Rating: 
Summary: British Cold War Snoozer
Review: awton's second Inspector Troy story (following Black Out), finds the upper class detective in middle-age as the Cold War menaces England in 1956. The dense book is equal parts Cold War thriller (a la Carré or Furst), period depiction of post-WW II Britain, and insight into a complex protagonist's head. It's an ambitious undertaking, and I regret to say there's not a lot of thrill in the thriller, rather too much detail of domestic British politics for any but the most eager Anglophile, and Troy's hang-ups aren't enough to sustain interest in light of the book's heft. The thriller part concerns the death of an apparent British spy during a visit by Kruschev to England. Troy is part of a Russian-speaking security detail assigned to eavesdrop on the Soviet delegation, but eventually ends up investigating the mysterious death. This investigation is rather herky-jerky and the result is both awfully banal for the amount of effort it takes, and disappointing in how it coincidentally links up to Troy's past. The period detail is well done (especially all the slang), but it would have benefited from a little concision. The grimy look at London and small towns in transition is nice, but there's far too much political intrigue and detail. Troy himself is a somewhat intriguing character, highly ambivalent to Queen and country, he struggles with his Russian heritage and advancing age. Still, one can't help but find the supporting cast more interesting-from Troy's boss "Onions", to his pig consultant, to the Polish pathologist, and various femme fatales. The problem is that Troy's really not particularly likable, and it's a bit of a chore to stick with him for so many pages. As in the first book, Troy's family, school friends, and past loves are all at the author's service in moving the story along-indeed it becomes hard to overlook how convenient it is to the plotting that Troy's brother is a prominent politician with his fingers in top-secret pies. It's also hard to ignore how many times Troy gets shot, beaten-up, left for dead, etc. and yet still pursues the truth. Were the book more focused (and hence shorter), I'd be able to overlook these contrivances, but coupled with the faults outlined above, they make it difficult to recommend this book. A further warning is that one really must read the first book, Black Out, in order to get the full flavor of the characters and relationships. The third Troy book is A Little White Death, set in 1963-it hasn't yet been published in US, and based on this one, I won't bother to read it when it is.
Rating: 
Summary: A Powerful Slow-Burner
Review: I came late to this book. I'd read the one that came first (Black Out) and the one that comes after (White Death). This is the best of the three. But if you're reading it for the thrills you're wasting your time. Reading Lawton for thrills or worse for the 'whodunnit' is like reading Kurt Vonnegut and complaining that his sci-fi is nothing like Star Wars. Who dun it isn't even on the map. These books are the most sophisticated literary historicals to come out of England in 25 years. His dialogue fizzles, his metaphors meander, his characters bring history roaring to life. Old Flames takes as its plot the events of 1956 - when Britain invaded Egypt - a low tide in the Special Relationship between Britain and Uncle Sam. This is 2004. What, in letters 8 miles high, could be more topical?
Rating: 
Summary: The events in this book will leave you utterly breathless!
Review: I had a hard time figuring out how to review this book. Maybe I tried to take it too seriously (British humor can catch me unaware, although I adore it). Or maybe I was just too lazy to keep track of the myriad plot reversals and story twists. But, in my defense, I felt Lawton had a tendency to overindulge in adjectives (in flagrant opposition to the book I finished just prior to OLD FLAMES, in which finding a sentence with both a noun and a verb was a cause for celebration). Despite that, he has crafted a complex, richly imagined tale set during the height of the infamous Cold War. And much of the feel of elaborate detailing may be due to his filmmaking background. At times, the book reads like a colorful script, the set described with painstaking particularity. Imagine this: It is 1956, London. Chief Inspector Freddie Troy --- first introduced in BLACK OUT --- finds himself volunteering, under some duress, to be bodyguard for Nikita Kruschev during the Russian's visit to England. It's Troy's little secret that he understands Kruschev's language perfectly well and the British government wants him to keep it his secret, even listen in whenever possible and, naturally, report back any interesting tidbits. As assignments go, it's not too bad until a corpse shows up, that of an apparent Royal Navy diver killed while spying on Kruschev's ship. Troy undertakes to solve the problem of the frogman's identity and to unravel the mystery of his mission and who killed him. But, to complicate matters, nearly every direction he turns to search for answers leads him to another dead body. And each dead body reveals another layer of intrigue. Wedged in with his pursuit of clues, he squeezes in a few romantic encounters and some nostalgic ones. The relationships intertwine with the investigations, making them inseparable from one another. OLD FLAMES is a virtual cornucopia of detail. It contains a plethora of personalities, plot twists and storylines. Characters abound. Lawton keeps you on your toes trying to figure out who's who, on what side and why. Motives must be questioned; backgrounds have to be taken into account. But, while intricately plotted, the book seemed a slow starter. In fairness, though, just about the time I was complaining vociferously about the plodding action, it hit dead on, full force and continued relentlessly. The wrap-up sneaked up on me. It kind of left me breathless. Take the time to walk through the first several chapters; you will find yourself running through the rest. --- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Slow-Burner
Review: I heard a wonderful radion interview with the author and couldn't wait to read Old Flames. Unfortunately it was trite & predictable. I kept thinking it would get better but with only 55 pages to go I stopped reading it because I realized I didn't care who did it or anything else.
Rating: 
Summary: not worth reading
Review: I heard a wonderful radion interview with the author and couldn't wait to read Old Flames. Unfortunately it was trite & predictable. I kept thinking it would get better but with only 55 pages to go I stopped reading it because I realized I didn't care who did it or anything else.
