Adult Thriller/ Spy. British mid-20th century. Teenage boy narrator who is rescued from a bleak boarding school in England by an amoral uncle(?) with a young girl protege and thrust into a world of intrigue. Read around 2004, published 1960s? > Likes and Comments

I read this book about 20 years ago, but it was an old copy I found in someone's house. Probably published in the 1960s or thereabouts. A teenage boy in a bleak boarding school somewhere in England gets a surprise visit from an older male relative who wants to take him on a trip. They stay at a local inn for a few days, and leave without paying. They ruse they emply is to leave a suicase filled with worthless stuff in their room, and pretend to go for a walk. They go straight to the railway station and catch a train to London. The amoral relative has a young female protege. I don't remember much else about the plot except that there is some kind of intrigue in some foreign country (in the Americas?) leading to a falling out between the protagonist and his relative.

I would love to read this book again, but unfortunately I don't remember its title or author nor the names of its characters. It is in the style of Eric Amber, Graham Greene, Len Deighton, or even John le Carrre, but I'm not sure if it is one of those writers. (I have checked their Wikipedia pages, and none of their novels seems to fit.)

Could it be The Case of the Journeying Boy by Michael Innes, sometimes published as The Journeying Boy?

No, it's not that one, but it looks interesting all the same. I love Michael Innes.

The one I'm looking for is in the thriller/spy genre rather than mystery, and I think it's a one-off, not part of a series.

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Chandra, is this book written for adults or teens?

Was the word "spy" used in the book?
Was the man definitely his "uncle"?

Who and where are the boy's parents?

Hi Kris,

Thanks for responding. I'm pretty sure the word "spy" wasn't used prominently. I don't remember if the man was his real uncle or some unspecified relative. I'm pretty sure the boy's parents were not in the picture at all, so he was probably an orphan.

The book was definitely written for adults.

Cheers,
Chandra