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Johnny Fedora #4
Trieste
A British secret agent in a deadly manhunt at the dawn of the Cold War.
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Trieste 1952. Johnny Fedora, a debonair British secret agent, knew he had only one week to prevent the Communists taking over Trieste - if he could stay alive to find the dreaded political genius Panagos, whose acumen for anarchy had left a trail of bloody revolution across the continent.
Spy adventure in the historical background of Europe soon after WWIIIn a relentless race against the clock, Johnny finds: a dead man's last message, a beautiful woman falling into his arms, a hidden photograph … and three unknown women whose initials spell out an A B C code.
But Johnny also finds that in the murderous, kill-or-be-killed world of international espionage, learning one’s ABCs is not quite enough when the game is deadly and the stakes are sky high.
A first-class British mystery and thriller: sophisticated, intelligent and gripping.
Ingenious and utterly unpredictable, Intrigue is a journey back in time to post-war Europe and to an age in espionage before the dawn of computers and high-tech gizmos. A tale of deception and murder, desire, intrigue and betrayal, Intrigue will keep you spellbound until its shattering climax.
Winner of the Sunday Times' Best Crime novel of the year, Desmond Cory delivers yet again a near-perfect mystery novel, written with intelligence and laced with wit, mystery and suspense.
Get your copy today.
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190 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 18, 2018
I love books that are written pre-computer era....where stopping crime, assassins, communist takeovers, and other evil endeavors had to be done by some super-sleuthing and some kick-butt skills. This book is one of those - a plot that occurs before DNA matches and computers could help pin-point GPS locations and what not. I had never heard of this author, but the story was really good! It was fast-paced, and I never found myself skimming or getting bored. I love the main character Johnny and his sidekick Sebastian as they battle not one, but several elements that threaten a not only a person, but an entire city! This is the fourth book in this series, but it read well as a standalone, and it was not confusing if you hadn't read the others before it. Great writing, good plot, and sensational characters made this an entertaining read. I will be reading others by Desmond Cory.
May 14, 2018
This is one of those books that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire way through it. When I started reading I only planned on reading a chapter or two and ended up reading four!
What starts off as an intense but simple story of an MI5 agent in the Cold War grows to a complex, race against the clock, mission to find a political leader who is causing a great number of deaths in Europe.
Filled with mystery and clues I was guessing at what would happen the whole way through but I still didn’t see the end coming whatsoever.
Great read, if you’re a fan of spy novels, tales of espionage and the intelligence service I would highly recommend reading this book.
What starts off as an intense but simple story of an MI5 agent in the Cold War grows to a complex, race against the clock, mission to find a political leader who is causing a great number of deaths in Europe.
Filled with mystery and clues I was guessing at what would happen the whole way through but I still didn’t see the end coming whatsoever.
Great read, if you’re a fan of spy novels, tales of espionage and the intelligence service I would highly recommend reading this book.
July 17, 2018
From the first to the last page, I was completely hooked! I spent about 3 hours reading this book and it is by far one of the best thrillers I have read to date. You will like it even more if you are from Europe because you can relate to the scenery and some of the towns, the way things are described you think you are really there. The story is set in the 1950’s, it’s a political drama with a lot of killing, so if you don’t like bloodshed, this is not the book for you. The ending is completely unexpected, I was so shocked! Desmond Cory has a few more books, I think I’ll get the rest for them weekend.
December 31, 2018
Michaeler Café. Colonel (British Military Intelligence), Trout, Brand, & Feller were on a stakeout.
1952, Trieste, Italy. Gregor Panagos (Albanian, aka Farinati, Racas, Stampa, Rosetti) was taken into to custody with no problem.
The Russkies are willing to swap Gregor for Tony Crawford.
Wollzeile, Goldenbar night club. Johnny Fedora (Italian vocalist, British secret agent) was about done for the evening when Trout showed up.
The Russians had kidnapped Marie-Andrée Videl (Johnny’s girl).
Howard’s (security) bloated body had been fished out of the Adriatic Sea.
He had written Adriana Cenci (sister, nee Howard), & Beatrice Cenci (sister) in his notebook.
Johnny, & Claude Trout were thumbing through Gregor’s dossier.
Captain Gordini, & Lieutenant Bosco, brought in Johnny, Claude & Mr. Fedora (free-lance op) to meet with Major G. Forrest.
The Cleopatra had sunk.
Where did Farinati head off to?
What happened to Panagos (assassin)?
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written Espionage Spy Thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great Espionage Spy Thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series). There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.
Thank you for the free author; BookSends; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
1952, Trieste, Italy. Gregor Panagos (Albanian, aka Farinati, Racas, Stampa, Rosetti) was taken into to custody with no problem.
The Russkies are willing to swap Gregor for Tony Crawford.
Wollzeile, Goldenbar night club. Johnny Fedora (Italian vocalist, British secret agent) was about done for the evening when Trout showed up.
The Russians had kidnapped Marie-Andrée Videl (Johnny’s girl).
Howard’s (security) bloated body had been fished out of the Adriatic Sea.
He had written Adriana Cenci (sister, nee Howard), & Beatrice Cenci (sister) in his notebook.
Johnny, & Claude Trout were thumbing through Gregor’s dossier.
Captain Gordini, & Lieutenant Bosco, brought in Johnny, Claude & Mr. Fedora (free-lance op) to meet with Major G. Forrest.
The Cleopatra had sunk.
Where did Farinati head off to?
What happened to Panagos (assassin)?
