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Joe Wilderness #3
Hammer to Fall
It's London, the swinging sixties, and by all rights MI6 spy Joe Wilderness should be having as good a time as James Bond. But alas, his postings are more grim than glamorous. Luckily, Wilderness has a knack for doing well for himself even in the most unpromising postings, though this has gotten him into hot water in the past. A coffee-smuggling gig in divided Berlin was a steady money-maker but things went pear-shaped when he had to smuggle a spy back to the KGB instead. In the wake of what became an embarrassing disaster for MI6, Wilderness is reprimanded with a posting to remote northern Finland, under the guise of a cultural exchange program to promote Britain abroad. Bored by his work, with nothing to spy on, Wilderness finds another way to make money, this time by smuggling vodka across the rather porous border into the USSR. He strikes a deal with his old KGB pal Kostya, who explains to him there is, no joke, a vodka shortage in the Soviet Union, following a grain famine caused by Khrushchev's new agricultural policies. But there is something fishy about why Kostya has suddenly turned up in Finland--and MI6 intelligence from London points to a connection to the mining of cobalt in the region, a critical component in the casing of the atomic bomb. Wilderness's posting is getting more interesting by the minute, but more dangerous too. Moving from the no-man's-land of Cold War Finland to the wild days of the Prague Spring, and populated by old friends (including Inspector Troy) and old enemies alike, Hammer to Fall is a gripping tale of deception and skullduggery, of art and politics, a page-turning story of the always riveting life of the British spy.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2020
344 people are currently reading
1647 people want to read
About the author
John Lawton
34 books329 followersJohn Lawton is a producer/director in television who has spent much of his time interpreting the USA to the English, and occasionally vice versa. He has worked with Gore Vidal, Neil Simon, Scott Turow, Noam Chomsky, Fay Weldon, Harold Pinter and Kathy Acker. He thinks he may well be the only TV director ever to be named in a Parliamentary Bill in the British House of Lords as an offender against taste and balance. He has also been denounced from the pulpit in Mississippi as a `Communist,’ but thinks that less remarkable.
He spent most of the 90s in New York – among other things attending the writers’ sessions at The Actors’ Studio under Norman Mailer – and has visited or worked in more than half the 50 states. Since 2000 he has lived in the high, wet hills ofDerbyshire England, with frequent excursions into the high, dry hills of Arizona and Italy.
He is the author of 1963, a social and political history of the Kennedy-Macmillan years, six thrillers in the Troy series and a stand-alone novel, Sweet Sunday.
In 1995 the first Troy novel, Black Out, won the WH Smith Fresh Talent Award. In 2006 Columbia Pictures bought the fourth Troy novel Riptide. In 2007 A Little White Death was a New York Times notable.
In 2008 he was one of only half a dozen living English writers to be named in the London Daily Telegraph‘s `50 Crime Writers to Read before You Die.’ He has also edited the poetry of DH Lawrence and the stories of Joseph Conrad. He is devoted to the work of Franz Schubert, Cormac McCarthy, Art Tatum and Barbara Gowdy. (source: http://www.johnlawtonbooks.com)
He was born in 1949 in England.
He spent most of the 90s in New York – among other things attending the writers’ sessions at The Actors’ Studio under Norman Mailer – and has visited or worked in more than half the 50 states. Since 2000 he has lived in the high, wet hills ofDerbyshire England, with frequent excursions into the high, dry hills of Arizona and Italy.
He is the author of 1963, a social and political history of the Kennedy-Macmillan years, six thrillers in the Troy series and a stand-alone novel, Sweet Sunday.
In 1995 the first Troy novel, Black Out, won the WH Smith Fresh Talent Award. In 2006 Columbia Pictures bought the fourth Troy novel Riptide. In 2007 A Little White Death was a New York Times notable.
In 2008 he was one of only half a dozen living English writers to be named in the London Daily Telegraph‘s `50 Crime Writers to Read before You Die.’ He has also edited the poetry of DH Lawrence and the stories of Joseph Conrad. He is devoted to the work of Franz Schubert, Cormac McCarthy, Art Tatum and Barbara Gowdy. (source: http://www.johnlawtonbooks.com)
He was born in 1949 in England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
December 2, 2019
I received a free publisher’s advance review copy via Netgalley.
I dislike it when marketers say “for fans of such-and-such an author” when trying to sell a different author’s work, but I’m going to say this anyway: If you loved Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther novels, give John Lawton’s Joe Wilderness series a try—and his Frederick Troy series as well. Joe isn’t quite as cynical as Bernie, but he’s not far off, and Lawton is nearly as good as Kerr when it comes to depicting wartime/Cold War Europe, especially Berlin.
It’s hard to slot Lawton’s books into some genre like espionage, mystery or historical fiction. Lawton himself gave the best description: “historical, political thrillers with a big splash of romance, wrapped up in a coat of noir.”
Some background on Joe Wilderness from the two prior books, Then We Take Berlin and The Unfortunate Englishman: First of all, Joe Wilderness is a nickname. His real name is John Wilfrid Holderness. He was born in low circumstances in Limehouse in the East End of London. His abusive father is long gone and his tippler mother was killed in a bar in a daylight bombing raid on London in 1941. Joe is raised by his grandparents in Whitechapel, London (which you may recognize as Jack the Ripper’s killing grounds). Grandfather Abner Riley is a talented burglar, and introduces Joe to some of the tricks of the trade.
Drafted when the war is already over, Joe doesn’t do well at RAF training camp because he won’t put up with the NCOs bullying a mentally slow fellow draftee. Luckily (?) for Joe, he is pulled out of the unit when he is discovered to have an IQ of 169. He’s also found to have an amazing facility for languages and is sent off to Cambridge to learn Russian and German, which of course are tremendously useful languages in the immediate post-World War II era.
Joe is sent to the wreckage of Berlin, where his job is to examine what Germans called the Fragebogen, where they were required to answer questions designed to ferret out Nazis. You had to “pass” the questions to get what they called a “Persilschein,” the document that proved they were not considered to be an enemy or a threat, and could qualify for good jobs.
Joe meets a cast of colorful characters and becomes involved in the black market in a big way. He learns Berlin inside and out, which comes in handy a couple of decades later when one of his old pals asks him to smuggle his grandmother out of East Berlin.
Joe also meets and falls in love with a young German woman named Nell. Nell is a not enamored of Joe’s extracurriculars and that eventually leads to her leaving him.
After his time in Berlin, Joe is taken on by British intelligence, where he has adventures that would make James Bond a little envious—except they’re more realistic than the James Bond stories. They include a 1960s prisoner swap between Britain and the USSR on a bridge between East and West Berlin that goes spectacularly wrong.
That leaves out a lot, but it sets the stage for this third book, which opens after that botched bridge exchange. Joe isn’t the most popular guy in the service as a result and is sent to rusticate in Finland, where he gets involved in another black market scheme. Eventually he ends up in Prague during the Prague Spring uprising. The political ferment makes Prague a hotbed of espionage and draws in many of the characters from Joe’s old days in Berlin.
These books are truly excellent. They’re thrilling adventures, but grounded in history and humanity. If you have any interest in the time and place, I highly recommend them.
I dislike it when marketers say “for fans of such-and-such an author” when trying to sell a different author’s work, but I’m going to say this anyway: If you loved Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther novels, give John Lawton’s Joe Wilderness series a try—and his Frederick Troy series as well. Joe isn’t quite as cynical as Bernie, but he’s not far off, and Lawton is nearly as good as Kerr when it comes to depicting wartime/Cold War Europe, especially Berlin.
It’s hard to slot Lawton’s books into some genre like espionage, mystery or historical fiction. Lawton himself gave the best description: “historical, political thrillers with a big splash of romance, wrapped up in a coat of noir.”
Some background on Joe Wilderness from the two prior books, Then We Take Berlin and The Unfortunate Englishman: First of all, Joe Wilderness is a nickname. His real name is John Wilfrid Holderness. He was born in low circumstances in Limehouse in the East End of London. His abusive father is long gone and his tippler mother was killed in a bar in a daylight bombing raid on London in 1941. Joe is raised by his grandparents in Whitechapel, London (which you may recognize as Jack the Ripper’s killing grounds). Grandfather Abner Riley is a talented burglar, and introduces Joe to some of the tricks of the trade.
Drafted when the war is already over, Joe doesn’t do well at RAF training camp because he won’t put up with the NCOs bullying a mentally slow fellow draftee. Luckily (?) for Joe, he is pulled out of the unit when he is discovered to have an IQ of 169. He’s also found to have an amazing facility for languages and is sent off to Cambridge to learn Russian and German, which of course are tremendously useful languages in the immediate post-World War II era.
Joe is sent to the wreckage of Berlin, where his job is to examine what Germans called the Fragebogen, where they were required to answer questions designed to ferret out Nazis. You had to “pass” the questions to get what they called a “Persilschein,” the document that proved they were not considered to be an enemy or a threat, and could qualify for good jobs.
Joe meets a cast of colorful characters and becomes involved in the black market in a big way. He learns Berlin inside and out, which comes in handy a couple of decades later when one of his old pals asks him to smuggle his grandmother out of East Berlin.
Joe also meets and falls in love with a young German woman named Nell. Nell is a not enamored of Joe’s extracurriculars and that eventually leads to her leaving him.
After his time in Berlin, Joe is taken on by British intelligence, where he has adventures that would make James Bond a little envious—except they’re more realistic than the James Bond stories. They include a 1960s prisoner swap between Britain and the USSR on a bridge between East and West Berlin that goes spectacularly wrong.
That leaves out a lot, but it sets the stage for this third book, which opens after that botched bridge exchange. Joe isn’t the most popular guy in the service as a result and is sent to rusticate in Finland, where he gets involved in another black market scheme. Eventually he ends up in Prague during the Prague Spring uprising. The political ferment makes Prague a hotbed of espionage and draws in many of the characters from Joe’s old days in Berlin.
These books are truly excellent. They’re thrilling adventures, but grounded in history and humanity. If you have any interest in the time and place, I highly recommend them.
April 3, 2020
This is, quite simply, the best spy story I’ve read for years. It’s been compared to Le Carre and Alan Furst – but Hammer To Fall is far more fluid and a lot less pompous than Le Carre’s recent work. It has as much attention to detail as Furst’s melancholic war stories but is written with a lighter touch. Our protagonist is a crafty London wideboy, Jack The Lad skulking in the shady sidestreets on the crummy side of the Cold War.
We meet Joe Wilderness in Berlin immediately after WW2 when he’s making a mildly corrupt crack by shuffling coffee and ciggies between zones. 20 years later, Joe the MI6 field operative has (just) survived a series of physical and political incidents which see him exiled to a seemingly pointless posting in rural Finland. But a wily spy will find a conspiracy almost anywhere – and Joe can’t believe it when an old acquaintance from the other side mysteriously appears…
Hammer To Fall feels more like Len Deighton’s terrific Game, Set and Match series in its scope, authentic tradecraft, nifty footwork, clever characterisation and almost perfect plotting. Every thread you encounter along the way – every incidental but deftly drawn member of the supporting cast – they all turn out to be essential to the big picture.
Lawton might take the occasional liberty with actual events and their times and places but it all enhances the slick storytelling, and accentuates the wry humour in Joe’s complex web of competing relationships. There are some incidents which are catastrophically funny. In others, a quiet human truth emerges – like when Joe muses that he’s become so comfortable in his cover that he might almost have forgotten to be a spy. Almost, but not quite.
It's not quite perfect. Lawton over-uses the word ‘crepuscular’, and several of his phrases feel too modern for the period; did people really say ‘I’ll get me coat’ back in 1968? Or mention a McGuffin?
But these brief bumps in the road did not detract from a magnificent espionage adventure which was genuinely unpredictable, grounded in a gritty reality most people would prefer to forget. It was monstrously enjoyable. Rather wonderfully, this isn’t the first book to feature Joe Wilderness, so there’s more good stuff to look forward to.
9/10
There are many more reviews of thrillers and crime novel over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
We meet Joe Wilderness in Berlin immediately after WW2 when he’s making a mildly corrupt crack by shuffling coffee and ciggies between zones. 20 years later, Joe the MI6 field operative has (just) survived a series of physical and political incidents which see him exiled to a seemingly pointless posting in rural Finland. But a wily spy will find a conspiracy almost anywhere – and Joe can’t believe it when an old acquaintance from the other side mysteriously appears…
Hammer To Fall feels more like Len Deighton’s terrific Game, Set and Match series in its scope, authentic tradecraft, nifty footwork, clever characterisation and almost perfect plotting. Every thread you encounter along the way – every incidental but deftly drawn member of the supporting cast – they all turn out to be essential to the big picture.
Lawton might take the occasional liberty with actual events and their times and places but it all enhances the slick storytelling, and accentuates the wry humour in Joe’s complex web of competing relationships. There are some incidents which are catastrophically funny. In others, a quiet human truth emerges – like when Joe muses that he’s become so comfortable in his cover that he might almost have forgotten to be a spy. Almost, but not quite.
It's not quite perfect. Lawton over-uses the word ‘crepuscular’, and several of his phrases feel too modern for the period; did people really say ‘I’ll get me coat’ back in 1968? Or mention a McGuffin?
But these brief bumps in the road did not detract from a magnificent espionage adventure which was genuinely unpredictable, grounded in a gritty reality most people would prefer to forget. It was monstrously enjoyable. Rather wonderfully, this isn’t the first book to feature Joe Wilderness, so there’s more good stuff to look forward to.
9/10
There are many more reviews of thrillers and crime novel over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
January 31, 2020
Despite its European locations, this is a very British spy story, with references which only True Brits or Anglophiles will understand. Joe Wilderness is back at work as a field agent for Britain's MI6. This time he's being sent to Finland while a Parliamentary Committee investigates a botched spy exchange in Berlin which was organised by Joe. As Joe's boss, who's also his father-in-law, points out, half of Britain's secret service would give him a medal, while the other half want him shot.
The action moves from Berlin in 1948 and the mid 1950's to Finland in the mid 60's. While in Finland, Joe as cultural attache dispenses examples of British culture to the Finnish people, although he learns that "Carry On" comedies go down far better than modern dramas. Bored with his job, he takes the opportunity to carry out some vodka smuggling - and is soon exchanging it for Russian secret documents which point to a Soviet plan for possible uses for cobalt.
Then it's on to Czechoslovakia in 1968 and the "Prague Spring", the Czech bid for independence which was eventually crushed by the Soviet Union.
In his work as a secret agent, Joe adopts various disguises as cultural attache or tractor salesman and, always involved in various "ventures" usually smuggling certain items from one place to the other.
Now and then, Joe meets up with people from his past, including the Russian Kostya who he dealt with in Berlin and Helsinki and his former lover, Nell who's now working for Willy Brandt, the German politician and statesman who was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1969 to 1974.
As the Russians begin to crack down on Czech dissidents, an old acquaintance of Joe's - Frederick Troy - is given a speedy knighthood by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and sent of to Prague where, Wilson tells him, he is to "fly the flag" for Britain.
The book's 3 main characters - Joe, Nell and Troy - are finally together in the same city where Red Army tanks line the streets and the KGB and Czech secret police are everywhere. Troy's feisty wife Anna and the equally gutsy Janis Bell - MI6's station head in Prague are doing their damndest to cause a major diplomatic incident.
Matters come to a head and the story comes full circle when Joe is faced with a difficult decision to make.
This is a gripping story of double dealing and betrayal at the heart of Cold War politics. Along the way, there's some sly humour as the author references spy novelists Len Deighton and Ian Fleming and to the James Bond and Third Man films. A worthy addition to the Joe Wilderness series which will keep author John Lawton's fans very happy.
My thanks to the publisher Atlantic Books and to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
The action moves from Berlin in 1948 and the mid 1950's to Finland in the mid 60's. While in Finland, Joe as cultural attache dispenses examples of British culture to the Finnish people, although he learns that "Carry On" comedies go down far better than modern dramas. Bored with his job, he takes the opportunity to carry out some vodka smuggling - and is soon exchanging it for Russian secret documents which point to a Soviet plan for possible uses for cobalt.
Then it's on to Czechoslovakia in 1968 and the "Prague Spring", the Czech bid for independence which was eventually crushed by the Soviet Union.
In his work as a secret agent, Joe adopts various disguises as cultural attache or tractor salesman and, always involved in various "ventures" usually smuggling certain items from one place to the other.
Now and then, Joe meets up with people from his past, including the Russian Kostya who he dealt with in Berlin and Helsinki and his former lover, Nell who's now working for Willy Brandt, the German politician and statesman who was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1969 to 1974.
As the Russians begin to crack down on Czech dissidents, an old acquaintance of Joe's - Frederick Troy - is given a speedy knighthood by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and sent of to Prague where, Wilson tells him, he is to "fly the flag" for Britain.
The book's 3 main characters - Joe, Nell and Troy - are finally together in the same city where Red Army tanks line the streets and the KGB and Czech secret police are everywhere. Troy's feisty wife Anna and the equally gutsy Janis Bell - MI6's station head in Prague are doing their damndest to cause a major diplomatic incident.
Matters come to a head and the story comes full circle when Joe is faced with a difficult decision to make.
This is a gripping story of double dealing and betrayal at the heart of Cold War politics. Along the way, there's some sly humour as the author references spy novelists Len Deighton and Ian Fleming and to the James Bond and Third Man films. A worthy addition to the Joe Wilderness series which will keep author John Lawton's fans very happy.
My thanks to the publisher Atlantic Books and to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
October 12, 2019
Hail, hail the gang’s all here. There’s Wilderness, Eddie, Tosca, Frank, Nell and the Troy brothers amongst others.
This is the third instalment of the exploits of the cat burglar turned spy Joe Holderness aka Wilderness and the story takes us to Finland, Prague and of course Berlin as we zig zag back and forth in time and place.
As always with John Lawton the book is beautifully written and full of erudition, history, allusions and witty aphorisms.
It would be hard to extract the most from it without having read the two previous books - or indeed the myriad volumes of the Troy story given how so many characters from them all pop in and out of the manuscript.
I have really enjoyed the Wilderness trilogy but they are not as strong or engrossing as the Troy series.
I was tickled pink to learn the identity of Troy’s career change and the identity of his second wife.
Any book by Lawton is a veritable treat and this is no exception.
The ending is suitably vague to allow for another Wilderness book and hopefully we will get the opportunity to read more about Troy - one of my favourite fictional characters.
This is the third instalment of the exploits of the cat burglar turned spy Joe Holderness aka Wilderness and the story takes us to Finland, Prague and of course Berlin as we zig zag back and forth in time and place.
As always with John Lawton the book is beautifully written and full of erudition, history, allusions and witty aphorisms.
It would be hard to extract the most from it without having read the two previous books - or indeed the myriad volumes of the Troy story given how so many characters from them all pop in and out of the manuscript.
I have really enjoyed the Wilderness trilogy but they are not as strong or engrossing as the Troy series.
I was tickled pink to learn the identity of Troy’s career change and the identity of his second wife.
Any book by Lawton is a veritable treat and this is no exception.
The ending is suitably vague to allow for another Wilderness book and hopefully we will get the opportunity to read more about Troy - one of my favourite fictional characters.
April 2, 2020
English author and screenwriter John Lawton has long been a favourite of those readers who like literary crime fiction, and his eight Frederick Troy novels have become classics. Set over a long timeframe from the early years of WW2 to the 1960s, the books feature many real-life figures or, as in A Little White Death (1998), characters based on real people, in this case the principals in the Profumo Affair. In Then We Take Berlin (2013) Lawton introduced a new character, an amoral chancer whose real surname – Holderness – has morphed into Wilderness. Joe Wilderness is a clever, corrupt and calculating individual whose contribution to WW2 was minimal, but his career trajectory has widened from being a Schieber (spiv, racketeer) in the chaos of post-war Berlin to being in the employ of the British Intelligence services.
He is no James Bond figure, however. His dark arts are practised in corners, and with as little overt violence as possible. Hammer To Fall begins with a flashback scene,establishing Joe’s credentials as someone who would have felt at home in the company of Harry Lime, but we move then to the 1960s, and Joe is in a spot of bother. He is thought to have mishandled one of those classic prisoner exchanges which are the staple of spy thrillers, and he is sent by his bosses to weather the storm as a cultural attaché in Finland. His ‘mission’ is to promote British culture by travelling around the frozen north promoting visiting artists, or showing British films. His accommodation is spartan, to say the least. In his apartment:
“The dining table looked less likely to be the scene of a convivial meal than an autopsy.”
Some of the worthies sent to Finland to wave the British flag are not to Joe’s liking:
“For two days Wilderness drove the poet Prudence Latymer to readings. She was devoutly Christian – not an f-word passed her lips – and seemed dedicated to simple rhyming couplets celebrating dance, spring, renewal, the natural world and the smaller breeds of English and Scottish dog.It was though TS Eliot had never lived. By the third day Wilderness was considering shooting her.”
Before he left England, his wife Judy offered him these words of advice:
“If you want a grant to stage Twelfth Night in your local village hall in South Bumpstead, Hampshire, the Arts Council will likely as not tell you to fuck off …. So, if you want to visit Lapland, I reckon your best bet is to suggest putting on a nude ballet featuring the over-seventies, atonal score by Schoenberg, sets by Mark Rothko ….. Ken Russell can direct … all the easy accessible stuff …. and you’ll probably pick up a whopping great grant and an OBE as well.”
So far, so funny – and Lawton is in full-on Evelyn Waugh mode as he sends up pretty mch everything and anyone. The final act of farce in Finland is when Joe earns his keep by sending back to London, via the diplomatic bag, several plane loads of …. well, state secrets, as one of Joe’s Russian contacts explains:
“The Soviet Union has run out of bog roll. The soft stuff you used to sell to us in Berlin is now as highly prized as fresh fruit or Scotch whisky. We wipe our arses on documents marked Classified, Secret and sometimes even Top Secret. and the damned stuff won’t flush. So once a week a surly corporal lights a bonfire of Soviet secrets and Russian shit.”
But, as in all good satires – like Waugh’s Sword of Honour trilogy, and Catch 22 – the laughter stops and things take a turn to the dark side. Joe’s Finnish idyll comes to an end, and he is sent to Prague to impersonate a tractor salesman. By now, this is 1968, and those of us who are longer in the tooth know what happened in Czechoslavakia 1968. Prague has a new British Ambassador, and one very familiar to John Lawton fans, as it is none other than Frederick Troy. As the Russians lose patience with Alexander Dubček and the tanks roll in, Joe is caught up in a desperate gamble to save an old flame, a woman whose decency has, over the years, been a constant reproach to him:
“Nell Burkhardt was probably the most moral creature he’d ever met. Raised by thieves and whores back in London’s East End, he had come to regard honesty as aberrant. Nell had never stolen anything, never lied …led a blameless life, and steered a course through it with the unwavering compass of her selfless altruism.”
Hammer To Fall is a masterly novel, bitingly funny and heartbreaking by turns. I think A Lily Of The Field is Lawton’s masterpiece, but this runs it pretty damned close. It is published by Grove Press, and is out today, 2nd April 2020.
He is no James Bond figure, however. His dark arts are practised in corners, and with as little overt violence as possible. Hammer To Fall begins with a flashback scene,establishing Joe’s credentials as someone who would have felt at home in the company of Harry Lime, but we move then to the 1960s, and Joe is in a spot of bother. He is thought to have mishandled one of those classic prisoner exchanges which are the staple of spy thrillers, and he is sent by his bosses to weather the storm as a cultural attaché in Finland. His ‘mission’ is to promote British culture by travelling around the frozen north promoting visiting artists, or showing British films. His accommodation is spartan, to say the least. In his apartment:
“The dining table looked less likely to be the scene of a convivial meal than an autopsy.”
Some of the worthies sent to Finland to wave the British flag are not to Joe’s liking:
“For two days Wilderness drove the poet Prudence Latymer to readings. She was devoutly Christian – not an f-word passed her lips – and seemed dedicated to simple rhyming couplets celebrating dance, spring, renewal, the natural world and the smaller breeds of English and Scottish dog.It was though TS Eliot had never lived. By the third day Wilderness was considering shooting her.”
Before he left England, his wife Judy offered him these words of advice:
“If you want a grant to stage Twelfth Night in your local village hall in South Bumpstead, Hampshire, the Arts Council will likely as not tell you to fuck off …. So, if you want to visit Lapland, I reckon your best bet is to suggest putting on a nude ballet featuring the over-seventies, atonal score by Schoenberg, sets by Mark Rothko ….. Ken Russell can direct … all the easy accessible stuff …. and you’ll probably pick up a whopping great grant and an OBE as well.”
So far, so funny – and Lawton is in full-on Evelyn Waugh mode as he sends up pretty mch everything and anyone. The final act of farce in Finland is when Joe earns his keep by sending back to London, via the diplomatic bag, several plane loads of …. well, state secrets, as one of Joe’s Russian contacts explains:
“The Soviet Union has run out of bog roll. The soft stuff you used to sell to us in Berlin is now as highly prized as fresh fruit or Scotch whisky. We wipe our arses on documents marked Classified, Secret and sometimes even Top Secret. and the damned stuff won’t flush. So once a week a surly corporal lights a bonfire of Soviet secrets and Russian shit.”
But, as in all good satires – like Waugh’s Sword of Honour trilogy, and Catch 22 – the laughter stops and things take a turn to the dark side. Joe’s Finnish idyll comes to an end, and he is sent to Prague to impersonate a tractor salesman. By now, this is 1968, and those of us who are longer in the tooth know what happened in Czechoslavakia 1968. Prague has a new British Ambassador, and one very familiar to John Lawton fans, as it is none other than Frederick Troy. As the Russians lose patience with Alexander Dubček and the tanks roll in, Joe is caught up in a desperate gamble to save an old flame, a woman whose decency has, over the years, been a constant reproach to him:
“Nell Burkhardt was probably the most moral creature he’d ever met. Raised by thieves and whores back in London’s East End, he had come to regard honesty as aberrant. Nell had never stolen anything, never lied …led a blameless life, and steered a course through it with the unwavering compass of her selfless altruism.”
