Spy Hook

December 1, 1988
Initiating a second trilogy, Deighton mesmerizes the reader with the ongoing trials of Bernard Sansom, British intelligence agent who survived perils in Berlin Game , Mexico Set and London Match. Sansom's story begins with a fruitless meeting in Washington with former colleague Jim Prettyman, who denies any knowledge of the slush fund Sansom has been ordered to trace. Over half a million pounds is missing from money allocated to Bret Rensselear of the German desk by London Central before he was shot in Berlin. Later, in London, Sansom learns at a briefing that Prettyman has been killed, another ``incident'' pressuring Sansom's superiors to widen his investigation in East and West Berlin and eventually in France. All the people he questionseven trusted friendsdeepen Sansom's fears that Central is using him to bait their own hook. Persistent rumors about his wife Fiona, long since a defector to the Soviets, magnify his suspicions, particularly in view of Fiona's links to Rensselear and the vanished fortune. The suspense is inexorable, ensuring readers' anticipation of projected sequels, Line and Sinker. 90,000 first printing; BOMC alternate.

November 28, 1989
In this first installment of a second trilogy starring British spy Bernard Samson, the reader is always several steps ahead of the disbelieving hero, who becomes the unwilling dupe of a ruthless, super-secret plot by his own agency. The complicated cat-and-mouse game leading up to Bernard's enlightenment moves far too slowly, but the unresolved suspense generated by the powerful cliffhanger finish ``ensures readers' anticipation of projected sequels,'' observed PW.