THE TEARS OF AUTUMN: CHARLES McCARRY

I was inspired, perhaps encouraged is a better word to go back and read The Tears of Autumn because it was recently plagiarized by Q.R.Markham in Assassin of Secrets. Even though I had read it thirty years ago because of my failing memory I came to it eagerly as a new book. There advantages to getting older. 

The Tears of Autumn is an intelligently written intriguing spy story featuring secret agent  and poet Paul Christopher set during the weeks following the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. Christopher works out who, and more importantly why the President was killed, and this puts him in danger from both people in the White House and those that organized the killing. I won’t say more about the plot as I don’t want to spoil the dangerous journey of discovery through which Christopher and the reader are taken across Europe, Asia and Africa. It is an easy read and a masterpiece of concise story telling weighing in at only 276 pages. 

The contrast between clever drawing room chatter dialogue, and the violent action scenes is stunning and it is sometimes hard to believe the book was written as long ago as 1975.

“Oh, we’re all going to be very respectful, Tom. I do think this administration has raised the whole tone of American life. Why, Peggy McKinley has been reading Proust in the original French and learning the names of all the new African countries. She says the people of Zimbabwe want rice and respect. I always thought they wanted money.”

” Sybille, how about making this your last martini?” Webster said.

Author Charles McCarry was during the Cold War an intelligence officer operating under deep cover in Europe , Africa and Asia, and he has put much of his knowledge and experience into this book. No wonder it was plagiarized, brilliant stuff.

I shall be reading more spy stories over the next few months as part of a personal challenge.