by David Gilman

Head of Zeus, out now

What links a war in North Africa, murders in Russia and a violent kidnap on the streets of London?

I’ve not read any of David Gilman’s previous work, but on the strength of The Englishman, I’ll be searching it out – both in print and on radio. This is a tightly-plotted, very well told tale of clandestine campaigns, violent revenge and murky dealings at all levels, with the common thread being Raglan, the eponymous Englishman.

Gilman parcels out the information about Raglan’s background and abilities as we need it to understand the plot, and while the Englishman is a formidable opponent, the author is careful never to let him become totally unbelievable. He has a conscience, and those who die as a result of his actions (even if he’s not pulled the trigger / cut their throat) haunt him. There’s a chameleon element to Raglan that makes him able to blend in to the many different environments he finds himself – yet always in some way an outsider, for whatever reason.

The book is very well researched and Gilman captures the feel of everywhere from a Russian gulag camp to the side streets of London. The action portions are some of the most detailed I’ve read in some years: there’s a line at the start of the Casino Royale movie where Bond’s target taunts him that one of his victims “made you feel it”, and you come away from this with that sensation, particularly the hand to hand combat.

Verdict: Hopefully just the first story to feature Dan Raglan, this is a strong addition to the current spy canon. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order The Englishman from Amazon.co.uk