"The Old Enemy," the final installment in Henry Porter's riveting trilogy, is an absolute triumph that delivers a stunning conclusion to an epic and gripping saga. This book showcases Porter's exceptional talent for crafting intricate and intelligent espionage thrillers, solidifying his place among the best in the genre.

From the opening pages to the final climactic showdown, "The Old Enemy" keeps readers enthralled with its masterful storytelling. Porter's writing is razor-sharp and evocative, drawing readers into a world of high-stakes espionage, political intrigue, and heart-pounding action. Every twist and turn in the plot is skillfully executed, leaving you breathless and eagerly turning pages to uncover the next revelation.

The characters in "The Old Enemy" are vividly brought to life, each with their own complexities and motivations. As they navigate the treacherous landscape of international espionage, they become more than just characters on a page; they evolve into living, breathing individuals with whom readers develop a deep emotional connection.

What sets "The Old Enemy" apart is its unflinching exploration of timely and relevant political themes. Porter expertly weaves in real-world issues, offering a thought-provoking reflection on contemporary global events. This elevates the novel beyond a mere thriller, making it a powerful and poignant commentary on the complexities of the modern world.

Throughout the trilogy, Porter's meticulous research is evident, providing a rich and authentic backdrop for the narrative. From the clandestine world of intelligence agencies to the geopolitical intricacies of international relations, "The Old Enemy" feels remarkably grounded in reality, adding an extra layer of depth and credibility to the story.

As the final chapter of the trilogy, "The Old Enemy" seamlessly ties together the loose ends from the previous books, giving readers a satisfying and fulfilling resolution. The way Porter brings the storylines and character arcs to a close is a testament to his skill as a storyteller, leaving no loose thread untouched.

In conclusion, "The Old Enemy" is a gripping and thought-provoking masterpiece that solidifies Henry Porter's status as a master of the espionage thriller genre. With its compelling plot, nuanced characters, and insightful social commentary, this book is a triumph that will linger in readers' minds long after the final page. If you're a fan of intelligent and heart-pounding espionage novels, "The Old Enemy" is an absolute must-read that will leave you eagerly awaiting Porter's future works.

smart, serious utterly readable and gripping - this feels like a great 'old fashioned' political thriller with real characters doing consequential things - not simply engaging in action or forward narrative thrust (which can be thin...) - really intriguing and problematic dilemmas of the fears of retaliation after a long career of espionage and 'taking out' enemies etc. Samson is a sympathetic operator caught up in what's happened in the past - now, as a freelance. He becomes involved again with an old love, and together they dig deep into a rabbit's warren of intrigue, political an deadly - really wonderful to read and reflects newspapers in a way today!

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the third and apparently final book of the Paul Samson series, but he and other survivors of this excellent series are such brilliant characters I find it hard to believe they won't be revisited, I certainly hope so.
Well written and researched a fast paced clever complex story of deceit and high level corruption, with an evil old Stasi agent the main protagonist.
Completely and utterly recommended

Lovely characters

I read and greatly enjoyed "Firefly" in 2018. I'd been working with refugees in that part of the world and felt that the story rang true. Unfortunately I missed the intermediate novel "White Hot Silence". Nevertheless, this third book was not hard to follow.

As I did with "Firefly", I find the characters here to be fully realized, likable, people, whose choices are rational, even if we don't agree with them. The story is believable as a spy novel. The pace is not outlandish.

I think that I might be able to say that I like these books as much as any spy novels I have read in years. I recommend them to you.

Published by Atlantic Monthly Press on June 8, 2021

The Old Enemy continues and perhaps concludes the story that began in Firefly. While The Old Enemy is the third book in a series, a reader can enjoy it as a standalone thriller.

The novel begins with the murder of a retired and revered spy named Robert Harland. As death is approaching, Harland manages to leave a message for his wife that identifies his killer. Finding the code that explains the message is one of the many tasks that Harland’s old friend, Paul Samson, eventually undertakes.

