How to Betray Your Country
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- Create Date：2021-05-20 08:51:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Wolff
- ISBN：1913394514
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Summary
Disgraced British spy August Drummond is on his way to Istanbul when he sees a passenger throw away directions to a cemetery just moments before being arrested。 August can’t resist the temptation to go in his place。 But when he comes face to face with a terrifying figure from Islamic State， he realizes he’s about to confront the greatest challenge of his career…Things are looking bad for disgraced spy August Drummond。 In emotional free fall after the death of his wife， fired for a series of unprecedented security breaches… and now his neighbor on the flight to Istanbul won’t stop talking。 The only thing keeping him sane is the hunch that there’s something not quite right about the nervous young man several rows ahead – a hunch that is confirmed when August watches him throw away directions to an old European cemetery seconds before being detained by Turkish police。 A reckless August decides to go to the cemetery， where he meets a mysterious figure from the dark heart of the Islamic State and quickly finds himself drawn into a shadowy plot to murder an Iranian scientist in Istanbul。 But nothing is what it seems， and before long August realises he has gone too far to turn back。 As he struggles to break free from the clutches of Islamic State and play off British intelligence against their Turkish counterparts， he will find his resourcefulness， ingenuity and courage tested to the very limit of what he can endure。 The second novel in a trilogy about loyalty and betrayal in the modern world， How to Betray Your Country is an authentic thriller about the thin line between following your conscience and following orders。
Reviews
Kaye
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I loved this book -- but it was an odd experience for me， having been unable to finish By the Syrian Sea， the first book in this author's quasi-trilogy。 How to Betray Your Country， however， hooked me fairly early with August Drummond， a disgraced former spy， who --grieving， depressed and self-medicating with alcohol -- behaves as if there is nothing left to lose。James Woolff is very good with characters of all stripes， from fatuous， clueless upper-class co-workers to desperate refugees。 This isn I loved this book -- but it was an odd experience for me， having been unable to finish By the Syrian Sea， the first book in this author's quasi-trilogy。 How to Betray Your Country， however， hooked me fairly early with August Drummond， a disgraced former spy， who --grieving， depressed and self-medicating with alcohol -- behaves as if there is nothing left to lose。James Woolff is very good with characters of all stripes， from fatuous， clueless upper-class co-workers to desperate refugees。 This isn't a spy novel so much as it's a book about how spying damages people --its practitioners and targets alike。This story is intelligent and sensitive yet gritty and horrifying。 It is saved by flashes of grim humor。 Now to go back and take another stab at By the Syrian Sea。Thanks to NetGalley and Bitter Lemon Press for an advance readers copy。 。。。more
Greville Waterman
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I struggled a bit with the author's first book of this unrelated trilogy but this was good。 After a slowburn simmering start it bursts into life and is well written， thoughtful and intelligent。It deals with moral dilemmas and how one deals with them but there s enough derring do to keep everyone happy too。 Good characterisation to makes this a read to remember - and I might have another go at his first offering now。 I struggled a bit with the author's first book of this unrelated trilogy but this was good。 After a slowburn simmering start it bursts into life and is well written， thoughtful and intelligent。It deals with moral dilemmas and how one deals with them but there s enough derring do to keep everyone happy too。 Good characterisation to makes this a read to remember - and I might have another go at his first offering now。 。。。more
Ian
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I read the first book in this spy series， Beside the Syrian Sea， just over 2 years ago。 I found the first half of that book quite slow and then raced through the second half。 Exactly the same thing happened with this one。 The novel is divided into 4 parts， and after a week spent reading Part 1 （which takes up more than half the text） I read the rest in a single evening。 It seems this author’s style involves a relatively slow build up to an exciting denouement。Although this is being described as I read the first book in this spy series， Beside the Syrian Sea， just over 2 years ago。 I found the first half of that book quite slow and then raced through the second half。 Exactly the same thing happened with this one。 The novel is divided into 4 parts， and after a week spent reading Part 1 （which takes up more than half the text） I read the rest in a single evening。 