Dear Great Book Guru, I read in today’s paper that spy novelist John Le Carre died over the weekend. While a big fan of his books and movies over the years, I don’t think I have read his latest work. Are you familiar with it and - if so - would you recommend it?  Sanguine for Spies

Dear Sanguine for Spies, I too am a fan of John Carre and just recently read his last work: AGENT RUNNING IN THE FIELD.  It is set in 2018 and touches on many of the moral and political issues facing both the UK and the US. The hero of the novel is Nat, a forty-seven-year-old member of the British Secret Intelligence Service - MI6.  A British citizen, he grew up in France and is the son of a Scottish aristocrat and Russian exile.  While in Cambridge, he was recruited by MI6 where he met Prue, a young lawyer. When we meet him, the couple has been married for many years and his time as a double agent throughout Eastern Europe has badly damaged their relationship. His passion – outside of work - is badminton. When he is challenged by Ed, a young player, Nat quickly accepts only to find himself enmeshed in Ed’s obsessive preoccupation with the ravages of Brexit and British decline. When he is offered a shabby assignment in London, Nat reluctantly accepts, knowing his and Britain’s best days are long over. A stunning indictment of present-day politics and highly recommended!