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Watchman
by
Ian Rankin
From #1 international bestseller Ian Rankin, an unlucky spy gets one last chance at redemption.
Miles Flint is a spy who has been making some serious mistakes. His last assignment led to the death of a foreign official in London, and after getting too close to his current subject he wound up in police custody. But something is wrong at the agency that has nothing to do wit...more
Miles Flint is a spy who has been making some serious mistakes. His last assignment led to the death of a foreign official in London, and after getting too close to his current subject he wound up in police custody. But something is wrong at the agency that has nothing to do wit...more
Hardcover, 258 pages
Published
December 11th 2007
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published January 18th 1990)
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Years after writing this novel and The Flood, Ian Rankin created the Rebus books and became the UK's biggest-selling crime writer. In Scotland, he has become a cultural icon. I haven't read any of the Rebus novels, and so can't comment on them (other than saying the TV versions were excellent). I did read and enjoy The Flood last year; its settings and characters were vivid, authentic and inspired. Not so with Watchman, which features a clichéd plot involving secret agents, black budgets, vague...more
Ian Rankin's second book, published in 1988 when he was fresh out of university and testing the direction his writing would take. This edition includes his introduction written in 2003 after he had re-read the book. He seems fairly pleased with it and offers some personal background to the writing of it, which I found interesting.
I enjoyed this spy story. There is a brooding, unsettled atmosphere in London and Ireland at the time of the IRA bombing campaign. The main character is Miles Flint, a...more
I enjoyed this spy story. There is a brooding, unsettled atmosphere in London and Ireland at the time of the IRA bombing campaign. The main character is Miles Flint, a...more
Jan 30, 2013
Helen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
modern-mystery
It's not really a mystery, more a spy/suspense/thriller. Unlike Rankin's later books it is set mostly in London with forays to Ireland, Edinburgh and the Dordogne. I find it easier to sympathise with Miles Flint than with Rebus, even though Miles is just as stumble footed as Rebus.In fact poor Miles is forever having someone reveal to him how transparent his ploys are to those around him. At the beginning he mentions that he always manages to drop a piece of cutlery in a restaurant so as to chec...more
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As a fan of both crime fiction and Scottish fiction, I've always been meaning to give Ian Rankin another go. Years ago, I read his first Rebus book, Knots and Crosses, didn't really care for it, and never returned to him. This republication of his 1988 espionage novel (his second book) caught my eye, so I thought I'd try him again. The story revolves around Miles Flint, a blandly unmemorable mid-level surveillance expert (aka "Watchman") for MI5 (Britain's rough equivalent to the FBI).
When the s...more
When the s...more
This book surprised me; it's very, very well done, both by the writer and the reader. Rankin wrote it in 1988, and this audio version begins with Rankin describing how he wrote it as a newlywed--fast and obsessively. He notes how the world has changed since that time. For example, spies had no portable electronic devices...no mobile phones, no laptops. This makes spying easier in some ways, harder in others.
The title alludes to the main character's job as "watcher" for MI5. He prides himself on...more
The title alludes to the main character's job as "watcher" for MI5. He prides himself on...more
Feb 05, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
added it
Before he became known for his Inspector Rebus series, Ian Rankin was a newly married writer trying his hand at spy novels. Watchman reveals a master at the start of his game. Inspired by John le Carr
I could have gone with 2 stars, but if anyone who wasn't already a Rankin fan read this, they probably wouldn't become one/touch his books again, and if anyone who already was read it, they'd know that the books he wrote later would be better. So. There's this 'spy' and he gets involved in some stuff, accidentally, because he doesn't want to go home to his wife, who knows he's a spy, but he doesn't know she knows. And then. Things happen and they don't make much sense. He gets sent to Ireland. A...more
I discovered an earlier Ian Rankin book 'Watchman ' ,that I had not read. His earlier works seem to have a touch of John LeCarre in them....not that that's bad ! 'Watchman ' is a nuanced English mystery filled with 'moles' operating within the Intelligence community. In the eighties, when this was written, England was not only interested in international intrigue but also terror attacks by the IRA.
Miles Flint finds himself immersed in this mixed intrigue, when an Israeli is murdered on his watc...more
Miles Flint finds himself immersed in this mixed intrigue, when an Israeli is murdered on his watc...more
Another of Ian Rankin classic. Not Rebus this time. The book is based on the exploits of an unheroic hero, Miles Flint, who works in the Secret Service. Miles has been a passive observer for most of his life. Now faced with a crumbling marriage he spends as much time as possible watching. In the process he bungles when watching an Arab and this leads to the killing of an Israeli middleman by the Arab. The books is based around the time IRA was active in England and had launched several bomb atta...more
Here's an image. One of the, what, agents?, is composing a computer game on "firm" time (so to speak). All he has to do is finish the game, sell it, and he can get out. So he has a nightmare. He's inside the game. And, horror of horrors, some fool is playing it--making the typical mistakes that a player would make. The poor guy is so screwed!
