Spy and Counterspy

It is the 1930s and the world seems headed for another war. The Soviet Union would welcome one. How else will the revolution dominate the world? The Soviets are expanding their spy networks in anticipation.

Every Spy a Traitor, by Alex Gerlis, follows two reluctant British recruits, code-named Archie and Bertie. Both are trapped into becoming spies.

In Archie’s case, university indiscretions are the lever used to gain cooperation. It takes little to gain his acquiescence and for reluctance to dissipate. He is sympathetic to Communism and his upper-class background gains entry to a position in the British intelligence structure, where he serves as a double agent.

Bertie is different. Solidly middle class, he is a reporter. An unexpected inheritance gives him financial independence. He decides to spend a year touring Europe, gaining material for a novel he hopes to write. While traveling he is lured to Moscow by the promise of great background material. While there, he signs a “book contract” that actually is a recruitment contract. He has agreed to spy for the Communists and is told if he tries to back out, the contract will be sent to the British government. He is told to return to England and serve as Archie’s assistant.

Bertie, Charles Cole, is resourceful and resentful. When he returns to England, he abandons his Cole identity, switching to Christopher Shaw. That is his middle name and the last name of his adoptive father — a name imposed upon him by his mother, which he previously resisted taking. Now it allows him to escape the Soviets.

All would be well, except for his feckless nature. He allows himself to be recruited by the Annexe, a British intelligence agency coordinating the work of other British intelligence agencies. His mission? To infiltrate the British Communists. Then the Soviets find him when he shops his novel to a Soviet-front book publisher. He finds himself serving two rival intelligence agencies, neither of which are aware he is working with the other. Meanwhile the British have learned about the existence of Archie, rumored to be hidden within Britain’s spy agencies.

Every Spy a Traitor is a fascinating book. Tautly plotted it is reminiscent of Graham Greene’s Cold War-era novels or Alan Furst’s works set before and during World War II. Neither main character is particularly likable, but both are intriguing. This is the first in a new trilogy by Gervis.

“Every Spy a Traitor,” by Alex Gerlis, Canelo, 2024, $7.99(E-book), $17.78 (audiobook)

This review was written by Mark Lardas, who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.