Before he learns of Harland’s death, however, Samson is busy protecting Zoe Freemantle, who works for an organization called GreenState. Samson has been assigned that task by Macy Harp, the head of the private intelligence firm that is Samson’s employer. Samson doesn’t know why he’s protecting Freemantle, nor does Freemantle know that Samson has been hired to protect her. She might even think he’s stalking her. Samson only knows that Freemantle seems to have a connection to a building that has attracted the attention of government agencies in Great Britain and elsewhere. As Freemantle approaches that building, someone attacks Samson with a knife, but whether the attacker was targeting Samson or Freemantle is unclear.

As all of that unfolds, Denis Hisami is preparing to give testimony before Congress. Hisami is married to Anastasia Christakos. In an earlier novel, Samson rescued Anastasia from a kidnapping and now carries a torch for her. Hisami is about to reveal a major conspiracy that has reached high levels of government in the US and UK, but he’s poisoned before he reaches that point in his testimony.

Samson initially wonders whether Russians are getting even with all the people who played a role in recovering Anastasia from her kidnappers. The murder of Harland and the attempted murders of Hisami and Samson turn out to be part of a more complicated conspiracy. Samson pieces the conspiracy together with the help of his hacker friend Naji Touma, a resourceful young man Samson rescued in Firefly. Samson finds it difficult to pin down Naji to find out what he knows, a difficulty of intelligence gathering that bedevils Samson throughout the novel.

Despite the conspiracy’s complexity, the reader isn’t likely to get lost. Henry Porter provides internal summaries and other reminders of events that are critical to the plot, including important moments from the first two novels. The plot never becomes convoluted. Porter peppers the plot with action scenes without dumbing down the story. Like most fictional conspiracies, this one is driven by money and power. I’ll give Porter credit for crafting a credible conspiracy, or at least one that is more plausible than a typical Ludlum conspiracy.

I also give Porter credit for creating an interesting character in Paul Samson. He has the kind of tortured personality that makes a spy sympathetic. The plot takes Samson to various settings around the world while making clear that “the old enemy” — Russia — is still the one most likely to make serious trouble for western democracies. I don’t know if he intends to bring back Porter in future novels, but he is a worthy addition to the canon of fictional spies who make espionage fiction so enjoyable.

RECOMMENDED

In 2018, of the 200 or so books I read, Firefly (the first in Henry Porter's espionage series loosely structured around global refugee issues) was my favorite. The second book, White Hot Silence, didn't speak to me as forcefully, but it was beautifully written and geopolitically aware.

I enjoyed The Old Enemy, the third in the series, as fully as Firefly. I hated to put the book down for any reason. The characters from Firefly have evolved, although Paul Samson, a former spy, is still possessed of his level head, cool instincts, and disdain for official fiat; and Naji, a Syrian refugee, is still endearing and off-the-scale brilliant.

Two things set this book apart for me: Porter's point that the fiercest weaponry of 21st-Century warfare is data mined and brokered from social media; and his intergenerational cadre of investigators, including seasoned retirees facing death and youth with little experience but vast digital skills.

According to Wikipedia, this so-far-a-trilogy is a planned quartet, and I will be thrilled when the next installment appears. Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance readers copy.

Robert Harland, a retired spy, was shot and killed in Estonia. On the same day someone attempted to kill Denis Hisami in Washington DC with a chemical attack as he prepared to testify before a congressional committee. In London Paul Samson, working for Hisami, is also attacked. Several years earlier, the men were each involved in an operation to rescue Hisami’s kidnapped wife Anastasia, but why would someone wait so long to exact revenge? To Samson this explanation of events does not ring true. When he discovers that Harland and Hisami were working on a project he begins his own investigation into Harland’s death.

Harland had spotted someone in Berlin that he recognized as a Stasi agent who operated before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Mila Daus dealt in information and she has continued building a web of agents as she expanded her business. Through blackmail and deception, she recruited important figures in Britain and America and passed their information on to Russia. Hisami’s project has been gathering evidence against her but now he lies in a coma as a result of the attack. All of the evidence that he accumulated is on a computer that only he has the codes to open. With assassins on his trail and his friends in danger, Sansom must work with Anastasia to expose Daus.

