There are usually two kinds of spy stories: the thriller/action type like The Red Sparrow series by Jason Matthews or Shanghai Factor by Charles McCarry and the the more cerebral/thinking type like John Le Carré’s  Agent Running in the Field or Robert Littell’s The Company or The the Defection of A.J. Lewinter.  Joseph Kanon tends toward the more cerebral/ thinking type, but his books have plenty of action in them too, and Istanbul Passage will certainly satisfy all spy novel readers.

Post-war Istanbul is a seething hot bed of rumors and spies and as the power struggle between the Soviets, Europe and the US heats up in this ancient city where east meets west.  Leon Bauer, a US expat and businessman, was periodically asked to help the Allied war effort by doing some routine undercover jobs by a contact in the US embassy. Since the war ended, however, the requests for his help had diminished and he thought that part of his life was over. That is until his contact suddenly asks him to do one more job-a routine pick up of someone being smuggled into Istanbul.

When he gets to the pick up site nothing goes as planned. What was supposed to be a clandestine exchange became shockingly visible to the public as shots are fired and a dead body left in the streets. On top of that, Leon finds that the man he was sent to meet and now must deal with on his own is a wanted war criminal. Uncertain about who to trust, Leon must navigate the shifting sands of loyalty at the the very start of the Cold War, in an ancient city where deception and treachery are the very means of survival.

Kanon is an excellent writer. He descriptions of Istanbul, make you feel like you are there, walking the streets and smelling the spices in the markets. His characters are complicated and conflicted, yet sympathetic and although the focus is on Leon, the other characters are well rounded. Kanon seems especially gifted in teasing out the moral ambiguities inherent in the situation and in doing so helps us ask the same questions of ourselves.

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this Book to: Keith, Ken, Marian and Sharon

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.