Ok, that was just a glimpse into Rankin's mind & how it works. This is a spy story, which is just not my thing at all. I would have just passed over it,...more
Ok, that was just a glimpse into Rankin's mind & how it works. This is a spy story, which is just not my thing at all. I would have just passed over it,...more
I nearly gave it just two stars, as I found it did not give enough information to draw the reader into the plot and seemed amateur in consequence. In thrillers, I think the reader has to get close enough to the twists and turns to be able to puzzle them out without it being too easy. In this plot everything was mystery, and I didn't care enough to get frustrated. All is revealed in the end.
The reason I gave it that extra star was for the touch of brilliance in the writing, the occasional quirky...more
The reason I gave it that extra star was for the touch of brilliance in the writing, the occasional quirky...more
(Note: review is for audio version)
Wow! And I mean WOW!!!!! This was one of, if not the best espionage books I've read in a long time. Seriously, this isas good as better than the best Lecarre John.
Everything about it works. There are enough twists to keep you guessing AND guessing some more, but not too many. The main character is dead interesting. He's plain. He's ordinary. He's incredible. The bad guy(s)...oops can't say much about them or will give it away.
Just give it a go. You won't be di...more
Wow! And I mean WOW!!!!! This was one of, if not the best espionage books I've read in a long time. Seriously, this is
Everything about it works. There are enough twists to keep you guessing AND guessing some more, but not too many. The main character is dead interesting. He's plain. He's ordinary. He's incredible. The bad guy(s)...oops can't say much about them or will give it away.
Just give it a go. You won't be di...more
If you like the spy novels of John LeCarre and Graham Greene, you will probably like this book, an updated spy novel of psychology and betrayal.
No Cold War Russians, but plenty of 80's terrorism in England, Ireland, Scotland.
Miles Flint is a surveillance watcher, a waning civil servant who also studies beetles. His career and life are decaying slowly, and on an accidental job, things go wrong, which sets off a chain of events to put Miles in great jeopardy.
While I'm not very enamored of the ge...more
No Cold War Russians, but plenty of 80's terrorism in England, Ireland, Scotland.
Miles Flint is a surveillance watcher, a waning civil servant who also studies beetles. His career and life are decaying slowly, and on an accidental job, things go wrong, which sets off a chain of events to put Miles in great jeopardy.
While I'm not very enamored of the ge...more
Like any good Spy or MI5 novel, this one also starts with a bang. Although the story is full of ploys, conspiracy and intrigues and keeps you guessing till the end, I must admit that my mind wondered at times. Perhaps I was expecting too much of Mills Flint, in my opinion he is definitely not a James Bond or not even a Jack Ryan but his character is lovable in his own way and of course he comes out of situations without a scratch, Oh! by the way he also doesn't sail in the sunset with a young be...more
This is the first Ian Rankin that I have read that is about spies and I quite enjoyed it, although I sometimes had trouble remembering all the names, as to who was whom. Miles Flint, the main character, is a "Watchman", or on the surveillance detail. He has trouble on the job and in his personal life, but is an interesting character, who morphs into rather a different individual as the plot changes and life becomes more dangerous for him due to hidden agendas within the agency.
It was an interest...more
It was an interest...more
An early one from Rankin, a standalone spy novel written between writing the first and second Rebus novels. As it's the first book by Rankin I've read, I can't say how it compares with his series or later work, but I found it an enjoyable read in its own right. It was written in 1988 and is very much a period piece, not least because the setting is London during an IRA bombing campaign. The titular Watchman is a member of MI5's Watcher Service. His job is to do just that -- watch people and note...more
Apr 01, 2013
Anirudh Parthasarathy
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-owned
Watchman is a novel written by the British crime novelist, Ian Rankin, famous for authoring the John Rebus series. This is his third novel, released in 1989. The book does not feature Ian Rankin's most famous character John Rebus but a similar character named Miles Flint. This novel is a stand alone as of now (and presumably, will remain one).
