real empathy and affection.

Paris Spring is a nostalgic book, written about a different age. It is set half way through the Cold War, Robert Kennedy is about to be assassinated, the Czech uprising against Russian rule is in full swing – and in Paris the students are taking to the streets. Nothing seemed as it had been… or, probably, as it should be. James captures the feeling of the times with insight.

Paris Spring is, and at the same time isn’t, a fast moving moving thriller with action to match. It is also a very thoughtful and well written book – with some wonderful descriptive writing that sometimes (and beneficially) slows the pace a little. Try ‘The wind was picking up from the west and the loch was streaked with ripples that shimmered and seemed to race towards them. On its fringes were the thick woods that brought an emerald softness to the glen – birch and alder, holly and fir – and on the rocky heights above the lochside a forest of blooms had burst into colour, as bright as splashes of ochre laid on the landscape by an artist’s hand.’

A book I would quite certainly recommend. Paris Spring is James’ second novel, and the second in which the Flemyng brothers feature. I have not read the first, The Madness of July. But it is now high on my TBR list.

[David Lowther · Rating 2 out of 5]

James Naughtie is a brilliant broadcaster but it will be a while before he matches those high standards with his writing judging by Paris Spring. Language and dialogue are very good as is his characterisation. Location descriptions are also fine but what really lets Paris Spring down is the narrative.

Set in Paris during the spring riots of 1968 it's a Le Carre type novel about a possible mole inside British Intelligence. That may be interesting in itself but the plot takes so long to get to the point I almost gave up. In a way I'm glad I didn't because there was a brisk ending which partially explained some of the confusion of the earlier part of the novel. There is no sex, violence or bad language rather like Le Carre's (apart from TV and film adaptations!) and this is welcome. What really lets it down is that the puzzles lack menace. At the end of the day, you find yourself asking 'so what?)

James Naughtie has another book due out in the autumn and I shall read it and hope the plot is more interesting because his writing is very good.

David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen and Two Families at War, all published by Sacristy Press.

[A.P. Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't like to give such a poor rating, but I must admit that I was very happy to finish this book. Perhaps it's because Naughtie is well known and admired, but I kept hoping that the book would improve.... it didn't. A tedious and unnecessarily dense plot, leaden characters about whom this reader cared little, if at all and a damp squib of a denouement. Even the Paris setting failed to engage. Most disappointing.

[Jack Vaughan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was good in my opinion however, I felt the writing to be disjointed and it didn't flow well for me.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Paris Sping" is a convoluted spy novel set during the Paris near-revolution of Sprig 1968. At its core, it rests on the Soviet fear that the West was capable of unleashing a first-strike attack on the USSR. It takes a good long while to set up, and is often murky, but so are the intelligence operations at its core. In that regard it is highly accurate, I suspect, especially about the nature of the times. The reason for the murk becomes clear in the end.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Naughtie, who presented Today on BBC Radio 4 for twenty-one years, is a special correspondent for BBC News. He has written books on politics and music and published his first novel, The Madness of July, in 2014. He lives in Edinburgh and London.The story of Paris Spring is fiction, but the background is real. Paris Springs is written extremely well,bringing in vibrant characters that I believed in and I could feel the description of the places James Naughtie described in the novel. With reading up on James Naughtie he has been telling stories all his professional life. What I find most interesting is that for one of his books he had the idea for the plot, but had not written it down anywhere. The story just seemed to make itself up as it went along. As the novel progressed he found that characters just arrived.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t care for it very much. It is a spy thriller with no thrills. It had a satisfying conclusion, but before that little to no interest or suspense.
Set in Paris in 1968 at the time of the student riots. These are not part of the plot, merely setting.

[Eyejaybee · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Naughtie is best known as the former host of BBC Radio 4’s flagship Today programme. Since retiring from that role, he has undertaken several other commissions for the BBC, but has also found time to write two novels drawing on his experiences as a journalist.

This book is set in Paris in 1968, against the backdrop of growing unrest around the world, with violent demonstrations against the Vietnam War staged in America and also in London, outside the US Embassy. Meanwhile, agitators were active in France, inciting increasingly violent far left wing demonstrations and riots, that would become known as l'es evenments', and gained the name of the ‘Paris Spring’. Against this background, Will Flemyng is based in the British Embassy in Paris where he fulfils the role of MI6 Deputy Head of Station, supporting his highly capable, but clearly ill, boss, Freddy Craven.

Flemyng is not a conventional spook. He comes from a wealthy Scottish family that owns an estate in Perthshire, but his younger brother (for reasons that are never made entirely clear) works for the CIA. As the novel opens, Flemyng is approached on the Metro by a strange character who seems ware of his actual role, rather than the diplomatic cover under which he generally passes. This approach becomes additionally sinister as the man seems aware of Flemyng’s brother’s role, too, and refers to his position in a threatening manner.

Meanwhile, journalists are massing in Paris from all around the world. One of these catches Flemyng’s eye, but is found dead shortly after their encounter, having been murdered in the picturesque Pere Lachaise cemetery. As her contact with Flemyng had been fairly public, the Embassy is drawn into the police investigation of the murder. Against this developing scenario, one of Flemyng’s colleagues is convinced that the Service is harbouring a highly-placed East German mole.

Clearly all of the ingredients for a fine espionage are in place, and the book held my attention very closely … for the first three quarters of the novel. Towards the end, somehow the book seemed to undergo a transformation, and I found it very difficult to summon sufficient mental energy or engagement to persevere to the end.

