Silverview

Valedictory, with a final turn of events that ends surprisingly but pleasingly in a cock-up, this is a satisfying coda to the career of the finest thriller writer of the 20th century * Guardian, Books of the Year * A compelling character study of a supposedly retired spy . . . Such was his rare command of language and unique understanding of how the world really works that I finished the book with a sense that the only real grown-up in the room had left -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year * As graceful an exit as we could hope for, the old master remaining at the top of his game to the last -- Mick Herron * Daily Express, Books of the Year * Nothing will ever match the Cold War spy novels written in his prime, but his later work illuminates themes of loyalty, betrayal and conflicting values in a modern context -- Vince Cable * New Statesman, Books of the Year * A superb example of le Carr's enduring and exquisite genius * Daily Mail, Books of the Year * Gripping and involving, an elegant farewell by a much missed writer -- Sin Phillips * Daily Express, Books of the Year * Silverview has many of le Carr's characteristic virtues . . . engaging characters and three or four splendid set scenes in which veteran spooks stir the embers of old fires * Scotsman, Best Books of the Year * Silverview is a cat-and-mouse chase from an East Anglian seaside town to the Eastern Bloc. Published ten months after he passed away, it marks a fitting final work by the master of spy fiction * Irish Times, Books of the Year * A taut, thrilling spy novel. Read it as a tribute to a master * Stella, Books of the Year * Silverview has all the old magic . . . it offers a rewarding post-script to the long-distance spell-binders The Little Drummer Girl and Absolute Friends -- David Bromwich * Times Literary Supplement, Books of The Year * His publisher is promoting it as a great literary event - the final book by one of postwar Britain's finest writers. That seems fair enough to me . . . [Silverview has] enough reminders of the old magic to please his most ardent aficionados -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times * Le Carr at his finest, revealing character and backstory through dialogue with an economy and grace beyond most writers . . . le Carr's greatness has its roots in his mastery of spy fiction; a genre he augmented with novels notable for their craftsmanship and humanity, and writing for its stealth and sophistication. With the publication of Silverview, it's clear these virtues remained intact to the end -- Mick Herron * Guardian * Thematically, this is classic le Carr: an exploration of how people do the wrong thing for the right motive. The prose is as unshowily superb as ever * Sunday Telegraph * A fitting coda to the work of our greatest spy novelist -- John Williams * Mail on Sunday * It is written with elegance and often pungency, the pitch-perfect dialogue ranging from the waggishly epigrammatic to the bluntly outraged * New York Times * Le Carr's ability to inhabit the deepest recesses of his characters' lives is once again on sparkling display . . . It leaves no doubt that le Carr believed good literature could help make the world a better place. His own contribution to that edifice was by no means negligible * FT * Textbook le Carr and a pleasing coda to a brilliant career: a short, sharp study of the human cost of espionage * Daily Telegraph * The first page hooks you in . . . John le Carr has lost none of his power to draw the reader straight into his world * The Times * There is a retro charm about proceedings . . . as well as a welcome array of familiar le Carr tropes, from sharply drawn characters to stimulating interviews and debriefings, plus a compelling denouement involving a wanted man on the run . . . a worthy coda, a commanding farewell from a much-missed master * Economist * Arguably the greatest English novelist of his generation * Guardian * Crisp prose

John le Carr was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the University of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence (MI5 & 6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carr widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. He died on 12 December 2020. His posthumous novel, Silverview, was published in 2021.