Miles Flint is a spy, working for the MI5. The story takes place in London (as far as I know, this is one of the two plots of Ian Rankin which takes place...more
Miles Flint is a spy, working for the MI5. The story takes place in London (as far as I know, this is one of the two plots of Ian Rankin which takes place...more
Tussendoor nog de tijd gevonden om Watchman (1988) van Ian Rankin te lezen. Het boek was meer dan vijftien jaar moeilijk te vinden (verkopers die beschikten over een origineel exemplaar deden naar verluid goede zaken op eBay), maar werd een paar jaar geleden opnieuw uitgebracht. Dat Rankin intussen zowat de bestverkopende detectiveschrijver van de UK is zal er ook wel voor iets tussenzitten. Hij schreef deze spionagethriller tussen zijn eerste twee Rebus-romans, en het is dan ook duidelijk dat h...more
I had never heard of Ian Rankin before, but found this book prominently displayed in the bookstore under "New Releases" in mystery. The book is not really a new release, nor is it a mystery. It was initially released in 1988 but the first American release was in 2007. This review is like a euology for a person dead twenty years.
The novel is a spy thriller that takes place in the UK in the era of IRA bombings and prior to cell phones and ubiquitous video surveillance. The central character is Mi...more
The novel is a spy thriller that takes place in the UK in the era of IRA bombings and prior to cell phones and ubiquitous video surveillance. The central character is Mi...more
As I am truly a Rankin fan I wanted to read this book. Despite finding the numerous characters a bit hard to follow in the beginning and being a bit frustrsted by this, in true Ian Rankin style everyone finally took their places as the scene was set and the action began. I liked how all the questions were answered leaving no character dangling. Quite fond of Miles and liked that the writer made all the players real from Sheila, Stevens to Collins...I even felt I understood various motivations an...more
This book probably deserves a poor rating. Except for a few things: One of which was the ending, which was satisfying. I also liked the characterization of the hero with his passion for beetles. Fortunately, the book is short, so it gets to the ending quickly. Unfortunately, the first two-thirds of the book could have been a lot better. The story was fairly dull until the end.
Contains all the expected spy elements: career hidden from family; unexpected turn of events with loads of coincidences; a person whose abilities are greater than his training granted. The thing that made this story stick out is the fact that all problems cone from enemies within. In all situations it is the people within the same organization who will cause the greatest challenges.
I really want to be an Ian Rankin fan but it just hasn't happened yet. I couldn't really get into this book. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if I took the time to read more than a few pages at a time. There were a lot of characters and a lot of different things going on and I just couldn't keep it all straight. I'm going to give Rankin another try and hopefully my opinion will be different.
This is a book about watchers and spies and ultimately about the personal motivations that lead to a series of "hits" on various people that Flint works with or has been assigned to watch for the Mia.
Kind of a sleeper through the first part in which Flint is doing the watching or spying, but then murders begin to happen and he takes on a new role...3 solid
Kind of a sleeper through the first part in which Flint is doing the watching or spying, but then murders begin to happen and he takes on a new role...3 solid
I was a little worried when I started this book, as Rankin had sort of dissed it. It is an early book of his, before the Rebus popularity, and he says not much of a success. However, this is one of the best spy books I have read in a long time. And it all goes together, no loose ends. If you like cloak and dagger, you should try this book!
Passed the time. Pleasant story, but dated, which I knew going in. Interesting to read seemingly contemporary espionage with no cell phones and no internet. And the plot hinges on a potential "scandal" that seems rather tame by today's POV. I ended up finding the premise--long-time observer drawn into action--more interesting than the plot.
Rankin wrote this early in his career and could have continued in the spy genre with success. I enjoyed this novel and would have liked seeing more development of the character and life of Miles Flint. I kept thinking of those old movies starring James Coburn, In Like Flint as I listened. John Lee's voice was spectacular to listen to.
This is one of Rankin's early books. It is not from the Inspector Rebus series. I sometimes enjoy reading an author's early work, it is interesting to see how their writing skills have grown over time. Even though this book was not quite as well crafted as his later works, it was a decent read and an intriging spy novel.
It took me a while to get into this book. I think the spy world was a bit shady for me as it took me ages to remember who everyone was. Once he got over to Northern Ireland though the book moved on like an express train out of control. It hasn't got the finesse of Rankin's later books but was a good read all the same.
I had my reservations about this book a) because it is very early work of Rankin and b) for the Northern Ireland angle. I have to say that the author handled NI aspect with a lot more tact than many other non-locals.
The spy story is rather clever and tied up properly. I wouldn't suggest starting here if this is your first non-Rebus Rankin As the cover of my old paperback (1990) says Rankin is a real talent.
The spy story is rather clever and tied up properly. I wouldn't suggest starting here if this is your first non-Rebus Rankin As the cover of my old paperback (1990) says Rankin is a real talent.
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AKA Jack Harvey.
Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into twenty-two languages and are bestsellers on several continents.
Ian Rankin has be...more
More about Ian Rankin...
Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into twenty-two languages and are bestsellers on several continents.
Ian Rankin has be...more
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