I found this a disappointment as I have always liked listening to Naughtie in his role as a journalist/broadcaster, and had desperately wanted to like the book. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised, however, as I recall similar difficulties with his previous novel, 'The Madness of July'.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of old fashioned espionage in this second book about Will Fleming. I began by thinking how clever the author was in writing a sequel that totally ignored the first book in the series (which I had not read) so that I did not need any knowledge of that book; th.en I discovered that this was a prequel, so there was not anything to tell. But now I wonder how knowledge of this book will affect my reading of "The Madness Of July"; which I most certainly want to do having enjoyed this one immensely. Very complex plot, set in Paris 1968, just before the "revolution". Lots of interesting background, reporters play key roles (well given Naughtie's background, that is hardly surprising !) the characters are generally memorable, particularly Craven, a venerable Head of Station, although Will Fleming remains an enigma, deliberately so, I assume. Occasionally the complexities of the plot almost overwhelm the writing, but overall an excellent read, very much in the spirit of Le Carre without being in any way derivative.

[Celia Crotteau · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1968, with the French government about to collapse, student protestors and anarchists take to the streets of Paris. Meanwhile, British espionage agents masquerading as diplomats scramble to protect their covers after an investigative journalist's murder threatens their exposure. Against the background of the collision of two opposing scenarios, Naughtie's lyrical prose explores the meaning of love and loyalty in the shadowy underbelly of a profession which encourages neither quality. Nevertheless, the spies, especially ringleader Freddy Craven and his subordinate Will Flyming, emerge as incredibly decent people struggling to practice ethical behavior in a world gone mad.

[Barry Levy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite some good descriptive writing, this is a second rate spy novel with many of the chapters ending on a melodramatic or hyperbolic note promising a lot but ultimately leading to a letdown. Also, there is virtually no suspense and no action, though there is a lot of padding. The editor could have cut about a hundred pages. I am being generous giving it a three star rating. I'd give it two and a half if I could. But the final conversation/confrontation between the lead character and his adversary was nicely written, so I'll be generous in spite of a mostly slow slog of a read towards a rather uneventful conclusion.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went all over the place with this one -- liking it, disliking it, wondering want came next, not particularly excited, quite drawn. It is the author's first attempt and that can be felt throughout. Trying for a bit of John Le Carre but not quite making it. Descriptions of places, people and things were good. The plot? Not bad but needed some editing to make it sharper. Not a bad read and I quite enjoyed it. But not a masterpiece.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of spy novels and I think this book qualifies as such, but once I got the various characters and their relationships straight I enjoyed this tale. Set in Paris at the time of the Vietnam war, it becomes obvious that Paris has become a place where much spy information is transferred from one part of an organization to another. Whose side one is on was never clear to me but it all became clear and made some sort of sense in the end without fifty pages of explanation.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a slow burn. Similar in style and tone to a Le Carré novel. I would have liked for the story to move a little faster at points but overall it is a good fictional account of this specific period of tumult during the Cold War and the various players who stood to lose or gain based on even small and seemingly insignificant pieces of intelligence.

[Voluntarystress · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read soley for the author and one of the most tedious books I've ever encountered. The author provides wonderful atmosphere of time and place. hence three, not two stars. He probably was in Paris in the late sixties reporting on the student uprising, but he should stick to what he is superb at, journalism. Even at the end of the book, I wasn't totally sure what it was all about.

[Clive Grewcock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never thought over much of Naughtie as a journalist, but picked this up with an open mind. I guess if I had gone with my instincts I would have saved myself 47 pages of tedium. I finally abandoned it when yet another new character was introduced. There are genuinely interesting convoluted plots and there are also deliberately over convoluted plots and this falls into the later category.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adequate spy novel. It felt like Naughtie was trying to be Le Carré and not succeeding. Spy novels should contain an element of obscurity but this was obscurity for the sake of it.
Also some elements didn’t work: three brothers, one working for British Intelligence, one for American with no explanation.

[Carlene Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was hard going - partly not a great book to read on audiobook - there were simply too many characters to follow, especially since they were sometimes referred to by family name/ surname and sometimes first names.

[Kathryn White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly one of the best spymasters of the modern age, I rank Naughtie with the early works of Le Carre and the likes of Len Deighton. If you like suspenseful, intelligent writing with superb character development, this is your guy. I am eagerly anticipating his next work.

[Alan Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. I found it well written, yes much description but I felt necessary and in the spirit of the subject. I quite liked the main characters developments and the plot. I enjoyed the first book too. It has been a while since the book was written. I hope there is another chapter.

[FrugalWriter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written but fundamentally the plot did nothing for me. I was over a third of the way through and still unsure about what I was supposed to be intrigued by. I didn’t warn to the characters either.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok, nothing special but not terrible. I felt like it was building, and building, and then got lost a bit but them built a little more and then it was..oh, ok, right then,ok. I felt that the expected big finish just wasn’t even in sight.

[Niki · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, not a problem necessarily with the book (I didn’t get far enough in) but I just wasn’t feeling the vibe. I had downloaded to listen to in Paris on a weekend break but it felt too heavy for the vibe I was after.

[Sandra Petree · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best spy novels I have read. Even now, I am not sure if I understand all that happened.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ruprecht · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dense, plodding novel, too many characters. Too detailed, did not enjoy.
To compare the author to Le Carré is indeed drawing a very long bow!