Originally published in 1972, THE RED HOUSE is a very good Cold War novel of espionage, suspense, and international relations. If you're familiar with Lambert's other Cold War novels, then you should know what to expect. This is perhaps not his best, but it is engaging and well-written. The characters are good, and also well-drawn.

If you're looking for Cold War fiction, then Lambert is a must.

First published in Great Britain in 1972; published by HarperCollins Crime Club on November 2, 2017

The Red House is a novel of cold war intrigue, published at a time when the cold war was still raging. It isn’t a traditional spy novel, although the KGB and CIA play important roles in the story. Rather, The Red House is the story of a Russian’s disillusionment with the Soviet system and a young American’s disillusionment with a government (and father) who want him to put patriotism ahead of love.

Diplomat Vladimir Zhukov arrives in United States in 1968, newly appointed as the Soviet Union’s second secretary. Two KGB minders are determined to keep Zhukov from enjoying the decadent American pleasures that might tempt him to defect. The Soviet ambassador, on the other hand, is a bit more trusting — but not so trusting that he forgets how the game is played.

Zhukov is asked to spy on anyone of interest, while the Americans ask a Brit named Massingham to cozy up to Zhukov. Massingham’s bored wife wants to cozy up to Zhukov for reasons of her own. Her taste for seduction has served Massingham well in the past.

Meanwhile, Zhukov’s daughter Natasha is trying to adjust to her time in decadent D.C., including the unexpected attention of the dashing Charlie Hardin, who is doing a favor for his father, an FBI agent. Natasha appreciates the freedom the US offers, despite her reservations about American politics and poverty. Feelings traditionally get in the way of duty in spy novels that feature a spy who becomes sexually involved with a target, and that theme eventually animates the novel’s plot.

The novel reflects the hawk/dove division of 1968, the fear that southeast Asian governments will fall to communism like dominos in the absence of an American presence in Vietnam versus rejection of such a dubious theory as justification for so many pointless American deaths. The hawk/dove division is also represented by the justifiable concern that the Soviet Union would use military force to suppress dissenters in Czechoslovakia. Those issues contribute to the respective moral dilemmas that Charlie and Zhukov experience as the novel gains steam.

The Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, in fact, gives Zhukov reason to question his patriotism as he watches tanks roll into Prague on televisions in various New York bars, seeing hope in the faces of young men standing up for change. The novel makes the point that in a city like New York, a city built by the labor of immigrants, a Russian can sit in a certain kind of bar with Germans and Americans and Australians and enjoy the alcohol-fueled fellowship of humanity, a fellowship that is unimpaired by the political differences of their nations’ rulers. In a different kind of bar, however, political philosophies mix less easily, as Zhukov discovers in one of the plot’s turning points.

The Red House is about nationalism and loyalty, political conflict and conflicts of the heart. The novel moves at a deliberate pace — too deliberate in the first half, as the story meanders while establishing the characters in an abundance of detail. Yet tension begins to mount in the last third of the novel as Zhukov finds himself cornered both by his reaction to world events and by a moment of poor judgment. Derek Lambert avoids tugging at the reader’s heartstrings, but there is both sadness and satisfaction in an ending that allows the power of love and the ugliness of politics to coexist.

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The plot sounded interesting and that was the reason I chose to read this book. After having read The Red Dove, which is definitely one of Derek Lambert’s best, I had a lot of expectations on this one. But what I did not know was that the story was more of an internal battle – the character’s dilemma to choose between Russia and the west.

No matter what, the Russians are loyal to their country. The employees of the embassy were always under surveillance. From installing bugs in their homes to shadowing, it was not easy to defect. When Tardovsky(first secretary) is caught trying to defect, Vladimir is promoted to first secretary. With the CIA and the British Secret Service trying to woo Vladimir to defect and the Russian embassy encouraging him to socialize so as to gain information, Vladimir Zhukov is torn between choosing freedom and home. He loves the automated appliances available in the west, but he longs for Russian food and culture.

The story was a drag at times. The internal battles in the minds of Natasha and her father, Vladimir, was a bit unnecessary (too many details!). There was not much of action or suspense either. Helen Massingham played the role of a seductress. As her husband was a member of the British embassy, her job was to help her husband in wooing Vladimir to defect. The CIA came up with another plan – seduce the daughter, coerce her to defect and her father would follow in her footsteps.

Things go wrong when Charles Holden, who works for the FBI, falls in love with Natasha. Now, Natasha has to choose between her parents and Charles. Valentina Zhukiv, Natasha’s mother plays a very important role in the end. The best part of the story was when Valentina’s real role in moving to the US is revealed. The love story of Charles and Natasha is also a pretty appreciable piece in the story.

Apart from all these, the story was a bore. The Red House is not one of Derek Lambert’s best. There was not much of a mysterious or a thrilling read. The ending was good but it could have been better.

I discovered Derek Lambert through net galley and I am really glad that I did because it's right up my alley. I love the period his books are set in and the story lines, The Red House is no exception.

This series, set against a backdrop of the Soviet Union post Stalin years., shows a good sense of time and context. The well documented Soviet sense of striving to catch up to the decadent West while glorying in the greatness of the past, is overlain by some good spy/thriller text. The author has carved out a good niche for his stories and should do well. What some US readers may miss is that its not and East vs West thing its an ego competition among men with differing backgrounds. By better portraying each characters humanity the author differentiates his style from others in his space.