Caz's Reviews > Rogue Spy

Review from 2015

B+ for narration / A for content.

A new book from Joanna Bourne is a Special Event on my calendar. Rogue Spy was one of my most highly anticipated new titles of last year; I’d been desperate for Pax’s story ever since listening to The Black Hawk, and I’m delighted to say that it’s every bit as good as I’d hoped

Thomas Paxton has been a regular secondary character in the other books in this series – serious, unostentatious and deadly – forming, as Ms Bourne points out in this book, the third point of a close-knit triangle of men working for British Intelligence, the other two being William Doyle and Adrian Hawker. (view spoiler)[

Pax arrived at the HQ of British Intelligence Service ten years prior to the events in Rogue Spy, introducing himself as the son of a deceased British agent. He’s worked his way up to become one of the Service’s most valuable agents and a lethal assassin; but we learned during the events of The Black Hawk that Pax is, in fact a Caché, one of a group of orphaned and abandoned children who were taken in by the French Police Secrète and trained as spies, ruthless killers and then placed with families in positions of power or influence in England. (hide spoiler)]

At the beginning of the book, Pax has just returned from France carrying his written confession and fully expects to be condemned for treason. Despite his background, he’s a deeply honourable man, and can no longer face the thought of lying to and betraying the men with whom he has worked for a decade. But before he can meet with the Head of Service, a letter, delivered by a mysterious woman, diverts his and Hawker’s attention and Pax immediately puts his own concerns aside in order to deal with this latest perceived threat. He and Hawker instantly set off in pursuit, their working relationship clearly long-established and deeply ingrained.

Tracking the woman to a city church, Pax is astonished to recognise her as Vérité, a fellow Caché and one with whom he’d formed a strong bond during their brutal indoctrination and training by the French.

In the decade since they last saw each other, Vérité has lived quietly as Camille – Cami – Leyland, the supposed niece of two sisters (collectively known as the “Fluffy Aunts”, a pair of charmingly eccentric and formidable ladies who are one of the many delights of the book), former spies who are now the foremost code-makers and breakers for British Intelligence. Out of the blue, Cami receives an anonymous letter telling her that the real Camille Leyland is alive, and that if the young woman is to survive, Cami must hand over the latest British codes. Knowing that if she does not comply, the blackmailer will undoubtedly come after the aunts next, Cami sets off for London – although not without a plan and an array of lethal weapons.

It’s clear from the moment they set eyes on each other again that Pax and Cami are inextricably bound to each other – not just by their shared pasts, but by the prickling awareness of each other as adults that immediately sparks between them. But much has happened in the intervening decade, and both are wary. Is Pax working for the French? Is Cami? Can they trust each other implicitly as they once did? And if Pax trusts Cami – will it prove to be one further betrayal of the men he has worked with and come to know and respect over the last ten years?

The story is satisfyingly complex, with Cami, Pax and his colleagues playing a cat-and-mouse game through the seedier side of London in an attempt to foil the blackmailer’s plot, which the pair know is likely to be a suicide mission. There’s a colourful cast of supporting characters in the form of Cami’s Tuscan relatives, and both principals are very strongly characterised. Pax, tightly controlled, haunted and deadly, and strong, clever Cami, are a wonderfully well-matched pair whose past association serves to add depth to their romance.

There is much to enjoy in Rogue Spy – masterful storytelling, beautiful prose and superbly written relationships between the main characters. I loved meeting Adrian Hawker again as that cocky lad we first glimpsed in The Spymaster’s Lady . The contrast between the quiet and considered Pax and the flamboyant, mouthy Hawker is brilliantly delineated, and it’s clear that for all the latter’s smart-mouthed comments, their friendship is an unbreakable one, and each would lay down his life for the other. The same is true of their relationship with Doyle, who acts as a kind of father figure for them both.

I’ve enjoyed every audiobook in this series, and this is no exception, although I have to say that I noticed more mispronunciations than normal. For example, Berkeley (as in Square) isn’t pronounced as it’s spelled, but as BARKley, and I have yet to hear an American narrator pronounce the word “aunt” correctly. Given that the Fluffy Aunts appear or are mentioned fairly often, it’s a regular mispronunciation which did get a little distracting after a while.

On the whole, Kirsten Potter does a good job with both characterisations and narrative, especially when it comes to Pax’s low, sometimes clipped tones and Doyle’s gruff unflappability. Her interpretation of Hawker really brings out his studied insouciance, although I felt that most of the time he sounded a bit too posh. I know he’s a chameleon, a kid from the streets who has been educated and who spends his time around gentlemen, but I’ve never thought of him as being overly concerned with his accent among his inner circle. Also, given the action of this book takes place concurrently with the events in the latter part of The Spymaster’s Lady, it’s not consistent with the way he’s portrayed in the earlier audio. And the one time the text has him deliberately drop into his old, cockney accent, I’m afraid he sounds more Antipodean than East End.

While I can’t overlook these issues, I can’t say they spoiled the audiobook or took me too far out of the story, and I’m sure that for some, they will be hardly noticeable. I’m just picky about accents, and as I’ve said before, my personal preference is for British narrators to perform British-set stories. Ms Potter is one of a very small number of American narrators I can bear to listen to switching between American-accented narration and British-accented characterisations – and I suspect that’s as much down to the excellence of the material as it is to the fact that she’s a skilled performer and gets away with it 90% of the time.

Rogue Spy is nonetheless a highly recommended listen. The story is terrific, and while I did have some issues with the performance, it’s still well above the average.

Also - note to art dept. Pax is very, very blonde, not brunette.