Spooks: Harry's Diary

Spooks #2

by Harry Pearce, Kudos

Read the innermost thoughts of the enigmatic leader of the Spooks team, Harry Pearce, in Headline's second, fantastic book about the hit BBC television series.

Harry Pearce is the enigmatic leader of the Spooks team. Mature and wise with unrivalled experience of dealing with the most senior members of the government and the intelligence community, Harry also has a healthy regard for courage, lateral thinking and mischief-making.
Unknown to the rest of the team, it will come to light that Harry has been keeping a diary throughout his career at MI5. Whether this was eventually intended for publication or not is unclear, but it will chronicle in minute detail exactly what Harry was doing in his early career and how this lead to him heading up the Spooks team. It will also fill out the back story of what Harry thinks about the major operations that we have seen played out on the screen and what he has done to help his team behind the scenes.
With topics ranging from what mission Harry was on in Northern Ireland to how he felt when Tom left and Danny died, HARRY'S SECRET DIARY will prove to be a fascinating insight into the world of Spooks.

Genres: Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2007

About the author

Sir Henry James "Harry" Pearce, KBE is the fictional head of the counter-terrorism department ("Section D") of MI5, as featured in the British television series Spooks.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really surprised that I enjoyed this book so much. I really didn't think it would be so interesting and engaging. Though I should have known given the success of the tv series and how interesting the plots are that this book would be equal to it. It was really fun to read all the background info and understand the character more. I am however thoroughly embarrassed that I'm actually writing a review for a book that is based off a tv show and a book that most likely no one else will read unless they are a crazy obsessed fan of the series like myself. But I enjoyed it and that's what matters. ;)

[Jeremy Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the diary of a fictional MI5 spy from a TV show in the UK called Spooks. I picked this up from a book fair in a rush as time was running out, and thought it was non-fiction. After 20 pages I clued in that this was way too perfect to be real, but it was entertaining enough, so I kept reading it.

As this goes all the way back to the 70s, the author has incredible hindsight, which he wields a little too much. The spy recounts MI5's thoughts and actions before historical events, and sometimes this can be on the nose -- such as putting together a plan for how Princess Diana could die in a car accident and how they'd react to it, or having the protagonist predict threats to national security through intuition.

There's also a recurring joke in which one diary entry will finish with a line like "We're very prepared, nothing can breach our defences" only for the next entry to start with "Welp... Our defences were breached."

But niggles aside, it was a fun read, even though I've never even heard of the TV show.

[Cat {Pemberley and Beyond} · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've wanted to read this book for a while as the original TV series was really good and I've been searching for things that remind me of home and my misbegotten youth since moving.

This book did not disappoint- I could totally imagine Harry Pearce writing this! There were wry observations, rather groovy words (such as 'bibulous'. When's the last time you've seen 'bibulous' casually dropped into a piece of 21st century text without feeling forced?) and an amazing summary of what's been going in the world in the last 37 years.

My one criticism of this book is that it doesn't entirely tie in with the plot revelations of Spooks (especially those of the last series). Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this and wish that I could re-watch all the episodes of Spooks right now.

[mussolet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for all fans of the show! I especially liked the fact that real events like the American offensive against Afghanistan were also described; it added to the feeling that this was a real diary that somebody like Harry might have written; it also helped to understand the situation the show was exploring at the time. And it's great to read about it now, it gives the reader a chance to sort out their own knowledge as well. Loved this book! (Especially when he was mentioning Ruth, of course^^.)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The untold story of Harry Pearce, his career, back story and his rise to Head of Section D. Sheds light on many of our favourite "Spooks" characters- and made me even more desperate for him to get back with Ruth, somehow, some way.
If a "Spooks" fan, you'll enjoy every minute, but if not, don't bother.

[Gretel]

The Best :)