Excellently written, with plenty of plot twists and action. I liked George Smiley very much. His two partners in solving the murder of Samuel Fennan, are Mendel and Guillam. They look out for each other and work together well.

Who is the spy? Fennan or his wife Elsa? Smiley is brilliant in working through what he learns from the widow Elsa. Who placed the 8:30 call and why? (Hence the title of the book.). Smiley is faced with a person from his past whom he worked with during the war and who was and is an extremely detailed and clever intelligence operative.

Luckily for Smiley, Mendel and Guillam are there for him when he’s attacked and also to work through the “trap” to catch the spy and the handler. It’s a thrilling chase.

I liked the wrap up of facts provided by Smiley in the report he writes for his supervisor. I also like learning about Smiley’s earlier life and work.

I can’t wait to read the next one. ( I read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy a few years ago.) ( )

This is the first George Smiley spy novel, which as noted I sought out to fulfill a need for a decent spy novel since it's been so long since the last Slow Horses novel. This was a good read, and I will read more, but this was more like a murder mystery/police procedural than a spy novel, as the spying issue seems only peripheral to the main story.

Smiley is sent to interview a civil servant, Samuel Fennon , about potential communist contacts back when he was a student. The interview goes well, and Smiley is assured there's nothing untoward about Fennon. He tells Fennon all is well. But the next day, Fennon is dead, an apparent suicide, and his wife says he was upset and fearful about the interview with Smiley. On interviewing the wife, Smiley notices things that are inconsistent with the verdict of suicide that the police seem to have reached rather quickly. Smiley begins to investigate.

This was a short quick read. There are no shoot outs or car chases, just good sleuthing. Smiley is unassuming, calm, and deliberate. I will be reading more.

3 stars ( )

This is the birth of Smiley as we know him in his later book. Short, fat with a moustache and nearing retirement, Smiley finds himself embroiled in the death of a man, Fennan, that he had just interviewed as a vetting procedure after a complaint.

Maston his chief, 'who wants a K', doesn't want the truth but for Smiley to just clear things up and move on. He can't however and goes to speak to Fennan's widow where stories and timelines start to unravel. The book is more novella than novel length and I did guess what had happened before the ending but was engaged enough not to worry about that.

I loved the first chapter A Brief History of George Smiley as it set out exactly what the title says and whilst you might be thinking why do we have this, it is a necessary part of the plot. I can't think of another book where I have been told upfront about the history of the protaganist quite so straightforwardly and I enjoyed it for the context whilst realising its intended relevance as you move through the story. We are also introduced to his rather tricky marriage to Lady Ann who at this point has run off with a Cuban race car driver. By the end of the book he is off to Switzerland to bring her back.

Le Carré's books have always had a focus on class and the morality of the characters and these are reflected in this book as well. Smiley is shown not to come from Eton and so on through his desire to have things done a particular way with the right wine and cutlery in the correct placements. Always a give away of someone who has been shown these things rather than grown up with them and who is quite relaxed about them. Lady Ann does not come across well, with a fair bit of repetition around the fact that no one could believe she was with Smiley, so eleagant and urbane and so unlike Smiley.

Enjoyable but not earth shattering. ( )

Is it weird that I'm diving back into the Cold War in an attempt to figure out what's going on? Probably, but it's still an excellent adventure. ( )

I wanted to read this book as the events in it are referenced so heavily in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (and introduces George Smiley).

This is Le Carré's first novel, and it is clear why it is not as lauded as its great successor. It is more perfunctorily competent than grippingly immediate. Even the descriptions of post-war, pre-swinging London are nowhere near as caustically vivid (staying on the historical note, though, I did enjoy his depiction of how wartime allies then became idealogical enemies).

The plot, while still in the quasi-realistic style, feels more traditional than the later book - with policemen and spies chasing up leads and finding clues - complete with red herrings and chases through the fog. It's also very short.

The story is still interesting, and the characters are convincing and nicely depicted. If you just want to find a John Le Carré book to see what he's like, this isn't the one to start with. However, if you're fairly sure you'll read more regardless then it's worth your attention; it might even be worth reading this before The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, to get some more context, but it's definitely not essential. ( )