An interesting beginning quickly devolves into a stuffy, incomprehensible mess - an especially long chapter in a French chateau is particularly rough (I spent a lot of time pursing my lips and sighing) . The premise is strong, however, and a generous reader could forgive a lot of the missteps as it is clear the author did the research. The writing seems very true to period as well, which is a pro or a con depending on your fondness for pre-WWI fiction. Something is just off with this like a shirt that's been buttoned incorrectly - it'll cover you but it'll look weird while doing so.

Lyall is a master. Right up there with Deighton and LeCarre. And Spy’s Honour , one of his Series of novels amp out spies and spy services in Europe at and around WW1 is his magnum opus. Historically informed, well paced and written and plain interesting g, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Read them all.

This is the start of Gavin Lyall's Ranklin series which sees Ranklin at the very birth of the British Secret Service in 1912 as the First World War looms. It's well written and the political background is very well researched and painted, but I found it rather unsatisfying overall.

The book is a series of slightly disjointed episodes in Ranklin's career as it begins and he becomes a more experienced agent. There is a bit of a Bulldog Drummond feel to it – no doubt deliberate – which doesn't quite work for me. Although Ranklin is a far more thoughtful character than the gung-ho literary heroes of the time, there isn't a lot of subtlety (or plausibility at times) about the plots, so it had a slightly cartoonish feel to me much of the time.

Spy's Honour is readable enough because Lyall was a good writer and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try it, but I won't be bothering with any more in the series.

(My thanks to Ipso Books for an ARC via NetGalley.)