Spies and Espionage: Restless, William Boyd

After Black Water Rising, I felt the need to read some more in the crime/thriller genre, and so when a customer and I were talking about William Boyd’s novels – in particular, Restless - I thought that this would be my next choice. I had never heard of Boyd and Restless isn’t a latest release, but one of the great things about talking about books all day is the opportunity to go back and read some of those books that you might have missed the first time around.

Published in 2006, Restless is a spy novel and reminded me a little of one of my favourite TV programmes, Spooks (currently showing on the ABC), although not so violent. From the Bloomsbury Publishing reading guide, the storyline goes like this:

One hot summer afternoon in 1976 Ruth Gilmartin pays her mother a visit. When Sally hands Ruth a buff folder labelled ‘The Story of Eva Delectorskaya’ the certainties of Ruth’s world are overturned. Sally, or Eva, as Ruth must now think of her, was once a spy, recruited into the British Secret Service in 1939 by Lucas Romer as part of AAS, Romer’s somewhat maverick branch of the Service, and this is her story. Eva proves herself adept at her craft, endlessly resourceful, hiding every emotion and trusting no one.

Posted to New York, AAS’s mission is to pull the reluctant US into the war. Caught up in an affair with Romer, Eva needs to be doubly sure to keep her wits about her. When she is sent to New Mexico, what should have been a simple courier mission becomes puzzlingly complex and Eva finds herself in grave danger. As this taut thriller moves towards its dénouement, alternating between Ruth’s narrative and Eva’s story, William Boyd cranks up the tension with bluffs and double bluffs until every loose end is neatly tied into a satisfying resolution.

The book lived up to expectations, and I found it interesting thinking about the way war changes our values, our sense of what is right and wrong and the lengths that someone might go to in the name of the greater good.  It reminded me of the old saying that history is always told from the point of view of the victor, and stories such as this are often kept undercover by the victorious side.  Boyd’s writing style was pacey and while I had worked out who the “baddie” was, I didn’t discover their motive until the end of the book.

I really enjoyed Restless as a well written escape from some of the more serious books that I’ve been reading for the store, and at the end of the day, that’s what I like in a book. Something to entertain as well as wanting to read another book by the same author. Boyd’s other books that come highly recommended to me are Brazzaville Beach, and Ordinary Thunderstorms.