Henry Porter has not only written an engrossing spy novel, but also one that explores the use of technology to influence politics and economies. The story builds as Sansom discovers the extent of Hisami’s project and culminates in a tense showdown in the halls of Congress. It is a spy novel and a political story that will keep you eagerly turning pages to the end. I would like to thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing this book for my review.

The first thing to know is that this is the final entry in an espionage trilogy (after Firefly and White Hot Silence). Porter spends a lot of time on exposition to ensure that readers are up to speed on what happened in the prior books and that they are told the names and backgrounds on a large cast of characters. I’m terrible about remembering book details, so I appreciate the refresher, but all that explaining does slow things down a bit.

Anyone who reads a lot of espionage books probably guessed that the “old enemy” of the title refers to the Cold War. The Cold War is supposed to be over, but its old warriors and their grudges aren’t dead yet. Lead character Paul Samson and some of his contacts from past books are right in the thick of what is suddenly, for them, very much a hot war.

When Porter isn’t explaining, he’s throwing a lot of big action scenes at the reader. And I mean a lot. This is an action-oriented espionage thriller, not a brooding shadowy kind of novel. If you’re in the mood for more action and less mood and character development, this should suit.

The Old Enemy by Henry Porter
I enjoy very much reading espionage books and participate in a Facebook site about spy books. I had not read a Henry Porter book before but had read many good things about his writing. I was greatly disappointed by this book. For sure, he is not leCarre or Deighton or even a Fleming type of writer but this book either in my opinion was either poorly written or poorly edited or book. Examples, Samson the hero has had a previous love interest in Anastasia the heroine who is now married to a Kurd (Denis Hisami) who was a former war criminal but is now a good guy. However, Hisami is attacked with a biological weapon while walking into a Congressional Hearing where he is to testify. His lawyer sitting behind him dies and Hisami is rushed to the hospital in a coma, where he ultimately dies. In the meantime, Anastasia rekindles her love with Samson first with something they decide to call “Dream Sex” where I guess you either snore or pretend you are asleep. We are supposed to like these two? Also, in spite of the efforts of the US and British Intelligence Agencies trying to catch these two, they roam over international boundaries in the Baltic and Balkan States without being caught.
The evil person behind all this is Mila Daus a former Stasi, who somehow ends up in the US and is extremely wealthy (billionaire status) but no one seems to know her. Really. Rather than tormenting and torturing Germans she now is able to get members of Congress, the White House, Intelligence and Downing Street to do her bidding and share information all based upon them being compromised by young boys or young girls. This information she passes on to the Russians. When our two lovers appear in the same Congressional Hearing a few days later they are able to finger the vile Mila who has been lured into the hearing but escapes and makes it to Cuba. All in all this book just doesn’t hold up. It is too bad I think there might have been a good story here, if had been more credible.

The third book to feature Paul Samson. I read the first, Firefly, and quite enjoyed it, the second, White Hot Silence, passed me by. Really to get the most out of this you do need to have read both of the first two as some characters are linked through the books.
I have to admit finding it slightly hard going. Samson seems a different character now and is not overly engaging. It starts off well with Samson doing a job shadowing someone on behalf of the firm he now works for and then finding an old friend from his spying days, has been assassinated. Everything seems to link to a woman from Stasi days who may or may not still be alive, and if she is, she may be the spider in the web of a Russian intelligence gathering operation.
Good premise but held back by too much stilted dialogue and a lack of pace. Far too many characters to keep track of and not enough you cared about.
It does try to deliver a thoughtful and intelligent thriller but misses the target. “Firefly” had the unique perspective of a manhunt over a refugee migration, this didn’t really have an interesting core to hang the story off.

This is the third, and best of the Paul Samsom spy/intelligence thrillers and Henry Porter has really found a successful formula with this exceptional series.

The writing is fresh and lucid and the author has a deep knowledge of spy craft. The geographic descriptions are accurate, the characters well depicted, the plot is exciting, credible and drives you on and is totally relevant to what is happening in the world today.

What more do you really want in a thriller?

Highly recommended.