S: Portrait of a Spy

by Ian Adams

"In 25 years the RCMP has caught only one illegal – one real spy. Not a hell of a lot to brag about, is it?" Inspector DV of the RCMP Security Sevices

Is this poor record connected with S, the former director of the RCMP Security Services? Is it possible that S was a double – or a triple agent? Why was he quietly pensioned off after a top-level investigation by the Canadian government? Could S have been the mysterious "fourth man" of the Burgess-Maclean-Philby affair?

In pursuit of the truth, author Ian Adams, follows the trail of the brilliant S from Chile, where an RCMP office has unwittingly disclosed information, to Austraila and Canada. It is during this investigation that the author becomes more and more obsessed with S as a portrait of the man emerges from his exotic mistress, his fellow workers and goverment officials. So also emerges a fascinating study of the inner workings of RCMP Intelligence – a study which will both distrub and intrigue the reader.

Did a double agent control RCMP Intelligence? S, Portrait of a Spy, is a book about the RCMP which the reader will be unable to put down. Was S the "fourth man"?

176 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1982

About the author

Ian Adams is an Anglican priest and founder of mayBe, a new monastic community in Oxford. A popular speaker, he is the creator of Morning Bell, a daily call to prayer sent by e-mail, text, and Twitter. He lives in South Devon, England.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly interesting.

[Seven Pesos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. True to the title, S is a portrait of the titular spy. S is investigated by his former colleagues at the RCMP for being a mole. This book, I think, is best read as a collection of formal and informal investigations into the affairs of the former spy which (again), like the title suggests, paints a portrait of the man. I picked this up not knowing the controversy surrounding the book and the subsequent libel lawsuit against the author. I found this book absolutely fascinating if you entertain the idea that Adams really did base the characters on Leslie James Bennett. Great read.

[Heath Alberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up a pristine first edition of this book on the cheap, sort of as an impulse buy. I'll keep it short: It's written like a dossier, it supposedly caused a ruckus in 1982 due to its parallels to true events (a la "Confessions of O.J. Simpson" & "Primary Colors") and it's clinical.

I don't get the fuss, I don't get the draw, and I got so confused in the convolution of initials, fake names, and inter-continental agency titles that it was beyond maddening.

So, to summarize: Not even remotely my cup of tea.