Another great story from one of my very favourite living authors. Gabriel Dax gets embroiled in espionage in Guatamala and Germany in 1963. A good sense of time and place and interestingly interwoven plot between his spying (MI5, CIA and KGB) and his authoring life. Faith is still teasing him and he's still hooked. I would like to read Gabriel Dax's books. Highly recommended and wth thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e-ARC to read and review.

Gabriel Dax is back in the clutches of MI6 as he gets drawn into another spy role. The Cold War is at its height and the CIA and MI6 are heavily involved in political manoeuvres abroad. This is another great read from William Boyd- full of suspense and intrigued, as we follow the story to Guatemala and the Berlin. I really enjoyed the characterisation and the plot. I felt the author made very good use of historical research in telling this story, which I found completely enthralling: particularly the facts on assassinations and the Mafia. This is a five star read!

This is the second book in a trilogy featuring Gabriel Dax, an accidental spy and now a double agent. At the end of the first in the series (Gabriel’s Moon) I was left wondering what would be happening next in Gabriel’s life, and at last I know. If anything, I enjoyed the second book even more than I enjoyed the first which for me was a 5* read. Gabriel is now not so much of an accidental spy, he seems more willing to take on assignments, not least for the money and other benefits, such as the international travel which conveniently ties in with his career as a travel writer. I have my suspicions about who is betraying Gabriel, and I hope that I shall not have to wait too long for the final book in order to find how how wrong I am.

5* The Predicament - William Boyd. Utterly brilliant slow burn 1960s spy romp with a glorious return for reluctant MI6 'agent' Gabriel Dax. Travel writer Gabriel Dax has moved from his Chelsea flat to a cottage in the countryside, hopeful of finding peace in his life as a travel writer to complete his latest book. Until the enigmatic Faith Green from MI6 tracks him down to go on another undercover mission. Guatemala is on the cusp of a new Government, but one which powerful American organisations are suspicious of - the CIA and United Fruit who own large tranches of land and make huge profits in the country. The task is a simple one - Gabriel is to travel as a journalist and interview the elusive potential president who is causing the kerfuffle. Holed up in his Guatemalan hotel, Gabrielle meets the CIA Head of Station, suspecting that there is something a 'little off' about him, along with some other patrons of the hotel. He has stumbled into a hornet's nest and has no idea what he is in the middle of. Returning to the UK and promising himself he won't get caught up in anymore MI6 high jinx, he is soon bundled off to Berlin where an even bigger threat is posed. What an absolute gem of a book. This is the second of the Gabriel Dax series and I sincerely hope that it's going to be long running. The language and pacing are sublime, as you might expect from William Boyd. While Gabriel isn't a heroic spy thriller, the intense plots and some of the scenes have you holding your breath. The spy craft isn't meticulously set out in the way of writers such as Le Carre, but the enjoyment in the book is likely all the better for it. Dax as a character is a great asset to the book. As are the many returning cast members including Faith Green and the ongoing tangle that Gabriel has got himself in with the KGB and his carousel of handlers. If you haven't read Gabriel's Moon, the previous book, The Predicament will work as a standalone. However, as with most series, if you start at the beginning the love of the characters and appreciation of ongoing threads is all the richer. It also means that you can enjoy Gabriel's Moon without going backwards and having had some of the plot inevitable spoilt. Fingers crossed that William Boyd has plenty of future plans for Gabriel Dax. Thanks to Penguin General UK, Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking and Netgalley for an ARC.