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written Espionage Spy Thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great Espionage Spy Thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series). There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.
Thank you for the free author; BookSends; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
February 28, 2018
Well written and full of suspense
Intrigue is the fourth book in Desmond Cory’s Johnny Fedora Espionage Assignment series. It may be the fourth book but it could very easily be a stand alone book. It is a fantastic mix of mystery, romance, thrilling suspense with history thrown in! Desmond Cory’s writing style is deeply eloquent while still being suspenseful and still rolling smoothly from one page to the next. Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down! Cory’s characters are multi-dimensional and his descriptive writing style really adds to the depth of the characters and their surroundings.
The main character Johnny Fedora, a post WWII spy and his sidekick Sebastian Trout are on a mission to stop a communist takeover of the city of Trieste, keep an assassin from doing what assassins do, and save a damsel “not” in distress. This book leaves me looking forward to seeing what else Desmond Cory has up his sleeve!
Intrigue is the fourth book in Desmond Cory’s Johnny Fedora Espionage Assignment series. It may be the fourth book but it could very easily be a stand alone book. It is a fantastic mix of mystery, romance, thrilling suspense with history thrown in! Desmond Cory’s writing style is deeply eloquent while still being suspenseful and still rolling smoothly from one page to the next. Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down! Cory’s characters are multi-dimensional and his descriptive writing style really adds to the depth of the characters and their surroundings.
The main character Johnny Fedora, a post WWII spy and his sidekick Sebastian Trout are on a mission to stop a communist takeover of the city of Trieste, keep an assassin from doing what assassins do, and save a damsel “not” in distress. This book leaves me looking forward to seeing what else Desmond Cory has up his sleeve!
July 3, 2018
It is easy to craft a spy tale when you have technology and high-tech gadgets to help you along the way. However, in Intrigue, you do not.
A remarkable, well-told, narrative, before the era of technology, and smart gadgets, where subtle and non-subtle modern tools of persuasion would have been remarkably effective in eliciting answers out of internees. Intrigue by Desmond Cory is a masterpiece, and it makes you look around astoundingly at how technology has evolved and suffused into the present, including the world of espionage, while you yearn nostalgically for the pre-contemporary.
Intrigue adds all the elements you would come to expect from spy stories – intrigue, cunning, intelligence, action, moving dialogue, wits, romance, guile and much more.
A remarkable, well-told, narrative, before the era of technology, and smart gadgets, where subtle and non-subtle modern tools of persuasion would have been remarkably effective in eliciting answers out of internees. Intrigue by Desmond Cory is a masterpiece, and it makes you look around astoundingly at how technology has evolved and suffused into the present, including the world of espionage, while you yearn nostalgically for the pre-contemporary.
Intrigue adds all the elements you would come to expect from spy stories – intrigue, cunning, intelligence, action, moving dialogue, wits, romance, guile and much more.
April 13, 2019
Spy thriller
Old fashioned spy story on the lines of James Bond, plenty of action, plenty of women. Mystery and intrigue combining in a attention grabbing read
Old fashioned spy story on the lines of James Bond, plenty of action, plenty of women. Mystery and intrigue combining in a attention grabbing read
November 14, 2023
The fomenting of unrest in the former Yugoslavia abutting the Adriatic coast and the Italian city of Trieste is the setting for this fourth outing for Johnny Fedora and his more traditionally employed friend, Trout. Johnny’s girlfriend has been captured by the Soviets and an exchange is in the offing but it seems the the man that the British wish to exchange is not actually the communist agitator they thought. So if the exchange goes ahead the real villain will still be able to unleash some form of Balkan mayhem and thus allow the Soviets an excuse to charge in and capture a lovely warm Adriatic port for their own use.
With no particular plan in mind Fedora and Trout head for Trieste, where a British agent has been killed, and hope to pick up the trail he’d been following.
After they place a small ad. in a local paper a lead is forthcoming and the action hots up no end. It’s exciting and sardonically amusing as Trout and Fedora wisecrack and agonise over their respective success with women who, inevitably, prove smarter than they are.
With no particular plan in mind Fedora and Trout head for Trieste, where a British agent has been killed, and hope to pick up the trail he’d been following.
After they place a small ad. in a local paper a lead is forthcoming and the action hots up no end. It’s exciting and sardonically amusing as Trout and Fedora wisecrack and agonise over their respective success with women who, inevitably, prove smarter than they are.
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July 14, 2018This was actually the first book I had read from the Johnny Fedora collection and the way it is written means you haven't missed any vital information from the previous books. The storyline is purely it's own. The post, World War II spy, Johnny Fedora takes you on a crazy adventure of romance, action, and mystery. Desmond Cory's descriptive writing fully immerses you into the story and I cannot wait to read the others.
March 8, 2018
Intrigue (A Johnny Fedora Espionage Assignment Book 4) by Desmond Cory is good old fashioned mystery writing at it's finest. A historical mystery, one that takes place after WWII in Europe, this is a British mystery with a well defined plot, good pace, and great cast of characters. The main character Johnny Fedora along with his counterpart, Sebastian Trout must work together to not only stop an assassin, but they must put a stop to a Communist takeover of Trieste, and maybe even save a conniving woman who may or may not need help. With all of these elements, the story takes several breathtaking twists and turns, keeping your attention throughout. Because the book takes place before the advent of computers, it has an old world feel about it, when spying and sleuthing took a little more ingenuity and tenacity. Expertly written to convey a feeling and time, this book is highly recommended for a keep turning the pages read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews