A Spy with Scruples

Very good story of an American student in Switzerland who marries a countess and then gets drafted. He goes to Germany to take tests and does so well that he is recruited to become a spy instead of going to fight in Vietnam. Under cover of being a journalist, he travels and investigates what's going on. Of course, he also has to be there for his wife and child...

It's 1964 and Scott Stoddard, an American graduate student in Geneva, has just married a wealthy countess, Desiree in Paris and they are honeymooning in Provence when Scott receives a draft notice. Desiree is three months pregnant, and they just want to be together and have fun. However, Scott reports to a base in Germany to get his physical and take some tests. Then, he needs to be tested again. It turns out that he has done so well on these tests that he is being recruited by the CIA.

Scott gives up his US citizenship and becomes a Swiss and French citizen. He begins writing articles for a left-wing newspaper complaining about the Vietnam War and other thinks and gets an in with German student activists and a left wing Paris group. Meanwhile, Desiree has the baby, Celene, and Scott would like to spend more time with them instead of bouncing back and forth to Berlin and Paris. He keeps asking his director in the CIA to be let off. He finally makes a plan which works.

The story is not really realistic, but it's a good yarn with humor, well told, and I enjoyed it.

As spy novels go, this one seems a bit on the bland side. Perhaps the world of spies is more like that which is described here than it is in the books and stories to which we are accustomed. It is not a fast paced story; it is, in human terms, very easy to accept. It is politically very interesting.

The Vietnam War Era was a fraught period in both American and world history. Keeping this time period in mind, the events leading to Scott Stoddard's recruitment seem more believable than I would believe could happen today. I found myself looking at the incidents told here from the point of view of a student (in 1964) and a member of the military (1966). By 1969, I found myself in a march against the war.

I believe that for at least the first two thirds of the book, I was leaning toward a 3-star review; however, upon completion and further reflection, and the very good writing, it does indeed deserve a 4-star rating.

Those of us who grew up reading Ian Fleming and Frederick Forsyth will inevitably look for action and nail biting situation in a spy thriller. Gary Dickson gives us a different look by providing a more mundane experience. A spy need not be capable of jumping tall buildings in a single bound, he can be a rather intelligent, albeit normal, guy who can get the job done and walk away unscathed.

A good read, entertaining and engrossing. I liked the vivid historical background, the cast of characters and the plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

While on his honeymoon Scott Stoddard receives notice to report for testing. He is a United States citizen living in Geneva going to school when he meets his wife, Desiree. In order not to be called up as a 1-A draftee he changes his citizenship from U.S. to Swiss and French. Then he starts doing journalism as a cover working for the the U.S. government. Scott makes himself known as a controversial figure to draw the attention of people the government is wanting to know more about. I thought the story was good but got a little drawn out in places.