[EKO]⇒ Read Free Washington Shadow Peter Cotton Thriller 2 The second 'addictive' spy thriller monroealy 9781848540347 Books

Washington Shadow Peter Cotton Thriller 2 The second 'addictive' spy thriller monroealy 9781848540347 Books

Download As PDF : Washington Shadow Peter Cotton Thriller 2 The second 'addictive' spy thriller monroealy 9781848540347 Books

Washington Shadow Peter Cotton Thriller 2 The second 'addictive' spy thriller monroealy 9781848540347 Books

a great mix of fiction and historical content-----motivated me to read the author's other two books-----which are just as good! Can't wait for the fourth.


Tags : Washington Shadow: Peter Cotton Thriller 2: The second 'addictive' spy thriller [monroe-aly] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. September 1945. Bankrupt and desperate, Britain sends John Maynard Keynes to boom town Washington to beg for a loan. Under cover of the backup team,monroe-aly,Washington Shadow: Peter Cotton Thriller 2: The second 'addictive' spy thriller,Hodder Hb,1848540345

Washington Shadow Peter Cotton Thriller 2 The second 'addictive' spy thriller monroealy 9781848540347 Books Reviews

I picked this up for two reasons I've got a soft spot for spy fiction set in the 1930s and 40s (the books of Alan Furst for example), and I'm a sucker for fiction set in my hometown of Washington, D.C. I quickly realized that this is the second in a series (preceded by The Maze of Cadiz, followed by Icelight) featuring Peter Cotton, a British officer engaged in very loosely delineated espionage work. Indeed, it is that very looseness that is the major of weakness of the book. While the background, setting, and various characters are all given enough bones and color to feel real, the plot itself is so oblique as to be missing.

The story has Cotton as part of the British delegation sent to D.C. in the fall of 1945 to negotiate the repayment terms of America's wartime loans. However his true assignment seems to be to try and suss out what the postwar American intelligence apparatus will be, in the wake of the dissolution of the OSS. I say "seems to be" because he winds up entangled in various other affairs, such as paying off a Howard University professor to undermine the legitimacy of the Manchester Pan-African Congress, keeping tabs on a mysterious Soviet officer who may be a tank commander, or may be something quite different, cleaning up after the sexual shenanigans of various Brits, and dealing with FBI thugs who seem to lurk around every corner.

All of which makes the book sound rather more exciting than it actually is. There's a nice snappy style to the writing, the setting is well-researched and described, and it all clips right along, but such plot as there is never really kicks in. One could argue that the real subject of the book is Cotton's uncertainty about his postwar prospects. He visits with his sister, who's married a wealthy American and had several children. He develops a friendship and then more with a smart career woman working at the State Department. He wonders what his own place in the world should be. These are where the story really comes more alive, the more introspective personal stuff, not the ostensible espionage. Mildly interesting for the convincing glimpse back in time, but don't pick it up expecting a gripping story.
While this was not the typical "cloak and dagger" espionage novel, it provided an interesting view of the changing nature of relations --- both political and economic --- between the U.S. and Britain in the immediate post-Second World War era.

A British officer --- Peter Cotton --- is sent from Europe to the U.S. in September 1945 to investigate the imminent breakup of the U.S. wartime intelligence agency, the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). Britain is broke and has sent representatives to Washington (including the eminent economist John Maynard Keynes) to negotiate for a loan to help it address its pressing financial needs. Cotton, on attachment to the British Embassy, finds himself immersed in the subterfuge and machinations of Washington power politics. His experiences in and around Washington (as someone who lives in Washington, I enjoyed the author's descriptions of some areas of the city as they were in that time), which are superimposed over some of the larger events, give the reader the palpable feel of a world struggling to readjust from what was a "hot war" into a cold one
unfortunately as the story unfolds during the years of the Truman administration America emerges as the world power which foresaw that at the end of World War11 the British Empire was finished as a World power and British diplomats in Washington had to get used to being just another debtor of the USA through Lend Lease .The speeches of FDR suggest that he wouldhave brought America into the War much earlier but he was afraid he could not feel that public opinion was on his side and it needed Pearl Harbour to get the support of America to support FDR
To bring out the problems of Blacks in America n those years and to suggest that a diplomat going into Washington society would not have been made aware of the situation is difficult to comprehend as artists such as DUKE ELLINGTON would have made their British hosts aware of the racial discrimination in America. There is very little suspense until almost the end . I Can understand a long-time resident WASHINGTON resident enjoying the references to parts of Washington at that time but those references don't propel the story .
a great mix of fiction and historical content-----motivated me to read the author's other two books-----which are just as good! Can't wait for the fourth.