Rating:
Summary: slow start but a sprint at the end
Review: i read a few espionage novels each year, in amidst many mystery/police procedural novels. this is the best in the past few years. i liked a recently read alan furst novel, but i'd have to say this one was more satisfying. furst is good. lawton is very good. i didn't know the history, so the author's liberty with it didn't bother me. but i enjoyed the history and the author explains at the end that while he takes some liberties, he's not distorted events. more cerebral than deighton; akin to le carre.
Rating:
Summary: Boffins. Bollsheviks. Bugger.
Review: I think this is a very interesting book. And I think you have to have a lot of patience to read it. I got to page 115 and the latter overcame the former. In reading Dumas, Seinkewicz, LeCarre, Furst, Hemingway, even Chandler, one is bound to get a flavor of the time. You might get that in author's description of the architecture. Or perhaps in the transportation. Those gifted authors, especially those writing from a later time describing a much earlier one can amplify the scene with dialogue. Conversations between the characters. How people spoke. Somehow we can rest assured when D'Artagnan is invested into the Musketeers, he doesn't say, "Dude. Thanks." But there's a limit to how much 'flavoring' we can take. If we truly don't understand what the characters are saying, then we lose the impact, sense, feeling and meaning of an entire scene. I struggled with Mr. Lawton's dialogue and I certainly applaud those readers who understood what he was saying. However, 'boffins,' 'wobbling,' 'saggar-maker bottom knocker,' 'are you going to have her put to tup this month?' 'for a moment he thought they'd both corpse,' and 'morris dancing in middle wallop,' all before page 11 . . .
well reading with a glossery in my left hand while turning pages with my right, was something I ceased doing in the 10th grade. It sounds like a heckuva' story, though. If you can get through that I'm certain you'll be fine. Bloody silly of me. I just fagged out. Cheers.
Rating:
Summary: terrific espionage thriller
Review: In 1956, Nikita Khrushchev visits England. Because he can speak Russian, having moved from there as a child, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Frederick Troy is assigned as Khrushchev's escort, his (and the English) interpreter, and English spy. Most cops would loath the assignment, but Frederick even more so because of his espionage assignments during WW II and his gut belief that his father was a spy and traitor. As Khrushchev gets ready to depart (to Troy's relief), in Portsmouth Harbour the mutilated body of a navy diver Lieutenant (R) Arnold Cockerell is found though his wife says the corpse is not him, but provides no explanation as to where he is. Evidence leads to the conclusion that Cockerell, a furniture salesman, apparently was a spy, but no one confesses that he was employed by them, leaving the police to wonder for whom did he work? Troy is involved in that case and wrapping up his spying on Khrushchev, but also has personal problems to contend with, as his family detests the past resurfacing and his former deadly KGB old flame making a return into his life. OLD FLAMES is a powerful espionage tale that plays out on two levels. First, the story line is an atmospheric Cold War spy novel set at a time when England and the West are shocked by the Philby-Burgess scandals and Khrushchev is screaming nuclear burial. The ploy also provides a subtle humor to all the spy and counterspy activity. Troy keeps the tale together as the audience receives a terrific espionage thriller cleverly inter-wrapped with a probing police procedural like a Moebius Band. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: terrific espionage thriller
Review: In 1956, Nikita Khrushchev visits England. Because he can speak Russian, having moved from there as a child, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Frederick Troy is assigned as Khrushchev's escort, his (and the English) interpreter, and English spy. Most cops would loath the assignment, but Frederick even more so because of his espionage assignments during WW II and his gut belief that his father was a spy and traitor. As Khrushchev gets ready to depart (to Troy's relief), in Portsmouth Harbour the mutilated body of a navy diver Lieutenant (R) Arnold Cockerell is found though his wife says the corpse is not him, but provides no explanation as to where he is. Evidence leads to the conclusion that Cockerell, a furniture salesman, apparently was a spy, but no one confesses that he was employed by them, leaving the police to wonder for whom did he work? Troy is involved in that case and wrapping up his spying on Khrushchev, but also has personal problems to contend with, as his family detests the past resurfacing and his former deadly KGB old flame making a return into his life. OLD FLAMES is a powerful espionage tale that plays out on two levels. First, the story line is an atmospheric Cold War spy novel set at a time when England and the West are shocked by the Philby-Burgess scandals and Khrushchev is screaming nuclear burial. The ploy also provides a subtle humor to all the spy and counterspy activity. Troy keeps the tale together as the audience receives a terrific espionage thriller cleverly inter-wrapped with a probing police procedural like a Moebius Band. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Historical Mystery Thriller
Review: This is a fairly ambitious book in which the author seeks to combine three genres. It is primarily a mystery-thriller set in the context of the Cold War. Since the author is British, it returns to the staple preoccupation of British Cold War thrillers, the existence and nature of upper class traitors. It contains a serious attempt to depict mid-50s Britain, and is so also a historical novel. Finally, it is a psychological novel whose hero is approaching middle age and the examining his rather unsatisfactory personal life. This is quite an undertaking and Lawton succeeds fairly well on all counts, producing a very readable book. As a thriller, it is quite good and well above the average though not as good as LeCarre's best books. As a historical protrait, I suspect Lawton does quite well and it is faily good as a historical novel. The psychological element is similarly good and clearly intended to parallel some aspects of modern British history, which is a nice touch. To really appreciate this part of the book, you really have to Lawton's prior book, Blackout, which features many of the characters in Old Flames. Blackout is worth reading on it own. Old Flames also contains a couple of cute insider jokes. I'll buy anyone who can identify the wine joke a copy of the paperback edition.
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