Hammer To Fall is a masterly novel, bitingly funny and heartbreaking by turns. I think A Lily Of The Field is Lawton’s masterpiece, but this runs it pretty damned close. It is published by Grove Press, and is out today, 2nd April 2020.
March 29, 2020
Oh dear it’s not often I can’t finish a book. I struggled over the first fifty pages then I thought it improved and my hopes raised that it would be enjoyable. Unfortunately not!
I got half way through before I gave up. The style of writing resembles the spy novels of the past but the plot also jumps around with extremely short chapters making it an uncomfortable read. Perhaps the author tried to make to plot too clever by tying in too many coincidences and the past reliving itself. The hero Joe is a MI6 spy and a bit of a wide boy rogue but his character seems incomplete and the reader is not invested in finding out what happens to him and others he knew in 1948.
Quite disappointed as I dislike not finishing what I started.
I was given this book in return for an honest review
I got half way through before I gave up. The style of writing resembles the spy novels of the past but the plot also jumps around with extremely short chapters making it an uncomfortable read. Perhaps the author tried to make to plot too clever by tying in too many coincidences and the past reliving itself. The hero Joe is a MI6 spy and a bit of a wide boy rogue but his character seems incomplete and the reader is not invested in finding out what happens to him and others he knew in 1948.
Quite disappointed as I dislike not finishing what I started.
I was given this book in return for an honest review
June 23, 2021
Solid John Lawton book, but not sure I’m a fan of the ending.
November 17, 2023
The third novel in a series but a stand alone read? Nope. Too much name dropping, references I had not one idea about, and Joe Wilderness wasn’t a “roguish MI6 spy” so much as one who botched an exchange and got cast off to Finland where nothing’s supposed to be happening, but it might be— then that story line is dropped. Joe leaves, blah, blah, blah. Something about Nell. A bland, I-didn’t-care-what-happened-but-this-was-a-stupid-way-to-end-the-story ending.
October 16, 2019
I had just devoured my first John Lawton book ("Second Violin") when the opportunity to read an advanced copy of "Hammer to Fall" came my way, so of course I jumped at it. It's one of those spy novels that you read as much for the characters as for the plot, and it didn't disappoint. Given how well Prague was evoked, I assume that the depictions of Finland are equally accurate. I might have enjoyed it a bit more if I'd read the previous books featuring the protagonist, Joe Harkness—certain events and relationships were alluded to but not spelled out—but now that makes me more eager to explore them.
Thank you, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley, for providing me with a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley, for providing me with a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 3, 2020
I have read spy novels in the past and really enjoyed them and this was OK, but not the best.
Maybe it was because I read this one but there are others in the series and maybe that made a difference to my enjoyment of it.
Especially towards the end when they brought in Inspector Harry Troy I kind of lost the thread of the plot a little.
I do think this is a series that needs to be read in order but even so I don't think this was my kind of style.
For me I found little engaging plot or characters and the writing style of flitting from character to character and situation was kind of annoying.
Not the worst I have read in the genre but for me certainly not the best either.
But then to be fair I haven't read the whole series from the start
Maybe it was because I read this one but there are others in the series and maybe that made a difference to my enjoyment of it.
Especially towards the end when they brought in Inspector Harry Troy I kind of lost the thread of the plot a little.
I do think this is a series that needs to be read in order but even so I don't think this was my kind of style.
For me I found little engaging plot or characters and the writing style of flitting from character to character and situation was kind of annoying.
Not the worst I have read in the genre but for me certainly not the best either.
But then to be fair I haven't read the whole series from the start
April 2, 2020
This sounded very exciting from the blurb but when I came to read it I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
For me at times I thought the story was a little all over the place and I think the segment style got a little confusing and flitting back and forth between characters and situations and I kind of struggle as a reader with that scenario and writing style.
Plus I just couldn't get into the story or characters much at all but maybe this was because of the reasons as highlighted above.
Overall it was OK but for me not that exciting and a little jumbled so lacked cohesion.
Just not my cup of tea at all really which was a shame as I had high hopes for this one.
A miss for me.
For me at times I thought the story was a little all over the place and I think the segment style got a little confusing and flitting back and forth between characters and situations and I kind of struggle as a reader with that scenario and writing style.
Plus I just couldn't get into the story or characters much at all but maybe this was because of the reasons as highlighted above.
Overall it was OK but for me not that exciting and a little jumbled so lacked cohesion.
Just not my cup of tea at all really which was a shame as I had high hopes for this one.
A miss for me.
May 23, 2020
I'm grateful to the publisher a free advance e-copy of this book.
This is the third book in Lawton's sequence featuring their, rogue and spy Joe Holderness (nickname Wilderness) and for a bonus it also includes (Frederick) Troy about whom Lawton has written rather more books. I enjoy the "shared universe" of these books and characters and the way that Lawton dots backwards and forwards, intersecting with previously established storylines (this one covers events in 1948, 1955 and 1966-68).
As we open, Wilderness is based in West Berlin, notionally and RAF Sergeant but actually up to something spooky. This work seems to leave him with plenty of free time for petty larceny and smuggling and he's part of an established band of "Schiebers", minor crooks, smugglers, and forgers who basically supply what the East German Communist regime can't. This involves contact with their opposites in the NKVD who are just as corrupt. Lawton paints a fascinating picture where amidst the nascent Cold War, such behaviour is simply a fact of life. The accent is very much on the individual, on the minor misdemeanours rather than everything having Consequences with a capital "C". That contrasts with the high stakes in the world of say George Smiley where one feels that an MI6 operative known by the opposition to be smuggling would immediately be blackmailed, turned and end up dishing out secrets from the top of the Service.
Consequently things here are very morally ambiguous and the implications of what's happening very subtle indeed. Nor is the sense of freewheeling, conniving spidery confined to the immediate post War years. In the main party of the book, Wilderness finds himself posted as a punishment to Finland where he has to pretend to be a Cultural Attaché showing British films in remote, draughty village halls. Bored out of his mind, he rapidly becomes involved in a local racket alongside an investigation in to a potential real bit of spycraft. The heart of the story is, though, always on Wilderness as a person, the effect on him of years spent in dubious undercover schemes while his young daughters grow up without him in London, and on where this may lead (an example is given of an old spy living a only life in Dublin).
The third act of this book takes us to the Prague Spring, where, naturally, British Intelligence is very interested in the goings-on and there is a reunion of sorts of Wilderness and his old crew. (Of sorts...) Lawton is very good, I think, on the dynamics of those months, on how the internal struggles would have looked to a close observer and on the reactions of ordinary citizens. The writing here has to strike a balance between a convincing, engaging plot giving agency to characters we've come to know and understand and the need to narrate the history they are experiencing as though it were in doubt - history which may be bent a little, but can't be fundamentally changed. Lawton does this pretty well - we do get a certain amount of narration, with Embassy cables recounting key events and moving things forward, but we also get Wilderness (and others) pursuing their (sometimes shady) objectives below the radar, as it were, with a genuine doubt about how everything will come to a climax.
In the meantime there are the (to me, ever fascinating) tropes of spy fiction - living a cover, clandestine meetings with contacts, the danger of betrayal, even, in flashback, a scene as agents are exchanged on a bridge in Berlin at midnight. And behind it all there is, quite properly, the human factor. When all the plans are made, all the fall-backs imagined and the risks assessed, what will the thing be that nobody saw but which rewrites the story? The boredom of an agent leading to unwise mischief? The inability, after carrying years of guilt, to harden the heart and kill at the needed moment? The inability, after years of fear and stress, to trust at the needed moment? The bureaucratic blunder? The key failure of operational security?
The conclusion is truly nailbiting. There is, as Lawton notes, a sense of an ending here - but how will it come?
(That's not, by the way, the only allusion to a book, film or song I saw here - 'It was a looking-glass war from which few returned', 'I met my old lover on the street last night' - with its unstated refrain).
This was an enjoyable, gripping read, a more people-centred espionage story in which the central question is less, what are "they" up to, but, how can we (all of us, both sides) survive this business with something, some of ourselves, intact? Lawton draws his characters generously and he has a way with the telling phrase ('It would be a one-horse town if somebody happened to ride in', 'little Berlin Walls of the skull', 'Not designed to make you feel at home, but to make you feel there was no such place as home', 'It was hard to make new friends. So he didn't try.') There is atmosphere in spades, and the pages on my e-reader flew by. I'd recommend.
This is the third book in Lawton's sequence featuring their, rogue and spy Joe Holderness (nickname Wilderness) and for a bonus it also includes (Frederick) Troy about whom Lawton has written rather more books. I enjoy the "shared universe" of these books and characters and the way that Lawton dots backwards and forwards, intersecting with previously established storylines (this one covers events in 1948, 1955 and 1966-68).
As we open, Wilderness is based in West Berlin, notionally and RAF Sergeant but actually up to something spooky. This work seems to leave him with plenty of free time for petty larceny and smuggling and he's part of an established band of "Schiebers", minor crooks, smugglers, and forgers who basically supply what the East German Communist regime can't. This involves contact with their opposites in the NKVD who are just as corrupt. Lawton paints a fascinating picture where amidst the nascent Cold War, such behaviour is simply a fact of life. The accent is very much on the individual, on the minor misdemeanours rather than everything having Consequences with a capital "C". That contrasts with the high stakes in the world of say George Smiley where one feels that an MI6 operative known by the opposition to be smuggling would immediately be blackmailed, turned and end up dishing out secrets from the top of the Service.
Consequently things here are very morally ambiguous and the implications of what's happening very subtle indeed. Nor is the sense of freewheeling, conniving spidery confined to the immediate post War years. In the main party of the book, Wilderness finds himself posted as a punishment to Finland where he has to pretend to be a Cultural Attaché showing British films in remote, draughty village halls. Bored out of his mind, he rapidly becomes involved in a local racket alongside an investigation in to a potential real bit of spycraft. The heart of the story is, though, always on Wilderness as a person, the effect on him of years spent in dubious undercover schemes while his young daughters grow up without him in London, and on where this may lead (an example is given of an old spy living a only life in Dublin).
The third act of this book takes us to the Prague Spring, where, naturally, British Intelligence is very interested in the goings-on and there is a reunion of sorts of Wilderness and his old crew. (Of sorts...) Lawton is very good, I think, on the dynamics of those months, on how the internal struggles would have looked to a close observer and on the reactions of ordinary citizens. The writing here has to strike a balance between a convincing, engaging plot giving agency to characters we've come to know and understand and the need to narrate the history they are experiencing as though it were in doubt - history which may be bent a little, but can't be fundamentally changed. Lawton does this pretty well - we do get a certain amount of narration, with Embassy cables recounting key events and moving things forward, but we also get Wilderness (and others) pursuing their (sometimes shady) objectives below the radar, as it were, with a genuine doubt about how everything will come to a climax.
In the meantime there are the (to me, ever fascinating) tropes of spy fiction - living a cover, clandestine meetings with contacts, the danger of betrayal, even, in flashback, a scene as agents are exchanged on a bridge in Berlin at midnight. And behind it all there is, quite properly, the human factor. When all the plans are made, all the fall-backs imagined and the risks assessed, what will the thing be that nobody saw but which rewrites the story? The boredom of an agent leading to unwise mischief? The inability, after carrying years of guilt, to harden the heart and kill at the needed moment? The inability, after years of fear and stress, to trust at the needed moment? The bureaucratic blunder? The key failure of operational security?
The conclusion is truly nailbiting. There is, as Lawton notes, a sense of an ending here - but how will it come?
(That's not, by the way, the only allusion to a book, film or song I saw here - 'It was a looking-glass war from which few returned', 'I met my old lover on the street last night' - with its unstated refrain).
This was an enjoyable, gripping read, a more people-centred espionage story in which the central question is less, what are "they" up to, but, how can we (all of us, both sides) survive this business with something, some of ourselves, intact? Lawton draws his characters generously and he has a way with the telling phrase ('It would be a one-horse town if somebody happened to ride in', 'little Berlin Walls of the skull', 'Not designed to make you feel at home, but to make you feel there was no such place as home', 'It was hard to make new friends. So he didn't try.') There is atmosphere in spades, and the pages on my e-reader flew by. I'd recommend.
September 4, 2025
For about three-quarters of the book, it felt like a natural continuation of the previous Wilderness installment.
It opens with a brief introductory section with events in 1948, Berlin, that could have easily fit into Then We Take Berlin. This portion introduces two new characters who will play important roles throughout the rest of the story.
Next, there's another short segment that ties up loose ends from the previous Wilderness book, something readers of John Lawton's Wilderness series will recognize as a recurring pattern, and explaing why Joe is sent to Finland.
The Finland section has a hint of a "Schiebers reenactment," with echoes of the Berlin events in 1945, as described in Then We Take Berlin. This part of the story also feels like a a variant of the topic in Greenes's Our Man in Havana, with espionage being sought where none exists.
We also meet a compelling female character who becomes central to the rest of the narrative. I particularly enjoyed her line: “I intend to run MI6. One day!"
Before the next main section, we have snapshots of Berlin and of Nell seeing her becoming more and more important in German politics, and we also have a nice episode in Dublin with Joe meeting a rather likable character from the previous book which will also appear at the end of the book.
The next part is in Prague with events surrounding the events of the Prague Spring. First we see, three persons converging into that city, the female character introduced in the Finland part is sent there as acting MI6 head of station, Joe is sent there with espionage duties and Nell is sent there as part of the German foreign poitics related with Easter european countries. And yes, Nell and Joe met.
Then, after three quarters of the book, came a pleasant surprise: Troy reappears—this time playing a major role (although Troy had made a brief appearance in the earlier book).
This marked the point where the Wilderness universe began to merge with the Troy universe.
I especially enjoyed the merging of the two universes. This book is one example where putting the Troy and Wilderness stories together just work.
As I mentioned in another review, it was fairly clear that for the Troy storyline to progress beyond 1963, new characters would be necessary, something the first Wilderness book successfully introduced.
I appreciated this merge since it allowed the Troy narrative to move forward beyond 1963.
I believe, however, this five-year gap could have been explained in more detail (perhaps in a different story still to be written?).
Troy is now shown to be married to someone different from the person he was married at the end of the 1963 book.
Readers familiar with the full series might even appreciate this development. These two characters had a history of involvement, and a marriage between them became a possibility by the end of the 1963 book. The surprise, however, lies in the fact that their final interaction in that book made such an outcome seem unlikely. Interestingly, this female character also plays a significant role in the remainder of the narrative.
In the books of John Lawton, one always expects unexpected twists and witty dialogue, but this time, the final part of the book went even further, and better, than usual.
As with the previous Wilderness books, the story ends with another spy-exchange in Berlin, and with a very unfinished conclusion, even more so than the conclusion of the first Wilderness book.
It opens with a brief introductory section with events in 1948, Berlin, that could have easily fit into Then We Take Berlin. This portion introduces two new characters who will play important roles throughout the rest of the story.
Next, there's another short segment that ties up loose ends from the previous Wilderness book, something readers of John Lawton's Wilderness series will recognize as a recurring pattern, and explaing why Joe is sent to Finland.
The Finland section has a hint of a "Schiebers reenactment," with echoes of the Berlin events in 1945, as described in Then We Take Berlin. This part of the story also feels like a a variant of the topic in Greenes's Our Man in Havana, with espionage being sought where none exists.
We also meet a compelling female character who becomes central to the rest of the narrative. I particularly enjoyed her line: “I intend to run MI6. One day!"
Before the next main section, we have snapshots of Berlin and of Nell seeing her becoming more and more important in German politics, and we also have a nice episode in Dublin with Joe meeting a rather likable character from the previous book which will also appear at the end of the book.
The next part is in Prague with events surrounding the events of the Prague Spring. First we see, three persons converging into that city, the female character introduced in the Finland part is sent there as acting MI6 head of station, Joe is sent there with espionage duties and Nell is sent there as part of the German foreign poitics related with Easter european countries. And yes, Nell and Joe met.
Then, after three quarters of the book, came a pleasant surprise: Troy reappears—this time playing a major role (although Troy had made a brief appearance in the earlier book).
This marked the point where the Wilderness universe began to merge with the Troy universe.
I especially enjoyed the merging of the two universes. This book is one example where putting the Troy and Wilderness stories together just work.
As I mentioned in another review, it was fairly clear that for the Troy storyline to progress beyond 1963, new characters would be necessary, something the first Wilderness book successfully introduced.
I appreciated this merge since it allowed the Troy narrative to move forward beyond 1963.
I believe, however, this five-year gap could have been explained in more detail (perhaps in a different story still to be written?).
Troy is now shown to be married to someone different from the person he was married at the end of the 1963 book.
Readers familiar with the full series might even appreciate this development. These two characters had a history of involvement, and a marriage between them became a possibility by the end of the 1963 book. The surprise, however, lies in the fact that their final interaction in that book made such an outcome seem unlikely. Interestingly, this female character also plays a significant role in the remainder of the narrative.
In the books of John Lawton, one always expects unexpected twists and witty dialogue, but this time, the final part of the book went even further, and better, than usual.
As with the previous Wilderness books, the story ends with another spy-exchange in Berlin, and with a very unfinished conclusion, even more so than the conclusion of the first Wilderness book.
August 12, 2023
With “Hammer,” the author has given us another richly detailed narrative of Wilderness (or Joe) as he moves from one precarious landscape to the next. As usual, spicy dialogues, poetic prose and flashes of dark humor are all included. We are invariably reminded of the moral ambiguity inherent in the life of an MI6 agent. Nell, his former Berlin lover, finds him dangerous on all counts: her feelings for him still there after all those years, combined with his vulnerable life as a spy and smuggler. That these two will come together again after many near misses is inevitable.
The reunion is all but assured when Joe is sent to Prague by Burne-Jones, his handler and father-in-law, to replace a compromised agent. Nell, at the same time, will be in Prague working on behalf of Willie Brandt at the Czech cultural mission. Wilderness is in deep cover: changing his identity to a British tractor salesman, by dyeing his hair, wearing contact lenses and learning yet another language. He realizes for the first time that he is immersed in his new persona, sometimes forgetting who he really is. Joe is swiftly brought back to reality when he learns that Nell has been arrested in Germany and a KGB prisoner. When the Russian hammer ended the 1968 Prague Spring movement, Nell had arranged to take her Czech lover’s nephew to the safety of West Germany.
It is welcome timing that the author brings back another favored character: retired Commander Troy, who I am relieved to note has survived TB and married for a second time. Troy, now a Lord, in his new post as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, will work with Wilderness for Nell’s recovery. Each will do it their own particular way. Troy will try all the diplomatic channels without success, even offering a huge payout from his own funds. Joe will have his special backchannels to rely on; he realizes that the job is destined to be his. When asked, “why this woman,” - his response, “Nell, the most important woman of my life…..after my wife, that is.”
Wilderness asks for the help of his old buddies from Berlin black market days: Frank Spoleto, and Eddie Clark, as well as the help of a former Russian spy. Spoleto has brought into the mix the twin Koppenrad brothers, contract killers, to ensure success for the rescue. Not the usual assassins - they will kill Nazis for free, Russians at a discount, all others full fee. The author shows his considerable skill in setting up the hazardous exchange on a foggy Berlin bridge. It is stunningly realistic in following a series of events with a unique blend of surprise and shock. Again, the reader is left high and dry - but I do look forward to “Moscow Exile.”
The reunion is all but assured when Joe is sent to Prague by Burne-Jones, his handler and father-in-law, to replace a compromised agent. Nell, at the same time, will be in Prague working on behalf of Willie Brandt at the Czech cultural mission. Wilderness is in deep cover: changing his identity to a British tractor salesman, by dyeing his hair, wearing contact lenses and learning yet another language. He realizes for the first time that he is immersed in his new persona, sometimes forgetting who he really is. Joe is swiftly brought back to reality when he learns that Nell has been arrested in Germany and a KGB prisoner. When the Russian hammer ended the 1968 Prague Spring movement, Nell had arranged to take her Czech lover’s nephew to the safety of West Germany.
It is welcome timing that the author brings back another favored character: retired Commander Troy, who I am relieved to note has survived TB and married for a second time. Troy, now a Lord, in his new post as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, will work with Wilderness for Nell’s recovery. Each will do it their own particular way. Troy will try all the diplomatic channels without success, even offering a huge payout from his own funds. Joe will have his special backchannels to rely on; he realizes that the job is destined to be his. When asked, “why this woman,” - his response, “Nell, the most important woman of my life…..after my wife, that is.”
Wilderness asks for the help of his old buddies from Berlin black market days: Frank Spoleto, and Eddie Clark, as well as the help of a former Russian spy. Spoleto has brought into the mix the twin Koppenrad brothers, contract killers, to ensure success for the rescue. Not the usual assassins - they will kill Nazis for free, Russians at a discount, all others full fee. The author shows his considerable skill in setting up the hazardous exchange on a foggy Berlin bridge. It is stunningly realistic in following a series of events with a unique blend of surprise and shock. Again, the reader is left high and dry - but I do look forward to “Moscow Exile.”
May 21, 2020
‘Odd thing, memory.’
London, 1960s. Remember the Cold War? MI6 spy Joe Wilderness has had some interesting experiences, and in this novel (the third in the series) will travel full circle. The story opens in 1948 in East Berlin, where Joe Wilderness (real name Joe Holderness) is combining spy-craft with a little black-market activity. It’s easy money, until things go wrong.
By way of punishment, Wilderness is then posted to remote northern Finland under the guise of a cultural exchange program aimed at promoting Britain abroad. There’s not much to spy on there, or so it seems, until Wilderness finds another way to make money. There’s a vodka shortage in the USSR, and Wilderness is able to use this to his advantage with the help of a Russian, Kostya, he had dealt with previously in Berlin. Why is Kostya in Finland? A connection is made, and then Wilderness is withdrawn to London.
‘Nothing undermined Intelligence like complacency.’
But his adventures continue, making it very difficult to put this novel down. There’s plenty of tension and some wry humour, there are contacts from the past and some very interesting new characters I hope to see more of. And then, there’s a twist at the end. What will happen next?
While this is the third Joe Wilderness novel, it is possible to read it as a standalone. If you enjoy spy novels with a touch of humour, like political intrigue (and especially if you remember aspects of the Cold War), you may enjoy this novel as much as I did.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
London, 1960s. Remember the Cold War? MI6 spy Joe Wilderness has had some interesting experiences, and in this novel (the third in the series) will travel full circle. The story opens in 1948 in East Berlin, where Joe Wilderness (real name Joe Holderness) is combining spy-craft with a little black-market activity. It’s easy money, until things go wrong.
By way of punishment, Wilderness is then posted to remote northern Finland under the guise of a cultural exchange program aimed at promoting Britain abroad. There’s not much to spy on there, or so it seems, until Wilderness finds another way to make money. There’s a vodka shortage in the USSR, and Wilderness is able to use this to his advantage with the help of a Russian, Kostya, he had dealt with previously in Berlin. Why is Kostya in Finland? A connection is made, and then Wilderness is withdrawn to London.
‘Nothing undermined Intelligence like complacency.’
But his adventures continue, making it very difficult to put this novel down. There’s plenty of tension and some wry humour, there are contacts from the past and some very interesting new characters I hope to see more of. And then, there’s a twist at the end. What will happen next?
While this is the third Joe Wilderness novel, it is possible to read it as a standalone. If you enjoy spy novels with a touch of humour, like political intrigue (and especially if you remember aspects of the Cold War), you may enjoy this novel as much as I did.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
June 22, 2020
All I can say is Wow!
Not realising that there is a previous book to this one I am now so excited to read it, having read this book and being blown away. It was fine as a stand alone read and now knowing there is another gets me more excited.
To be really honest I wasn't quite sure if this story was going to be for me just on the basis of what I usually read. However, I have to say that I found the writing to be so good and the plot to be just as good!
A spy story that has all the substance of a story of this genre needs but differs from the others in twists and turns that really turn it into a 'page turner.' For me the locations of the book were something that kept it interesting throughout yet it kept a very British feel, a wonderful read!
Not realising that there is a previous book to this one I am now so excited to read it, having read this book and being blown away. It was fine as a stand alone read and now knowing there is another gets me more excited.
To be really honest I wasn't quite sure if this story was going to be for me just on the basis of what I usually read. However, I have to say that I found the writing to be so good and the plot to be just as good!
A spy story that has all the substance of a story of this genre needs but differs from the others in twists and turns that really turn it into a 'page turner.' For me the locations of the book were something that kept it interesting throughout yet it kept a very British feel, a wonderful read!
Not realising that there is a previous book to this one I am now so excited to read it, having read this book and being blown away. It was fine as a stand alone read and now knowing there is another gets me more excited.
To be really honest I wasn't quite sure if this story was going to be for me just on the basis of what I usually read. However, I have to say that I found the writing to be so good and the plot to be just as good!
A spy story that has all the substance of a story of this genre needs but differs from the others in twists and turns that really turn it into a 'page turner.' For me the locations of the book were something that kept it interesting throughout yet it kept a very British feel, a wonderful read!
Not realising that there is a previous book to this one I am now so excited to read it, having read this book and being blown away. It was fine as a stand alone read and now knowing there is another gets me more excited.
To be really honest I wasn't quite sure if this story was going to be for me just on the basis of what I usually read. However, I have to say that I found the writing to be so good and the plot to be just as good!
A spy story that has all the substance of a story of this genre needs but differs from the others in twists and turns that really turn it into a 'page turner.' For me the locations of the book were something that kept it interesting throughout yet it kept a very British feel, a wonderful read!
April 15, 2020
John Lawton is one of my favorite authors, who is remarkably consistent in his series, both with Inspector Troy and Joe Wilderness. I am constantly amazed at how much story Mr. Lawton is able to fit into his novels – and I mean this as a compliment - when you realize how much has taken place, you’re apt to feel that the book should have been much longer!
We start out with a flashback to Berlin, reintroducing some characters as well as a few new ones who’ll make an appearance later in the story. But then off to London in the sixties, and MI6 spy Joe Wilderness is in trouble once again, getting himself shipped off to Finland, his cover being part of a cultural exchange program. Of course, Joe gets bored, and reverts back to his smuggling days, smuggling vodka into the USSR (yes, into Russia – that’s not a misprint!), sniffing around cobalt mining (used in atomic bomb making), yanking him back to London for a bit. And then it’s off to Ireland before heading to Prague, where Inspector Troy, Nell, and others all swirl together for an ending against the backdrop of the Prague Spring.
