I decided to try a more recent Le Carre, this won winning numerous awards in 2009. It's quite different from his earlier George Smiley novels, with no spy master like Smiley, instead a power struggle between agencies and a couple of neophytes recruited and pulled into the mix. The story begins, improbably, on the island of Antigua where Perry Makepiece, a tutor in English at Oxford is on a vacation with his long time girl friend, a lawyer, Gail. The first day, Perry is chosen, or so it seems, by Dima, a vacationing Russian oligarch, to be his tennis partner. Although Perry is not enthusiastic, it's impossible to say no to Dima, who is used to getting his way, always. And the story begins...Dima is basically on the run from the Russian Zors, or brotherhood, like the mafia. He's made his billions by laundering money and now he understands they are going to get rid of him. So he's made up his mind to make a deal with the British, whom, for some reason, he trusts and Perry, so he thinks, can be his ticket to the MI5 even though Perry is tutor. Dima knows people, senses he can trust Perry, and it proves to be a good choice. It's not so good a choice to trust the MI5.
So, Perry and Gail contact MI5, or some version of it, and he ends up dealing with Hector, one of the higher ups, unfortunately, on the outs with other higher ups. Gradually, Perry convinces Hector of the importance of Dima and with Hector's right hand men, Luke and Ollie, they set the plan in action to offer Dima and his family in return for his information about those involved in the money laundering, especially British bigwigs, but all depends on Hector convincing the Heads that this is a legitimate and important get.
Lots of behind scenes stuff, compromising, selling short but eventually they give the go ahead and Perry and Gail fly to Paris, help Dima and his family disappear from the oligarch's and they hide in an out of the way hotel in Switzerland. Meanwhile, things are not going so well back home, so Perry and Gail and Dima and his family wait it out in Switzerland. Meanwhile, the other services, as well as some of the top politicos have gotten wind of this 'get' and many are themselves involved in the money laundering, throwing wrenches into the works when ever they can to save their asses. Finally, Perry gets permission to fly Dima out of Switzerland to London. They drive to a small airport, where Luke gets on the plane, and they take off. Within minutes there's an explosion and the plane disappears. "Instrument failure is the semi official explanation", mostly because no terrorist group has accepted responsibility. And the novel ends like many of Le Carre's works, with more questions then answers. What happens to Perry and Gail? To Dima's family? We are left wondering, not knowing.
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