It seems this author’s style involves a relatively slow build up to an exciting denouement。Although this is being described as the second book in a series， it’s largely a standalone novel。 There are a few references to the events and the main character of the first book which would be meaningless if you hadn’t read it， but they are tangential to the main story here。The previous book was set in Lebanon and this one is set in Istanbul。 The main character， August Drummond， is an ex-British intelligence agent who has gone to pieces after the death of his wife。 He is a dirty and dishevelled alcoholic with an I-don’t-care-about-anything-anymore attitude to life and in the early part of the book is quite a hard guy to like。 He gets a job with a British company in Istanbul after faking a reference from his previous employers in the Security Service。 The narrative set in Istanbul is interspersed with one about his previous career。 I had to smile at one scene where Drummond’s conduct is examined at a disciplinary hearing that follows the same format as that used by my own employer。 I’m glad to say none that I’ve been present at have been as chaotic as the one described in this book！I write my “reviews” straight after finishing a book， so invariably they record my immediate impressions。 Books will then either grow or diminish in my memory and Beside the Syrian Sea was one in the former category。 I’m hoping this one will do the same。 For now， 3。5 stars rounded up。 。。。more
Alex Jones
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How To Betray Your Country is the Follow up to Beside The Syrian Sea and is part of a loosely linked trilogy by James Wolff。 The books read as standalones with completely different characters but are part of the same universe and a world being one that British Spies inhabit。This book focuses on disgraced agent August Drummond， kicked out of the establishment for leaking sensitive information。 August is in a bad way， his wife lost her life tragically and now with no career， and drinking heavily h How To Betray Your Country is the Follow up to Beside The Syrian Sea and is part of a loosely linked trilogy by James Wolff。 The books read as standalones with completely different characters but are part of the same universe and a world being one that British Spies inhabit。This book focuses on disgraced agent August Drummond， kicked out of the establishment for leaking sensitive information。 August is in a bad way， his wife lost her life tragically and now with no career， and drinking heavily he finds himself off to Istanbul to start a new job with a Government backed PR company。 On the flight， whilst watching a sketchy passenger， August soon finds himself mixed up in a possible extremist plot。This story by Wolff is so different from the usual spy thriller genre， in an exciting refreshing way。 August is no superhero， he’s a broken man hanging onto existence by the skin of his teeth。As the story unravels， this clever and intricately plotted thriller really comes alive， and is full of a cutting and scathing wit from Wolff， something noticeable in his writing， at times very serious yet with a savage humour。Bureaucracy and incompetency weigh heavily in the pages of this withering and oft satirical portrayal of the uk intelligence service。 There is no love lost in Wolff’s words。Complex， layered， engrossing and gripping reading that lays bare the dark， brooding and treacherous world of espionage。Slow burning， deviously crafted with a plot that’s razor sharp and whip smart， it’s Nothing short of outstanding and highly Recommended 5🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 。。。more
James
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August Drummond is a disgraced British intelligence officer。 He’s been drummed out of his job under suspicion of leaking information for moral purposes – information he felt the public or foreign law enforcement should know， and which his employers were keeping secret for their own bureaucratic reasons。 He found his conscience after meeting an idealistic activist who he fell in love with， and who challenged his preconceptions。 After her death in a traffic accident， and his being forced out of th August Drummond is a disgraced British intelligence officer。 He’s been drummed out of his job under suspicion of leaking information for moral purposes – information he felt the public or foreign law enforcement should know， and which his employers were keeping secret for their own bureaucratic reasons。 He found his conscience after meeting an idealistic activist who he fell in love with， and who challenged his preconceptions。 After her death in a traffic accident， and his being forced out of the service， Drummond has sunk into alcoholic despair。 He’s taken a job in Turkey， and is on the flight there， when he sees a young man acting suspiciously。 Guessing he’s an ISIS recruit on his way to fight in Syria， Drummond follows him when they land。 The man is arrested by the Turkish police， but not before he dumps something in a bin。 Drummond retrieves it and discovers a note detailing a rendezvous in a cemetery。 He guesses the meeting to be with an ISIS facilitator/recruiter and on a whim decides to take the arrested man’s place。 Needless to say， things aren’t all they seem， and soon August is out of his depth and in serious trouble。How to Betray Your Country is the author’s second novel， following on from a brilliant debut， Beside The Syrian Sea。 It’s a standalone really， in that the story doesn’t follow on from the tale the debut told， and while the main character and plot of the author’s debut is touched upon， this is a self-contained narrative that can be read on its own。 That said， the author plans a third novel， and the trilogy is thematically related， and the novels certainly complement each other。 They’re both extremely good books too， and I would recommend them both。Like with the author’s debut， How to Betray Your Country centres around what happens when an intelligence officer acts against the system。 The main character （as with the protagonist of his debut） is not a traitor turned by a foreign power or terrorist group but has his own reasons for his rebelliousness。 Both novels do not portray the intelligence services in a good light， which is perhaps （or perhaps not） a surprise， seeing as the author is writing under a pseudonym and the publishers tell us he worked for the UK government for over ten years。 Reading between the lines， it appears Wolff might well have worked for the intelligence services himself， and thus perhaps his negative portrayal might be more nearer the mark than the intelligence services themselves would care to admit。Like Mick Herron’s Slough House series， James Wolff’s novels buck the trend of espionage novels， which tend to portray the intelligence services as all-powerful and their personnel as superhuman James Bonds。 Instead， we have all too human people， many incompetent and/or venal， employed by clunking bureaucracies which are as keen to cover up their own errors as they are dangerous plots。 How to Betray Your Country is a brilliantly written novel and well worth a read。 I would recommend the author’s debut as well and look forward to reading the third title in the trilogy whenever it might come。 。。。more
Yvonne
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The synopsis for this book is a good length so it does go into depth。 This is the second book in the trilogy， and I do think I would have benefited from reading the first book。 The first book would have given me an idea of what happened to August Drummond and what caused his decline。 It is however mentioned in this second book。This is a story that is slower-paced than I am used to with a spy thriller style。 I found this novel to be a spy thriller but it is more about looking at what's happening The synopsis for this book is a good length so it does go into depth。 This is the second book in the trilogy， and I do think I would have benefited from reading the first book。 The first book would have given me an idea of what happened to August Drummond and what caused his decline。 It is however mentioned in this second book。This is a story that is slower-paced than I am used to with a spy thriller style。 I found this novel to be a spy thriller but it is more about looking at what's happening with August。 So， while he is working and trying to discover plots the reader also joins him in his psychological journey。 August is a man who is very definitely struggling with grief， he has problems with his drinking and his general appearance。 The author has portrayed him as a very sad and lonely person who is just hanging in there， trying to do his job and who is really on the edge。 He is a character who I really felt for as he struggles with life and keeping in the loop with his work。 For me， this was more about August rather than the spy and espionage part， although that was very good indeed。 It is a story that at first had me confused as I tried to work out the basics and then to get my head around the plot that is constantly evolving， I do feel for poor August in this respect！ Even though I did take longer reading this， I was so glad I persevered as things gradually started to come together， I found myself caring about what happened to August and also one of the other characters， Yousef。 There are two different styles to this story， one is the story itself and the other is a series of reports and documents。 These threw me initially and it was further into the story where I started to realise the significance of them。This is a book that does fall into the spy thriller genre， its slower pace and the psychological side may throw readers if they are looking for a more general fast-paced story。 I enjoyed this book and I did like the journey， it is one I would recommend。 。。。more
Kevin
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A sort of noir espionage thriller that is dark and yet with a sort of wit and humor。 A psychological exploration of grief and depression through the eyes of a spy。
travelsalongmybookshelf
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