If you’re a fan of Philip Kerr, or Alan Furst, then you should also be reading Mr. Lawton. Sometimes I get a bit distracted in the middle of these, but then something happens that makes me stay up late and rush to the ending. Well done.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Grove Atlantic / Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
We start out with a flashback to Berlin, reintroducing some characters as well as a few new ones who’ll make an appearance later in the story. But then off to London in the sixties, and MI6 spy Joe Wilderness is in trouble once again, getting himself shipped off to Finland, his cover being part of a cultural exchange program. Of course, Joe gets bored, and reverts back to his smuggling days, smuggling vodka into the USSR (yes, into Russia – that’s not a misprint!), sniffing around cobalt mining (used in atomic bomb making), yanking him back to London for a bit. And then it’s off to Ireland before heading to Prague, where Inspector Troy, Nell, and others all swirl together for an ending against the backdrop of the Prague Spring.
If you’re a fan of Philip Kerr, or Alan Furst, then you should also be reading Mr. Lawton. Sometimes I get a bit distracted in the middle of these, but then something happens that makes me stay up late and rush to the ending. Well done.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Grove Atlantic / Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
September 12, 2020
Three things about this book, “ Hammer to Fall” by John Lawton:
One: By the last quarter of the novel, I was very tempted to flip to the end of the book to see how it ended. The temptation was great, but I am glad that I didn’t.
Two: Joe Holderness, Mr. Lawton’s British agent hero is as complex, conflicted and interesting as can be found in the genre. He is a what the Brits call a “ chancer” a man always looking for a scheme to augment his salary with smuggling items for someone who was willing to pay cash. At the same time, he has a strong sense of honor that sends him back into dangerous areas where the Cold War can turn hot very easily.
Three: Events and people who played parts in the books previous to “ Hammer to Fall” return to play their parts . You won’t be lost if you haven’t read them, but they give the story depth and continuity.
Beyond those things, the reader will find that the author is familiar with the novel’s settings. The short summer and long winter of Lapland, and the old world streets and structures of Prague during the events of 1968 are well done. The supporting cast are uniformly good, often funny and frequently surprisingly noble. Finally Joe Holderness, the man beneath all his work aliases And schemes, is quite unforgettable.
Warnings- some language, no sex, minor plot generated vIolence.
One: By the last quarter of the novel, I was very tempted to flip to the end of the book to see how it ended. The temptation was great, but I am glad that I didn’t.
Two: Joe Holderness, Mr. Lawton’s British agent hero is as complex, conflicted and interesting as can be found in the genre. He is a what the Brits call a “ chancer” a man always looking for a scheme to augment his salary with smuggling items for someone who was willing to pay cash. At the same time, he has a strong sense of honor that sends him back into dangerous areas where the Cold War can turn hot very easily.
Three: Events and people who played parts in the books previous to “ Hammer to Fall” return to play their parts . You won’t be lost if you haven’t read them, but they give the story depth and continuity.
Beyond those things, the reader will find that the author is familiar with the novel’s settings. The short summer and long winter of Lapland, and the old world streets and structures of Prague during the events of 1968 are well done. The supporting cast are uniformly good, often funny and frequently surprisingly noble. Finally Joe Holderness, the man beneath all his work aliases And schemes, is quite unforgettable.
Warnings- some language, no sex, minor plot generated vIolence.
September 13, 2020
In May 1966, MI6 field agent/black-marketeer Joe Wilderness is forced to take a posting in Finland to escape a Parliamentary review of a previous operation of his in the divided Germany. For Joe, “Lying was life – the air you breathed” (p44). After Finland and a brush-up on the language, his bosses put Joe (without diplomatic immunity) into Czechoslovakia, a place where the restless populace is “just waiting for the hammer to fall” (p420) in the form of incoming Soviet tanks. During the short-lived ‘Prague Spring’ of 1968, Nell Burkhardt, plus the retired Freddie Troy of Scotland Yard and other familiar John Lawton characters come and go across Europe. Moving freely – and sometimes confusingly, even for fans – between two decades of the Cold War, HAMMER TO FALL never pauses for long in one spot. The cohesive narrative element is Wilderness, a special character in spy fiction and no James Bond. Joe is, by nature, a rogue. Even his great love, Nell, says that he “could enrage a saint and make the Pope spit” (p422). One aggravated character observes of ex-copper Troy and ex-burglar Wilderness: “They were both… more than a bit dodgy” (p517). Joe is cautioned when going into Czechoslovakia at age 40: “No guns, no rackets” (p281). But he finds it harder to keep to the former admonition than the latter in HAMMER TO FALL.
December 30, 2024
Joe Holderness (known as Wilderness) is a spy for MI6. Having been recruited at the end of WW2 where his activities were focused on making money through the black market, Joe has made a name for himself as a field agent. A botched agent handover in Berlin necessitates him being transferred to a sleepy station in Finland to avoid political fallout. There he makes two important discoveries. The first is that there is an unlikely shortage of vodka in the USSR, and that the Russians are also looking for refined cobalt for building atomic bombs. Suddenly Joe's punishment posting looks more interesting.
Bleurgh... Another Cold War spy story which was neither bad nor good, hence the three stars. The plot was constructed so that the action moved from the end of the Second World War to the early 1960s and ranged from Berlin to Vienna, to Finland and then to Prague. Everything linked up nicely at the end, but the final denouement was essentially very silly and after pushing through 350 pages was actually quite annoying. The central character, Holderness, was a cross between James Bond, Private Walker (from Dad's Army) and George Smiley (so bright but inclined to unnecessary violence, whilst on the fiddle). Other characters were less well-drawn and merely bit-parts to keep the narrative moving.
Bleurgh... Another Cold War spy story which was neither bad nor good, hence the three stars. The plot was constructed so that the action moved from the end of the Second World War to the early 1960s and ranged from Berlin to Vienna, to Finland and then to Prague. Everything linked up nicely at the end, but the final denouement was essentially very silly and after pushing through 350 pages was actually quite annoying. The central character, Holderness, was a cross between James Bond, Private Walker (from Dad's Army) and George Smiley (so bright but inclined to unnecessary violence, whilst on the fiddle). Other characters were less well-drawn and merely bit-parts to keep the narrative moving.
March 31, 2020
Firstly, I'd like to thank Readers First and Atlantic Books for sending me a copy of Hammer to Fall from John Lawton. All views are my own.
The moment I saw the cover of Hammer to Fall, I was drawn in - there was just something about it. It wasn't until I read the first few chapters that I soon realised this was a spy novel and not something I would typically pick up. Nonetheless, I soldiered on and finished the book in a week.
I have never read a John Lawton novel before or any of the Joe Wilderness novels, but I can safely say that this novel seemed to work well as a standalone, not forcing the reader to have to think back to previous novels - in my experience anyway.
Mixing historical occurrences with Joe Wilderness' haphazard spy ways, John Lawton delivered a very British spy thriller full of lust, darkness, and humour! The characters were enjoyable and the writing style flowed nicely. I did sometimes struggle with the short chapters being loaded with information, but I can see past that.
I did enjoy this book, but there were definitely times when I found myself a little bored - I'm unsure whether this is because I am just not the target audience for this book.
The moment I saw the cover of Hammer to Fall, I was drawn in - there was just something about it. It wasn't until I read the first few chapters that I soon realised this was a spy novel and not something I would typically pick up. Nonetheless, I soldiered on and finished the book in a week.
I have never read a John Lawton novel before or any of the Joe Wilderness novels, but I can safely say that this novel seemed to work well as a standalone, not forcing the reader to have to think back to previous novels - in my experience anyway.
Mixing historical occurrences with Joe Wilderness' haphazard spy ways, John Lawton delivered a very British spy thriller full of lust, darkness, and humour! The characters were enjoyable and the writing style flowed nicely. I did sometimes struggle with the short chapters being loaded with information, but I can see past that.
I did enjoy this book, but there were definitely times when I found myself a little bored - I'm unsure whether this is because I am just not the target audience for this book.
April 6, 2022
The third (and thus far, last) book following MI6 officer and occasional smuggler and black market dabbler Joe Holderness, while a solidly entertaining spy novel, unfortunately suffers from the same meandering, at times unbearably slow pacing as the first book. The first part, much to my amusement, sees Holderness sent to cool his heels posing as cultural attaché in Finland - and may I just say, I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the more obscure place names mentioned might in fact be made up given what they translate to... I had some difficulty taking anything happening in a place that (though misspelled) translates to "asshole" seriously. In the latter half of the book, the protagonist, along with a few other familiar faces, finds himself in Prague during the Prague Spring, which always makes for a fascinating setting. Though honestly, Nell just happening to be there at the same time was a little too coincidental to believe... and as I've never quite seen the point of Nell in the first place, I can't say her being in peril made for page-turning material for me. All in all, this was a decent read but not as good as the previous installment.
