Agents of the State

PI Fish Pescado and Vicki Kahn #2

by Mike Nicol

BERLIN. Agent Vicki Kahn is on her first foreign mission for the South African government, on the trail of an international child-trafficker. A complication she doesn't need is that the President's son is somewhere in the mix. When Vicki finds her contact on the kitchen floor with a hole in the head, all her instincts tell her to get out. But her handlers have her on a tight leash, and getting out is not an option.CAPE TOWN. A rebel colonel from the Central African Republic is taken down in a spray of bullets on the steps of the city's oldest cathedral. Next day, Vicki's surfer boyfriend, PI 'Fish' Pescado, picks up a new brief. Find out who killed my husband. Even if it was the President. A brief like that, Fish knows he should say no. Only saying no isn't his strong point.BAMBATHA PALACE, NATAL. The President is giving a party to celebrate his latest marriage. The great, the good and the not-so-good of the rainbow nation are all there. Also present are Agent Kahn and PI Pescado. The players are assembled. Now it's show-time.

Genres: Crime, Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2016

About the author

Born in Cape Town, Mike Nicol was educated there and in Johannesburg, where he began his working life as a journalist. During the 1980s he moved back to Cape Town and worked on the magazine Leadership for a number of years. Towards the end of that decade he published his first novel, The Powers That Be, resigned from the magazine and began what he calls "the scary life of a freelance journalist and writer."

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ek dink dis my eie skuld dat die boek net 2 sterre kry. Ek het nie die vorige boeke in die reeks gelees nie, en dit het definitief veroorsaak dat ek nie alles in Staatsrotte verstaan het nie. Daar was niks fout met die skryfstyl nie, maar ek het wel gevoel die einde was so bietjie teleurstellend.

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller set in SOUTH AFRICA and Berlin



Agents Of The State is a really exciting espionage novel. It involves various branches of the South African secret service, plus the business empires of the country’s president and his son.

There are several strands that all come together as the story progresses. In Cape Town, an attempt is made on the life of a rebel general from the Central African Republic. He lies in a coma in hospital, his daughter is killed in the attack, and his wife survives. Who has tried to kill him – dissidents from his own country, or one of the South African secret service factions? Meanwhile, in Schiphol Airport Amsterdam, agent Vicki Kahn on her first government mission, is meeting an ex-South African model, Linda Nchaba, who has information on a child trafficking ring. As she tries to board a flight, Linda is kidnapped in plain sight. But by whom? And is the kidnapping organised by the traffickers – or is she being held for her protection? Vicki is supposed to escort her back to South Africa, but how can she? She is sent on to Berlin where she encounters a real life cold war spy with tales to tell of the murder of her aunt many years’ previously. But why was she told to see him?

Back in Cape Town, Fish Pescardo, Vicki’s boy friend (or is it ex boy friend), a full time surfer and part time investigator, is contacted by the wife of the Central African Republic general and asked to find out who killed her daughter and who left her husband in a coma. But why did she approach him (she said she didn’t trust the police), who suggested that she should, and does it have anything to do with Vicki’s mission?

The South African President decides to throw a major party, to celebrate the engagement to his soon to be latest wife, at the Bambatha Palace in Natal. His son, and all the other major players in our story, are present – one way or another. As invited guests (along with the good and great of the rainbow nation), as part of the security brief, or simply smuggled in. The story moves to a very violent, and very exciting, climax.

Agents Of The State is a thrilling read by a very good writer. I do, though, have one small whinge… I took the book on the way to a weekend break to Berlin. I did so because the cover features a picture of the iconic Alexanderplatz TV tower – and I imagined the book would be firmly set in Berlin. It is not. Berlin is very much second fiddle to the South African part…

[David Lowther · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a while since I've been so confused by a plot as in Agents of the State. There appear to be several different threads to the story which seldom sit comfortably together. There are also a number of incidents which are simply red herrings.

Agents of the State is set predominantly in South Africa but there are brief episodes in Amsterdam and Berlin. Because the plot is impenetrable, it detracts from full appreciation of the characters, some of whom are very interesting and well-drawn. The dialogue is mostly South African in style which means that quite a few words and phrases are difficult to follow for someone not familiar with that country.

A bit of a disappointment really.

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

[Pep Bonet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice entertainment, it serves to enlarge your SA vocabulary. Good writing technique, even if sometimes I get tired of multithreaded stories. Sometimes I'd spit on D.W. Griffith's tomb. But action books ask for this technique. Good descriptions and noble intent, provided you understand that it's all fiction, or is it all? Not so convinced about the consistency of the story, the credibility of it. But hey. We are here to have a good moment, and mine was excellent.

[Carmelita Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first read by this Author. A thoroughly enjoyable read especially as I could relate to the locations, landmarks and local lingo. A good crime thriller although at times needed concentration due to different threads of the story interspersed with some humour. A real winner and look forward to reading more from this Author.

[Lewis Birchon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the urgent style of the prose and the pacing. Every now and then wanted to shout at one of the characters 'But you're a spy - why are you so complacent?!'

[Heidi de Goede · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the Afrikaans paperback.

[Dan ielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

So confusing. In the end I just didn’t care.

[Agathe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un roman d'espionnage bien rythmé mais que j'ai trouvé par moment un peu difficile à suivre. Mieux vaut avoir du temps devant soi pour se plonger dedans!

[Michael Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike Nicol writes the best political thrillers in South Africa. His view may be sardonic, but these are good stories with characters you care about. In his latest book, Agents of the State, we meet again the lead characters in Of Cops and Robbers. There we wondered if the police and the crooks were actually on different sides, in the new book we wonder if the agents of the state are the good guys or the bad guys. The answer is probably maybe. Mike never has simplistic dividing lines.
Agents of the State is set in a South Africa with a ‘president for life’ and all the trappings of the classic corrupt African dictatorship. Anyone's guess how far we are away from that right now.

[Dominique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pas été capable de me rendre au bout.... le style, l’histoire? Je ne sais pas, mais incapable d’embarquer, abandonné à 50% ....

[John Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller.