Spy Sinker
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- Create Date：2021-08-26 08:52:07
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Len Deighton
- ISBN：0241505496
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Summary
Of all the mysteries Bernard Samson has encountered， the greatest is his wife Fiona。 Dedicated agent of the Service and a woman of secrets， she will risk everything to play the long game。 As the truth about the decision that shattered their marriage is gradually revealed， the web of deception that has snared Bernard for ten years begins to unravel。
In the gripping， tragic finale of the Hook， Line and Sinker trilogy， everything we thought we knew is brought into question。
A BERNARD SAMSON NOVEL
In the gripping， tragic finale of the Hook， Line and Sinker trilogy， everything we thought we knew is brought into question。
A BERNARD SAMSON NOVEL
Reviews
John Stanley
，
Good story， well written， fairly unexciting as usual and， in the end， very unsatisfying。 Written from other-than-Bernard’s point of view（s） about the events leading up to the conclusion of the second book of this second set of Sampson novels （“Spy Line”） it fills in a lot of how things happened that led to the events of book three–this book。 But when it all came to the end， it was just disappointing。
Angela Smith
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I guess I didn’t read the whole series， I stopped at book 6。 Well， now I have something to look forward to。
David Evans
，
Right then。 This novel acts to draw together the tangled strands that the first five books in the series have woven。 Previously we have seen the events of four years from 1983 to 1987 solely from Bernard’s point of view but now we have a third person overarching narrative that explains what the hell Bret， Gaunt and the DG were up to and how Bernard’s sensibilities and ambitions were sacrificed to maintain the deception。 Altogether it’s pretty faultless。 There’s even a brief mention of misappropr Right then。 This novel acts to draw together the tangled strands that the first five books in the series have woven。 Previously we have seen the events of four years from 1983 to 1987 solely from Bernard’s point of view but now we have a third person overarching narrative that explains what the hell Bret， Gaunt and the DG were up to and how Bernard’s sensibilities and ambitions were sacrificed to maintain the deception。 Altogether it’s pretty faultless。 There’s even a brief mention of misappropriated Nazi gold that Len Deighton develops in his super novel XPD。 Although Len Deighton suggests these books can be read in any order I really think it better to read them in sequence i。e。 Game， Set， Match， Hook， Line and Sinker。 Available in all good second hand bookshops。Heaven knows what Faith， Hope and Charity have in store but I expect to be wrong-footed， shocked， delighted and turning pages long into the night。 。。。more
Jonathan
，
I forgot to post anything about Spy Sinker， the third part of Len Deighton’s second Bernard Samson trilogy， which I finished a few weeks ago。 Like the others it can be read as a standalone novel or as part of a larger narrative that takes place over 9 books and a prequel， but I wouldn’t recommend it with this one。 While the other Samson books are told in the first person， this one goes back to the beginning and tells it from the perspective of the other characters， so Bernard is more distant thi I forgot to post anything about Spy Sinker， the third part of Len Deighton’s second Bernard Samson trilogy， which I finished a few weeks ago。 Like the others it can be read as a standalone novel or as part of a larger narrative that takes place over 9 books and a prequel， but I wouldn’t recommend it with this one。 While the other Samson books are told in the first person， this one goes back to the beginning and tells it from the perspective of the other characters， so Bernard is more distant this time around。 Brilliant stuff。 。。。more
Michelle Johnson
，
Not at all what I expected！ Spy Sinker retells the events of the previous five books from perspectives other than Bernard Samson's， and it was very much like that moment in heist movies where the audience is let in on the actual plan and you see how all the moving pieces actually fit together。 Not at all what I expected！ Spy Sinker retells the events of the previous five books from perspectives other than Bernard Samson's， and it was very much like that moment in heist movies where the audience is let in on the actual plan and you see how all the moving pieces actually fit together。 。。。more
Nikhil Khare
，
The author takes us on a trip to see the 6 novels unfold to the thrilling surprise of a return。 The story ties in all the loose ends and is tightly knit suspense。
William Coombs
，
Renowned James Madison University philosopher and Student Union Director David Barnes， who many consider the basis for the Dos Equis most-interesting-man-alive character， and originator of the quote， “You’re the reason this country has to put directions on bottles of shampoo，” was right when he said if this had been the first in the series， there would not have been a second。 Goodnight Mrs Calabash， wherever you are。
Bob Box
，
Read in 1990。 Another spy novel featuring Bernard Samson， a somewhat jade intelligence officer working for MI 6。
Nyssy
，
This was awful！ 👎
Book collector
，
Very clever final book in the second trilogy giving different perspectives on the events in the previous books。 Its very well written and a fascinating book。 I did however stop reading spy books after this one。 The only spy books I continued with were the 007 books but they aren't really spy books， more like thrillers。 I hasten to add my stopping had nothing to do with this book！ I just moved on to other genres at this time as my tastes changed。 Very clever final book in the second trilogy giving different perspectives on the events in the previous books。 Its very well written and a fascinating book。 I did however stop reading spy books after this one。 The only spy books I continued with were the 007 books but they aren't really spy books， more like thrillers。 I hasten to add my stopping had nothing to do with this book！ I just moved on to other genres at this time as my tastes changed。 。。。more
David
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A bit of a shock on a first read。 Of all the sellouts， betrayals， and infidelities going on in the background during the Game， Set， Match， Hook & Line novels （of which first-person narrator Bernard Samson was unaware）， probably the hardest for me to take remains—even after nearly 30 years—the infidelity of Fiona， which begins even before Bernard takes up with Gloria。 It always seems to me that Deighton simply could not， as a man， accept the Samsons unless both of them cheated on each other。 It h A bit of a shock on a first read。 Of all the sellouts， betrayals， and infidelities going on in the background during the Game， Set， Match， Hook & Line novels （of which first-person narrator Bernard Samson was unaware）， probably the hardest for me to take remains—even after nearly 30 years—the infidelity of Fiona， which begins even before Bernard takes up with Gloria。 It always seems to me that Deighton simply could not， as a man， accept the Samsons unless both of them cheated on each other。 It has that kind of a gendered feel to me， that Fiona is made to be unfaithful almost entirely because her male author can’t seem to bear the thought of her not having committed most of the same sins （I choose the religious word deliberately） as her husband。 Deighton works hard to make the whole thing part of the plot， but I always think he could have done without it。 Meanwhile， the idea that Bernard doesn’t know anywhere as much as he thinks he does is quite effective in this sudden shift into 3rd-person narration。 As of this re-reading， I think I still think Deighton should have stopped here， but with “work to be done” in the last sentence of the novel， there is the foreshadowing of the final trilogy in the set。 。。。more
Russell Berg
，
Deighton rewrites the previous 5 books from a different point of view。 Wonderful sideways glance into the back corners of the characters and their stories。
Leonard
，
A tough story to follow， especially when there is no conclusion in that volume。 It seems that many things are left hanging to be picked up in the nest series。
Judith Gunn
，
A series of spy novels I didn't know about！ Hooray。。。some other neat things to read！！！ A series of spy novels I didn't know about！ Hooray。。。some other neat things to read！！！ 。。。more
Lesly
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Got more depressing and convoluted with books。
JR Carroll
，
A Cold War spy novel the premise of which was in my opinion somewhat unbelievable—would a woman really walk away from her husband and small children and be labeled as a defector and a traitor to be the principal player in a multi-year clandestine assignment to try to topple the East German regime for King and country？ Additionally I found the story unnecessarily confusing at times with characters carefully introduced only to be quickly killed off or fade away。 Large crucial chunks of the story a A Cold War spy novel the premise of which was in my opinion somewhat unbelievable—would a woman really walk away from her husband and small children and be labeled as a defector and a traitor to be the principal player in a multi-year clandestine assignment to try to topple the East German regime for King and country？ Additionally I found the story unnecessarily confusing at times with characters carefully introduced only to be quickly killed off or fade away。 Large crucial chunks of the story also seemed to be missing from the text， only to be recounted cursorily by the key characters after the fact。 And the ending was wholly unsatisfactory， leaving too many questions unanswered。 I got the impression that the author came up with a basic idea for this novel， but then struggled to find his way and thus ended up with a convoluted mess。 。。。more
Nigeyb
，
Spy Line （Bernard Samson， #5）， the book before this one， maintained the magnificent storytelling and fascinating character development of Len Deighton's Bernard Samson series。One of the themes of this series is trust and Spy Line had Bernard questioning virtually every relationship in his life。 He got very few straightforward answers。 In Spy Sinker （Bernard Samson， #6） we discover just how duplicitous Bernard's intelligence service has been。 We revisit the events covered in the previous books bu Spy Line （Bernard Samson， #5）， the book before this one， maintained the magnificent storytelling and fascinating character development of Len Deighton's Bernard Samson series。One of the themes of this series is trust and Spy Line had Bernard questioning virtually every relationship in his life。 He got very few straightforward answers。 In Spy Sinker （Bernard Samson， #6） we discover just how duplicitous Bernard's intelligence service has been。 We revisit the events covered in the previous books but， instead of seeing everything from Bernard's perspective， we see the viewpoint of many of the other characters。 Readers get fabulous insights into the behind the scenes machinations for what has transpired in previous books。 Len Deighton must have spent ages working out how all the pieces were to fit together。 It's a stunning series and， whilst I say this every time I read the next book in the series， this is the best so far。 Next up is the final trilogy - Faith， Hope and Charity。 I cannot wait to get stuck in。5/5Spy Sinker is a 1990 spy novel by Len Deighton。 It is the final novel in the second of three trilogies about Bernard Samson， a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service （MI6）。 Spy Sinker is part of the Hook， Line and Sinker trilogy， being preceded by Spy Hook and Spy Line。 This trilogy is preceded by the Game， Set and Match trilogy and followed by the final Faith， Hope and Charity trilogy。 Deighton's novel Winter （1987） is a prequel to the nine novels， covering the years 1900-1945 and providing the backstory to some of the characters。 。。。more
Jan Urbanek
，
The idea of changing the narrative from 1st person POV to objective 3rd one and retelling the story in a way how it happened is really good。 Depressing ending。
Paul Thompson
，
This is the 6th of the Bernard Samson books by Len Deighton and I have enjoyed them。 Deighton's narrative and story through-lines cleverly weave interesting and believable story arcs that are intriguing and deep without the feeling of being contrived。 This is the end of the second of the triple-trilogy and I am looking forward to Faith， Hope and Charity， the next three in the series。 So often you read other novels and recall they had good characterisation or good plot like a quick snack to ward This is the 6th of the Bernard Samson books by Len Deighton and I have enjoyed them。 Deighton's narrative and story through-lines cleverly weave interesting and believable story arcs that are intriguing and deep without the feeling of being contrived。 This is the end of the second of the triple-trilogy and I am looking forward to Faith， Hope and Charity， the next three in the series。 So often you read other novels and recall they had good characterisation or good plot like a quick snack to ward off hunger， but Len Deighton novels are a satisfying and enjoyable meal to be contemplated with a glass of port wine。 。。。more
Michael Martz
，
'Spy Sinker' was， at least to me， an indispensable wrap up to Deighton's Hook/line/Sinker trilogy。 It answered many of the questions I still had in mind from the first 2 books and added considerable depth to what was already an extremely well-developed set。 It was a truly unique way to put a bow on a masterful series。Spy Sinker's approach is to begin at the beginning of Bernard Samson's life and play it out until the 'end' of the Spy Line novel， filling in the blanks using a 3rd person narrator 'Spy Sinker' was， at least to me， an indispensable wrap up to Deighton's Hook/line/Sinker trilogy。 It answered many of the questions I still had in mind from the first 2 books and added considerable depth to what was already an extremely well-developed set。 It was a truly unique way to put a bow on a masterful series。Spy Sinker's approach is to begin at the beginning of Bernard Samson's life and play it out until the 'end' of the Spy Line novel， filling in the blanks using a 3rd person narrator to explain exactly what went on during not only his early life， recruitment， and career but also that of his wife， Fiona， who had defected to East Berlin to become a big wheel in the Russian KGB。 Various other characters we encountered during the initial 2 books of the series are likewise fleshed out。I don't know about you， but as I read through a good spy novel there are always layers upon layers of intrigue to wade through which often leaves me with a hefty number of unanswered questions （for example， did Fiona Samson really defect to the west or is she part of a devious British plot to plant her as a spy？）。 Sinker provides all the background needed to answer the myriad open questions and wrap things up nicely。Deighton is a masterful writer of spy fiction and the Hook/Line/Sinker trilogy is an outstanding example of the best the genre has to offer。 。。。more
Jonathan Wilson
，
A wonderful surpriseI came into this book enjoying the series and not wanting to slow down， revisit old stories from new angles。 How wrong I was， the perspectives from different characters and extra dimensions to the story。 I am now refreshed and ready for the final trilogy！
Almustafa Couch
，
A very enjoyable read， it closed a few of those open questions。 It showed an important occurrence （in the series） from another viewpoint and as such gave a new perspective on it。 As part of the Samson series it was a valuable read。 I can't say more without spoiling the enjoyment that this book （or series） would bring so I will only provide encouragement for people to encounter the Samson series， Len Deighton is best at the description of battle scenes and objects but not so good at subjects。 A very enjoyable read， it closed a few of those open questions。 It showed an important occurrence （in the series） from another viewpoint and as such gave a new perspective on it。 As part of the Samson series it was a valuable read。 I can't say more without spoiling the enjoyment that this book （or series） would bring so I will only provide encouragement for people to encounter the Samson series， Len Deighton is best at the description of battle scenes and objects but not so good at subjects。 。。。more
Ondřej Šefčík
，
The great corollary to previous novels。 I was a sceptic at a start but Deighton manages it with a bravury。。。 a spy genre masterpiece！
Peter
，
Somewhat unusually tells the story again from a different perspective。 Again， very believable characters。 Tied everything up nicely for me。
Jack Hrkach
，
This last of the second trilogy in the Samson series takes a different and very interesting tack。 Narrated in third person， it takes the reader back to the first trilogy （London Game， Mexico Set， Berlin Match） and through to Spy Hook and Spy Line， filling in loyal readers on incidents along the way， characters barely or not mentioned at all in the first five books， and the real movers and shakers behind the action throughout。 Fiona， and not Bernard， Samson becomes the most important character an This last of the second trilogy in the Samson series takes a different and very interesting tack。 Narrated in third person， it takes the reader back to the first trilogy （London Game， Mexico Set， Berlin Match） and through to Spy Hook and Spy Line， filling in loyal readers on incidents along the way， characters barely or not mentioned at all in the first five books， and the real movers and shakers behind the action throughout。 Fiona， and not Bernard， Samson becomes the most important character and many surprises as to who knows what when ensue。 Spy Line and Spy Sinker end at precisely the same time。It's a reason， for those of you interested in reading Deighton， and who， perhaps like me， were introduced to the author via two movies made from his novels from waaaaay back when （I was young！ almost medieval！） that starred a young， be-spectacled Michael Caine as Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File and Funeral in Berlin， to take them in the order written。It was with this as background that I came to the Samson series and so far at least have read them in order。 I highly recommend doing it this way， as Deighton has quite the master plan in hand， while he advocates that any of them can be read as stand-alone tales。 In the Kindle versions of each of the Samson series the author holds forth in Introductions （added in 2010） on what he had in mind。 I read the first six in order， and am now embarking on Winter， which begins in the last days of 1899。 I'm expecting more insight into the whole from this， before I undertake the last three books in the full series， Faith， Hope and Charity。 More on the entire magnum opus after I've finished all of it。IS it all worth it？ So far it has been for me， as an old retiree， weaned on John LeCarre and finding few other writers of espionage fiction who could come near him in skill and scope。 I'm not sure that， had I started reading Deighton during my earlier much busier life I'd have taken the time， but it's been a swell project by a reader who generally goes for the "great" novelists such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky， Zola and Balzac， Dickens and the Brontes。 Deighton reads much more easily than most of these and so far has been great fun for a man who is now in a life of leisure。。。so take EVERYthing I write with several heavy blocks of salt！ But if tempted， take my advice as one who has read two thirds of the whole - as you like it if you like it！ 。。。more
Gary Letham
，
Book six takes us back to the very start， the initial idea pitched by Brett to the DG and Silas。 The planning，the selection and the recruitment of Fiona Samson。 The story alternates in perspective mainly between Brett & Fiona and we see the previous five novels through their eyes， the deceptions and double crosses to hide the ultimate secret。。。。。。Sinker
Ariel Rotman
，
Definitely read the first 5 before reading this one。
Duncan
，
Some things are cleaned up in this one。 Some things explained。 It took awhile for me to get into it because I thought Deighton had kinda run out of ideas on how to finish this 2nd Bernard Samson trilogy。 But keep on reading because it's not just an outline of events up until the end of the previous book it's an explanation of things left unsaid， the motivations behind the scenes if you will。 One of the things I like about Deighton is he writes espionage as if they were police procedurals。 They a Some things are cleaned up in this one。 Some things explained。 It took awhile for me to get into it because I thought Deighton had kinda run out of ideas on how to finish this 2nd Bernard Samson trilogy。 But keep on reading because it's not just an outline of events up until the end of the previous book it's an explanation of things left unsaid， the motivations behind the scenes if you will。 One of the things I like about Deighton is he writes espionage as if they were police procedurals。 They are really books about crime， more than international intrigue， although of course there is plenty of intrigue， but more internecine than across the Iron Curtain。 The Cold War is really just a red herring， the real deal is the deception & evil that men and women do to themselves and each other playing out the mad games of adulthood。 Now， onto my 3rd scotch， just like an adult does。 。。。more
Sureshkumar
，
After reading five books in the series， many questions were wandering in the mind for which there were no answers。 How are these incidents related？ How did they happen or why and under whose directions？ This book is the masterpiece that links all these。 After seeing the world and people through Ben Samson;s eyes， and influend by his opinions and views， we now see all characters including Ben from the author;s/other charaters; eyes。 Ben doesn't figure much in this book but it is his life， prinicp After reading five books in the series， many questions were wandering in the mind for which there were no answers。 How are these incidents related？ How did they happen or why and under whose directions？ This book is the masterpiece that links all these。 After seeing the world and people through Ben Samson;s eyes， and influend by his opinions and views， we now see all characters including Ben from the author;s/other charaters; eyes。 Ben doesn't figure much in this book but it is his life， prinicpally that is being toyed with。 And of course his wife;s。 How a very small group controls the lives of others - in search of glory？ Or patriotism？ or what The murky world of spieswhere lives hae value yet no value， nobody is indispensible or personal lives and reputations are made or destroyed， and which are decided by other eople。 I have a great fan of Len Deighton。 Who is better Ben;s wife or his girlfriend Gloria？ Hmm。。difficult。 It is how eople jell together。 It is relative。 。。。more
iain finlayson
，
A great book that brings together several strands from the previous 5 books and provides greater understanding of the characters。 A bold decision to right a book like this， but he certainly brings it off。 The book gives great detail of Fiona Samson and Brett Rensaeler。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Spy Sinker
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Spy Sinker&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Spy Sinker&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0