April 2, 2020
I've read a few "spy" novels in my time but nothing quite like this.
Initially I was concerned that not having read it's predecessors might leave me at a disadvantage. It hits the ground running and at such furious pace that I wondered if I would be able to catch up with the who's who list.
Never fear, this book works perfectly well as a stand alone story. We start with a bodged operation on a bridge and come full circle some years later as the tale finishes in exactly the same place.
In between is a slightly irreverent look at the spy trade - with a good dash of black market trading on the side. We travel between Finland, Germany, Prague, Ireland and London as we follow our protagonist Joe Wilderness. He is a joy of a character and some of the situations he finds himself in seem utterly surreal (even though some are based on fact - truth can be stranger than fiction it seems).
It's a fast paced romp that I raced through - a joy to read even if you wouldn't normally consider this genre.
Initially I was concerned that not having read it's predecessors might leave me at a disadvantage. It hits the ground running and at such furious pace that I wondered if I would be able to catch up with the who's who list.
Never fear, this book works perfectly well as a stand alone story. We start with a bodged operation on a bridge and come full circle some years later as the tale finishes in exactly the same place.
In between is a slightly irreverent look at the spy trade - with a good dash of black market trading on the side. We travel between Finland, Germany, Prague, Ireland and London as we follow our protagonist Joe Wilderness. He is a joy of a character and some of the situations he finds himself in seem utterly surreal (even though some are based on fact - truth can be stranger than fiction it seems).
It's a fast paced romp that I raced through - a joy to read even if you wouldn't normally consider this genre.
July 27, 2020
I keep reading Lawton's books even though I often have the same issue. They seem to take forever to capture my interest, but once they do, I cannot put them down. Hammer to Fall is the same. It starts with Joe Wilderness facing repercussions from the mission told in the previous book. In some ways, this is good because it helps readers remember the backstory, which is a major part of this books plot. But it delays the action. Even then, the book is in two parts that only come together towards the end. However, when the plot does start all coming together, the book becomes quite the thriller ride.
I also love Lawton's love of films - the book is full of references to films, especially British and Czech films of the sixties. He does capture the culture of the time, when films were an important part of the art scene around the world, helping to shape the political climate. I miss those days.
I also love Lawton's love of films - the book is full of references to films, especially British and Czech films of the sixties. He does capture the culture of the time, when films were an important part of the art scene around the world, helping to shape the political climate. I miss those days.
August 20, 2021
Hammer To Fall is definitely one of the best spy novels I've read in a long time. As a punishment after a botched exchange in Berlin, MI6 spy Joe Wilderness has been sent to a post in northern Finland as part of a programme to promote Britain abroad. Bored, and with nothing else to do, after hearing of a vodka shortage, the maverick thief decides to start smuggling it across the border into the USSR. This soon escalates into exchanging it for Russian secret documents which allude to atomic bomb making.
Author John Lawton frequently switches the time and location of the narrative, which could be confusing if you haven't read the previous books in the series. However, as always this book is beautifully written, very well constructed with plenty of tension and humour and is set during a very interesting time in history. I would definitely recommend for anyone interested in Cold War spy and espionage novels.
Author John Lawton frequently switches the time and location of the narrative, which could be confusing if you haven't read the previous books in the series. However, as always this book is beautifully written, very well constructed with plenty of tension and humour and is set during a very interesting time in history. I would definitely recommend for anyone interested in Cold War spy and espionage novels.
April 7, 2020
This was a highly satisfying read, definitely the best book of the (short) Wilderness series by John Lawton - better known as the author of the Troy series.
Hammer To Fall has in spades the elements of a solid Cold War espionage novel, complemented by great character development, a very good prose underpinned by touches of nice humour, and very juicy dialogues.
The plot...well, the plot - Lawton being Lawton - is kind of erratic and fragmented for at least 3/4 of the story, with some long digressions into segments not really coherent with the rest. Sometimes you have the impression of being in front of a patchwork of disjointed pieces, still the reading was for me overall enjoyable.
There is an underlying melancholy tone across the novel, which might hint at the fact that this might be the end of the Wilderness saga...or is it?
Hammer To Fall has in spades the elements of a solid Cold War espionage novel, complemented by great character development, a very good prose underpinned by touches of nice humour, and very juicy dialogues.
The plot...well, the plot - Lawton being Lawton - is kind of erratic and fragmented for at least 3/4 of the story, with some long digressions into segments not really coherent with the rest. Sometimes you have the impression of being in front of a patchwork of disjointed pieces, still the reading was for me overall enjoyable.
There is an underlying melancholy tone across the novel, which might hint at the fact that this might be the end of the Wilderness saga...or is it?
July 28, 2020
In reality the is a Wilderness/Troy book, because it does have Troy and so many of the characters from the other books. It is only primarily Wilderness with Troy as an important secondary. Once again we are caught up in a cold war story that revolves around a "noir" story that occurs in Berlin and Prague.
There are whole parts of the story dealing with smuggled soviet secret information, the purchase of metals on the international market. Though the plot is easy to follow, the actions of the people are more than convoluted. To tell anymore would spoil to much of the book.
Needless to say life in East Berlin/Germany is very difficult and this is what leads to the actual story behind the story. It a good serviceable story, but Lawton has done it all before, he's beginning to get bored with his own creation.
There are whole parts of the story dealing with smuggled soviet secret information, the purchase of metals on the international market. Though the plot is easy to follow, the actions of the people are more than convoluted. To tell anymore would spoil to much of the book.
Needless to say life in East Berlin/Germany is very difficult and this is what leads to the actual story behind the story. It a good serviceable story, but Lawton has done it all before, he's beginning to get bored with his own creation.
April 2, 2020
I must admit I wasn't overly keen upon reading the synopsis but as they say 'you shouldn't judge a book by its cover' so I thought I would give it a try. I hadn't previously read any of the Joe Wilderness books previously and whilst this isn't a bad thing, it may have helped on some aspects of the back story rather than reading between the lines.
The story itself took a while to grip me but it is full of strong characters, particularly female characters which in such a novel was a great aspect. It was a typical spy novel on the surface but I would say the historical details were what set it apart from others in the same genre. I would definitely recommend this if you are a keen historian or looking for a bit of extra detail on your books.
The story itself took a while to grip me but it is full of strong characters, particularly female characters which in such a novel was a great aspect. It was a typical spy novel on the surface but I would say the historical details were what set it apart from others in the same genre. I would definitely recommend this if you are a keen historian or looking for a bit of extra detail on your books.
April 30, 2020
I am definitely a John Lawton fan and have been since Blackout. Hammer to Fall features Joe Wilderness, an interesting character who combines criminal skills with an aptitude for foreign languages. He is very likeable
I'd been to a number of the locations of Hammer to Fall and the author describes them very well. The plot is less convincing and the climax, which had enormous potential, was disappointing. There's a (welcome) surprise with the appearance of an old friend in the final quarter of the narrative.
Joe Wilderness is a likeable rogue and I hope there are more to come.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.
I'd been to a number of the locations of Hammer to Fall and the author describes them very well. The plot is less convincing and the climax, which had enormous potential, was disappointing. There's a (welcome) surprise with the appearance of an old friend in the final quarter of the narrative.
Joe Wilderness is a likeable rogue and I hope there are more to come.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.
September 30, 2020
A SOLID 4.5 STARS ..
I gather that John Lawton is a relatively famous for his series of books in this genre.I’m really sorry that I have missed his previous writings. This is the first book of his that I have read and that is regrettable as this guy writes great books. This is a lively, humorous and engaging book about spy life during the cold war in out of the norm places. A solid 4.5 STARS. I’m definitely reading the next book he writes.
The adventures of Joe Wilderness across Cold War Europe.From Berlin, surviving on airlift support, to Finland, England, and, ultimately, Prague in the spring of 1968, MI6 spy Joe Holderness, aka Wilderness, gets into and out of a number of compelling spots of trouble in this installment of his story (The Unfortunate Englishman, 2016, etc.).
I gather that John Lawton is a relatively famous for his series of books in this genre.I’m really sorry that I have missed his previous writings. This is the first book of his that I have read and that is regrettable as this guy writes great books. This is a lively, humorous and engaging book about spy life during the cold war in out of the norm places. A solid 4.5 STARS. I’m definitely reading the next book he writes.
The adventures of Joe Wilderness across Cold War Europe.From Berlin, surviving on airlift support, to Finland, England, and, ultimately, Prague in the spring of 1968, MI6 spy Joe Holderness, aka Wilderness, gets into and out of a number of compelling spots of trouble in this installment of his story (The Unfortunate Englishman, 2016, etc.).
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