Barbouze

Rupert Quinn #2

by Alan Williams

A classic spy thriller series you need to read! Perfect for fans of Len Deighton, John Le Carré, Tom Clancy and Ian Fleming. A British journalist is caught up in a deadly fight between French spies and North African nationalists… 1963 British journalist Neil Ingleby is taking time out from his hectic London lifestyle on the idyllic Greek islands. But when he runs into Dutch sailor Pieter Van Loon and French spy Charles Pol, he finds himself sucked into a world of secrets and intrigue. Pol has a larger than life personality with a physique to match, and his charming manner, along with copious amounts of alcohol, convince Ingleby he should accompany the French spy on a mission in North Africa. Before they have even left Europe, the men are targeted by ruthless killers… Ingleby finds himself caught up in a violent terrorist plot with the French Secret Service. Can he trust Charles Pol? Will this give him the biggest scoop of his career? Or will this trip abroad prove to be his last…? BARBOUZE is the first classic terrorist adventure novel in the Charles Pol espionage thriller action-packed international thrillers, full of twists and turns. 'the natural successor to Ian Fleming' - Books and Bookmen 'a compassionate thriller' - The Sunday Telegraph 'one of the best thriller writers this country has ever produced' - Shots Mag ‘A brilliantly written and exciting novel about violence, love and tragedy ... it lifts the author into the top-rank of our young writers. Do read it.' - Sunday Express 'If you were to ask me who were the top ten writers of intrigue novels, I would list Alan Williams among the first five' - Martin Levin, The New York Times 'one of the important figures in the change and development of the espionage novel' - John Gardiner 'a good thriller can take you to an entirely foreign environment, as in the books of Alan Williams' - Mike Ripley 'Alan Williams is a thriller writer who has conspicuously succeeded in the rare feat of combining a novelist's art with a journalist's training' - British Book News THE CHARLES POL ESPIONAGE THRILLER Book Barbouze Book The Tale of the Lazy Dog Book Gentleman Traitor Book Shah-Mak Book Dead Secret Book Holy of Holies

293 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Alan Emlyn Williams was a journalist and foreign correspondent, reporting from notable hotspots worldwide including Hungary in 1956, Algeria, Vietnam and Northern Ireland. In 1962 he started writing thrillers which brought him the accolade "the natural heir to Ian Fleming" but it was his well-researched spy stories such as The Beria Papers and Gentleman Traitor (which featured real life traitor Kim Philby) which brought him international success.

Reviews

[Rusty]

More action-oriented than but otherwise resembling Graham Greene, this excellent writer of thrillers deserves a wider audience. I'm so pleased to have discovered him.

[Mike]

Other reviewers have described the background and the plot so I'll stick to reporting my impressions.

Buy it!

Simple as that. It's the best piece of (recent) historical fiction writing that I've read in a long time. It moves quickly and every plot turn is unexpected yet inevitable. There's a sense of menace behind everything and I started suspecting everyone of double-dealing and undisclosed motives. Sometimes my suspicions were justified, other times not.

Neil Ingleby is a fully-developed, if naively flawed, hero and the other leading characters are also three-dimensional and memorable - I think I'd recognise most of them if I met them.

There was a real feel of the African Mediterranean coast, the heat, the forced gaiety masking the despair, the rot. I suspect some of that rot might have been brought on by the sheer volume of alcohol consumed. I know that the press corps are/were notorious for their ability to file copy while three sheets to the wind, but still...

I hadn't heard of the author before but a quick check shows that's written a fair number of thrillers, some of which I'll be reading shortly.

ETA: I hadn't realised that this book was written in the 60s and, hence, wasn't historical fiction at all.

Four-and-a-half stars.

I received a free review copy of the book. My opinion was not affected by the publisher's largesse.

[Charles Ray]

British journalist, Neil Ingleby, goes to Greece to do research for a book, and to get as far away as possible from the woman who dumped him. He meets Dutch sailor and vagabond Pieter Van Loon and French agent provocateur Charles Pol, who is also a barbouze, or ‘false beard’, and quickly finds himself caught between an army of French defectors and an angry army od Arab nationalists. The line between objective journalist and revolutionary participant becomes blurred, and Ingleby’s life is on the line.
Barbouze by Alan Williams is a riveting thriller in the style of John LeCarre that will keep you glued to your seat, as the action builds inexorably to a surprising climax.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, and give it four stars.

[Rose Weiss]

I found this book to be slow and confusing.
I did not understand the time frame of this story and have little knowledge of the history of this period. The book did not explain enough of the background except for the violence and terror displayed at the time.

[Paul Cornelius]

After reading the second book in the series, The Tale of the Lazy Dog, I went and picked up this, the first one, Barbouze, which was a term apparently applied to French government agents of a suspect background who battled the OAS in Algeria during that country's war from 1954 to 1962. Barbouze was published in 1964. Williams's novel, however, takes place in a fictional North African French protectorate, which, is, of course, Algeria in everything but name.

The linking character in the series, Charles Pol, is a bit odd in his appearances throughout the now three books I've either read or are reading. In each case, so far, he is a secondary character but integral to the actions and designs of the primary characters. Pol himself is a purely unethical being who cannot be trusted or necessarily relied upon even for his role as a government agent. Physically, he is an obese, jowly glutton, who laps up alcohol and binges on food. As an aside, Williams's characters swim in a sea of alcohol, where being drunk seems to be the normal state of affairs. It's all part of a long trend in hard boiled fiction from the 1920s on up into the 1960s, where manliness required constant ingestion of whiskey and cigarettes. No wonder the lifespan was in the 60s age bandwidth.

