The Greek Key by Colin Forbes

This is the spy thriller set in the 80s during the time of change in the Soviet Union and move to end the Cold War. However, the crux of the whole conspiracy is in the murder that was committed about 40 years ago, during World War 11, in Cairo. Was that one linked to another murder on the Siros during a commando raid?

Back to present day, one of Tweed’s sector chief, Harry Masterson, is murdered in Greece. Before his death he had sent a box with random things in it which could be clues to what he was doing in Greece with a beautiful Greek woman. They point to both Greece and to Exmoor. So Tweed sends the famous and vetted by SIS reporter Newman and the best marksman Marler to investigate the Greek end. While he goes with Paula to Exmoor and see what the 3 retired army officers are worried about, living close together and in more or less fortified houses.

Who are all the horsemen riding around the moor? Why is an ex-policeman, digging into the 40 year old murder, in Cairo, investigating the 3 ex-army officers? Was he close to finding the murderer? Is the father of the murdered man, an old world Greek out for revenge and responsible for the killings happening in the present day? Is there a conspiracy that is using this old vendetta as a smoke screen?

A well woven plot and works through all the clues and situations in detail. It takes time to develop all the threads and link them up in the final few chapters. Will they be able to avert the looming disaster? Will they be able to find out who the mastermind and murderer is?

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel which is the sixth book in this series. You get to know the characters better and as some of the team members are still getting to know one another. The team is well formed by the end of this book as this continues (seen from the later books) to be the core team to investigate and protect. These earlier books were also quite long and plots intricate and so very hard to put down until complete.

Deadlock by Colin Forbes

This is one of the earlier novels by Colin Forbes. A very good spy thriller, with a plot laid out as if on a chess board. The moves of each side are explained very well just as you would see the moves of the chess pieces. While Paula was introduced in the earlier book called The Janus Man as the wife of one of Tweed’s sector chiefs, this is the first time she officially joins the secret service. This book also introduces another future member of the team who is crucial to smashing this plot and revealed only at the end, so I will not name the person here.

There are some vague rumours floating about some major conspiracy being plotted that will cause a catastrophe for the world. The first inkling comes when Tweed gets a call from Paula that she would like to meet him as something strange has happened. The next piece of the puzzle lies in a small village called Cockley Ford, which Tweed accidently reaches when he takes a wrong turning as he goes to visit Paula. There is also then a matter of a highly confidential matter that Tweed has been given to look into, liaising with none other than his arch enemy, a Russian General. There is a Russian agent gone rogue and of course he is the best they had and at the same time some deadly arsenal of bombs and sea mines has gone missing. On the continent a French detective intuitively follows a young English lady who seems to be photographing various ports. How does she fit in this vastly spread out plot.

Tweed is gathering information from all these strange pieces of the puzzle to try and get the picture of the whole chess board. The opponent is a worthy one albeit an evil one. The strategic planning to carry out the outrage is pivotal in bringing about the biggest blackmail the world has known. Tweed has to show equal patience and knowledge from his past experience to react to each move made by the opponent, as well as make plans for some alternative anticipated moves. For once it is quite clear from the start that the end will depend on when and if the evil man makes a mistake. A battle of wits, patience, experience and managing teams to carry out their parts is really fascinating to read.

It did capture my interest from page 1 and held it right till the last word. A good read for all who love thrillers.

The Janus Man by Colin Forbes

This is about the fourth book by this author and is set around treachery at the heart of the secret service. It is a fairly long novel but it is not a tedious read as the author’s descriptions of the surroundings and portrayals of the people and their character and emotions are gripping. The deputy director Tweed has in the last 6 months made changes and brought in younger men to head the spy sections across Europe. It now appears that one the appointed chiefs is a traitor. The rumours have reached of this from many different sources to Tweed. The doubt becomes a certainty when one of the sector chiefs is murdered on the continent. Only one who was at the table of the last critical meeting knew where that particular man was going and for what purpose.

Now Tweed has to step out of Britain and onto the continent to find out what is happening as well as to catch this traitor. He senses this murder is actually a plot to lure him out and so agrees to take Newman, the vetted newspaper man, to watch his back. There is intrigue right from the start and you get engrossed in trying to see if from the information as to who if could be? Of course this is the time of Cold War and so there is likelihood that this is something orchestrated from behind the Iron Curtain. Luring Tweed out to be murdered indicates a major operation that is coming to fruition and only threat could be Tweed.

Tweed meets all the men in a meeting, individually and also in their own homes to get a better understanding of the character of each person. When Tweed and Newman reach the Travemunde they meet a lady called Diana and hear of a mysterious Dr Berlin. He is supposed to be a rich recluse who is into a lot of charity work. Newman sets out to find as much as he can about this Dr Berlin. This leads him into East Berlin and a perilous time but gains vital information.

There are so many twists to the story that it keeps your adrenalin levels up. How do the various young girls being murdered (at places where all the suspects could have been) fit into the whole plot? As the story unfolds you keep shifting the suspect as each sector chief behaves in a suspicious manner. The traitor is given the code name Janus Man as he looks both ways – to the west and east. Is there a relationship between the Janus Man and Dr Berlin? What plot is so vital to the Communists that Tweed had to be eliminated?

Oh yea definitely a book to read for the lovers of spy thrillers. I could not put the book down till the last word.

Shockwave by Colin Forbes

Some years ago I discovered books by Colin Forbes. His books are of the same genre as Alistair MacLean but set in the post WWII. There is still the cold war and spying between the west and the communist countries. The central characters are the Deputy Director of SIS Tweed and his team who are rushing against time to save the world for some major disasters.

In Shockwave, the story begins with Tweed having to run as a fugitive across Europe after being accused of A brutal murder and rape of a young woman in his flat. A big manhunt is started officially through a request to all the European Police Forces as well as unofficially by the Minister of External Affairs via his World Security Company. The motives for this framing is not clear and Tweed has to solve this puzzle on the run. He is accompanied by Paula his assistant and Robert Newman who goes looking for evidence and provides protection when needed. He is also a liaison between the police chiefs and Tweed as they have known Tweed for many years and do not believe he committed the murder. While we can see that World Security has put out a hit on Tweed by hiring an experienced assassin. However, the reason for this set up and making Tweed run remains a suspense well into the book. There are a couple of other storylines which run side by side – a murder of an accountant at World Security and a high jacking of a ship carrying a top secret cargo across the Atlantic.

There are so many different attempts to kill Tweed and how he manages to evade the killers every time. The author keeps the tension running evenly all through the book. There is fairly detailed description of all the places in Germany and Switzerland and this is a mark of Colin Forbes and his familiarity with European cities and countryside. This book is probably one of the earlier ones as Marler, the best marksman and part of Tweed’s team, is not so close with the rest and works alone most of the time. Newman and Paula are all for not trusting Marler totally, however Marler comes through at the climax of the story. While there is violence it is mainly to the detriment of the villains.

I have read this book many times. Generally, I leave the book for a few months or sometimes even a year or so and read it again. It is as if new and I read it with the same relish as I did the first time. There are always new points that come to light or new angle to the situation as I am generally in a hurry to get to the end. Also often if a lot of time has passed I have forgotten a lot of the plot details and nuances of the menace in this convoluted plot. The villains are spread and working as a strong network across Europe and well matched by those who are out to stop them and their network is spread across Europe as well as into USA. The pace of the book is fast and keeps you guessing as who is the real murderer and what is the real motive for it. Enjoyable read every time.