Berlin Game cover art

Berlin Game

Penguin Modern Classics

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Berlin Game

By: Len Deighton
Narrated by: James Lailey
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Embattled agent Bernard Samson is used to being passed over for promotion as his younger, more ambitious colleagues - including his own wife, Fiona - rise up the ranks of MI6. When a valued agent in East Berlin warns the British of a mole at the heart of the Service, Samson must return to the field and the city he loves to uncover the traitor's identity. This is the first novel in Len Deighton's acclaimed Game, Set and Match trilogy.

A Bernard Samson Novel

©1983 Len Deighton (P)2021 Penguin Audio
Espionage Literature & Fiction Fiction

Critic Reviews

"Masterly...dazzlingly intelligent and subtle." (Sunday Times)

"Deighton's best novel to date - sharp, witty and sour, like Raymond Chandler adapted to British gloom and the multiple betrayals of the spy." (Observer)

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Really enjoyed this spy thriller

Really enjoyed this spy thriller. Love the voices by James Lailey he is amazing. Will definitely be listening to the other books in this trilogy

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Worth persevering with

I must admit that I was tempted to abandon this book 1/3rd of the way through. Little happened of note and the pace was plodding. But Deighton's characterisation and imagery were first rate and luckily with Audible you can speed up the narration to x1.5 to get over the 'hump'. I had a long car journey ahead of me, so I put on Berlin Game and suddenly I found myself hooked.

The final third was breathtaking, and I was one of the 10% of listeners who didn't guess the identity of the MI5 mole until Deighton spelled it out to me close to the end of the book, The final act of betrayal left me dumbfounded and was one of the most profound endings I have ever read. It was so good I had to reread the final chapter immediately I finished the book to ensure I did not miss a single nuance. Bravo.

Would I read another Deighton? Perhaps, but I will read a few books of different genres in between because his style is pretty bleak and I will have to steel myself to do so. I prefer my books to be slightly more contemporary but there is no doubting that Deighton is a class act and the fact that Berlin Game left me thinking about the book for days afterwards is the sign of a damn good read.

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