At any rate, the protagonist for this novel is Neil Inglesby, a thirty-something journalist who has just escaped his girlfriend in order to pursue adventure. He does so where the novel begins, on Mount Athos in Greece. There, a mysterious encounter with a Frenchman leads to his being held and questioned by Pol, who soon enlists Inglesby on a mission to the North African Protectorate. In the Protectorate, the three parties, the Arab nationalists, the Secret Army, and the French government make for an ever changing battle not only for influence but, in the case of the Secret Army (OAS) and Arab nationalists, for eradication of the other. Inglesby becomes a pawn in their and especially Pol's games. And of course he falls for the charms of a beautiful French woman, a pied-noir (a person of European descent that is a native of North Africa) who is part of the Secret Army.

I'll not spoil the ending, but it is a shock of sorts. And one thing begins to stand out about Williams in the now four books of his I've read. He is a cynic. Idealism always either easily erodes or comes at a cost to people's lives. His are gritty, rugged exposes of the treachery of governments, ideologues, and every day greed. Eventually, in all the books, life is cheap. Glory, riches, and rewards are fleeting.

[David Evans]

Taut and suspenseful thriller set around the time of Algerian independence (c/w The Day of the Jackal). Neil Ingleby, popular British journalist, is taking a break but becomes unwittingly entangled as an unwilling negotiator in a three way North African insurrection marked by shockingly violent death at every turn. The terrified Ingleby spends most of his time lurching from one crisis to another waiting to be shot, stabbed or blown up by various factions and uncertain whether he’s a neutral journalist (with a massive coup on his hands if he can only file some copy), working for the French secret service, the “Arabs”, or the “Secret Army” separatists. The Barbouze are shadowy assassins and ready to slit yer throat. Can Ingleby escape the disintegrating country alive with the story of his life and get the girl?
Some great war correspondent descriptions of the chaos, filth and suffering with lots of alcohol for solace.

[Di Paterson]

I thought this was a period novel until I realised that it was written in 1963. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it has not dated in any way. The politics of the time is very interesting, and I was googling the French occupation in Africa to find out more. I'm still not sure how much of the tale is fact, but it's unimportant. This is an exciting thriller, with the action moving from Greece to North Africa and featuring dubious and interesting characters throughout, keeping me engrossed to the final pages. At times a little complicated, the style is fairly easy to read. My thanks to Sapere Books for the opportunity to read it. Charles Pol falls into the category of dubious, but interesting characters, and he is more the mastermind than the hero of 'Barbouze', and I hope to find out more about him in the subsequent novels.

[Paul Ataua]

Neil Ingleby is a journalist in search of time out from his hectic life. He is relaxing on the Greek islands when he comes into contact with the mysterious Charles Pol and is swept away to a major conflict in a North African country. Alan Williams’ books are often complicated and you are never quite sure who is who in the conflicts. The strange, fat, and drunken Charles Pol is a complete enigma. Is he really a spy working for the French or an anarchist working against them? Despite the messiness, I found the novel to be excellent right from the surprisingly interesting prologue through to the puzzling final pages. I’m hooked and already ready for another Alan Williams novel.

[J L]

Quite well-written, but the main characters (esp. Ingleby) lacked depth or substance.... However, given the author's rather self-aware, ironic tone, it's possible that we were never supposed to take Ingleby that seriously to begin with. Like another character described him - he was intelligent, but not particularly clever.

This wasn't really my cup of tea, but gave it 3 stars because it was OK for what it was.

[Wampus Reynolds]

What starts almost lightheartedly twists and develops into a something a bit more poignant. It’s Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop in a Le Carre plot written by Graham Greene.

[Ann-Marie]

Journalist Neil Ingleby is travelling in Europe trying to get away from his hedonistic London lifestyle when he encounters two very different men: Dutch sailor Peter Van Loon and enigmatic Frenchman Charles Pol. Almost as soon as the pair have met Charles, their lives are turned upside down as they are pulled into a violent war in North Africa. As events unfold Neil is torn between looking for a scoop for his newspaper and his desire to make a difference by saving innocent people.

A very readable and interesting tale despite one of the main characters, Charles Pol, barely appearing in the story although he’s obviously very busy behind the scenes. The intriguing opening to the book takes time to come to fruition and the ending is very poignant and sums up the novel neatly.

Thanks to Sapere Books for a review copy.

[Mystica]

Set in North Africa the story between the French Secret Service and the local population trying to wrest control from their colonial masters.

Ingleby the journalist from England is naive and only wants to do the correct thing. Something which both sides decide to use to their own advantage and he is caught in the middle. His copy to his office in London could be the best one yet of his career, but at what cost. Ingleby is not made for the betrayal and lack of loyalty and the mindless murdering that goes on and he seems lost here.

The story was fast paced, the characters were lethal and our main man was very naive. The setting could have been anywhere with a colorful and bloody history.

[Rick Mitchell]

The book has no context. There is no indication of when or where. It takes forever for the "star" to get to the country where everything is going to happen. For the longest time I thought it would happen Greece, not a "French Protectorate". The journalist does not seem to have any ability to think for himself. No character is likable or loathsome. The plot was confused and scattered. I kept going thinking that at some point it would all come together. This was a disappointment.

[Bob Hurley]

Whilst the geographic location and the description of the country were very good I was left a little disappointed in the story line. Not sure that the English Journalist (Neil) was the central role in the book. Would have preferred for Pol, Anne Marie etc to have been run as parallel stories and then all drawn together for the finale. Not sure it ended particularly well either hence my 3 stars

[Haydn Pope]

A superb novel that I really enjoyed reading - exciting, tense, brilliant use of descriptive language. Not really a great deal to smile about, apart from the main character. 5* all the way!