Description
Title: Gabriel’s Moon
Author: William Boyd
Format: Trade Paperback C Format
Publication date: 05/09/2024
Imprint: VIKING
ISBN: 9780241542071
In his most exhilarating novel yet, Britain’s greatest storyteller transports you from the vibrant streets of sixties London, as an accidental spy is drawn into the shadows of espionage and obsession . . .
Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of a tragedy- every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as an acclaimed travel writer, capturing the changing landscapes in the grip of the Cold War. When he’s offered the chance to interview a political figure, his ambition leads him unwittingly into a web of duplicities and betrayals.
As Gabriel’s reluctant initiation takes hold, he is drawn deeper into the shadows. Falling under the spell of Faith Green, an enigmatic and ruthless MI6 handler, he becomes ‘her spy’, unable to resist her demands. But amid the peril, paranoia and passion consuming Gabriel’s new covert life, it will be the revelations closer to home that change the rest of his story. . .
Hedley’s Books –
Set in Cold War era of British Intelligence pitted against Russian webs, Gabriel’s Moon is a quintessential spy novel but anchored by Gabriel as an unassuming recruit to MI6. Without frenetic pace and blood splatters, Gabriel’s Moon is one man making peace with his tortured memories and one foot in the slippery world of geo-politics. Gabriel lives a life haunted by past trauma of a deadly fire in 1936. With loose family bonds and an intermittent brotherly relationship, Gabriel has carved out a life of world travels and travel writing. Living his rather ubiquitous life, he is drawn into the MI6 as an ‘accidental spy’. It’s his nonchalant, no-fuss approach that makes him an endearing character as he tumbles deeper into espionage networks. He’s not naïve, he develops savvy, snappy skills that gives him ways out of precarious situations.
– Reviewed by Sue Reid