The Secret Lovers (Paul Christopher #3) in Espionage Aficionados

Jun 22, 2012 Feliks rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-thrillers

Its very difficult to combine romance and espionage effectively. Many, many spy novelists attempt it and fail. But 'The Secret Lovers' is one which achieves what it sets out to do. Not only does it succeed --it really sets the bar for any other such novel. It is really almost a romance-story with just a touch of espionage thrown in. It feels like a real-life love story, comes across extremely personal and confessional. You feel as if you're reading a diary, or private correspondence.

You might as Its very difficult to combine romance and espionage effectively. Many, many spy novelists attempt it and fail. But 'The Secret Lovers' is one which achieves what it sets out to do. Not only does it succeed --it really sets the bar for any other such novel. It is really almost a romance-story with just a touch of espionage thrown in. It feels like a real-life love story, comes across extremely personal and confessional. You feel as if you're reading a diary, or private correspondence.

You might assume only John leCarre writes 'psychology-based' espionage. But Len Deighton does so (in the Bernard Samson series) and Charles McCarry does so here. 'Secret Lovers' is one of my favorite modern novels, period; in addition to being a gem in the espionage genre. It is unique, and deserves to stand alongside the best of either of the other two giants I just mentioned. McCarry absolutely puts himself in their class with this title.

The plot is besides-the-point of the *feelings* explored in this tale. The issues are intimate. The dilemma is essentially this: exactly how should individuals who work in clandestine service, manage their private relationships? Loving relationships are supposed to be open and trusting. No restrictions or boundaries.

But when you work in security, it is anathema to let slip any info which you do not absolutely need to. These type of personnel live in 'nested shells' of access-and-denial: like a Faberge egg.

Can a relationship progress with such inherent secrecy involved? Can you live with someone without offering full disclosure? Can you forbid your lover important parts of yourself? 'Secret Lovers' is one of the very few works of espionage which can be taken as the best kind of illuminating, penetrating, romantic fiction: the kind you might find in an Anne Beattie novel.

The prose is lyrical and poetic, the moods and words of the two lovers lingers in the mind poignantly and long after the read is over. Sublime, and beautiful; savory, and bittersweet; with rich vocabulary and haunting imagery.

Worth coming back to, for many return reads. ...more

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Feb 09, 2013 KOMET rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-espionage-thriller, charles-mccarry

This is the second Charles McCarry novel in the Paul Christopher series that I've read, and it had more twists and turns than any roller coaster I remember holding on to for dear life. It is 1960 and Christopher, a polyglot CIA agent working in Covert Action (CA), has met on a West Berlin street in the wee hours of the morning with Horst Bülow, one of his contacts. Bülow, an erstwhile Abwehr agent (i.e. the German military intelligence arm during the Nazi era), had travelled over from East Berli ...more

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Mar 24, 2016 Ric rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

(This October of the Pandemic year 2020 I started reading the Paul Christopher series in sequence from Book 1 to 10 spanning original publication dates from 1974 to 2007)

I first read Book in 2016 having just discovered this American author of spy novels. It still delivers an evocative experience though not as striking as the first read. Some of the details of the plot now seem much clearer, especially the characters. What confused me previously was the changing names of the novel's personnel and (This October of the Pandemic year 2020 I started reading the Paul Christopher series in sequence from Book 1 to 10 spanning original publication dates from 1974 to 2007)

I first read Book in 2016 having just discovered this American author of spy novels. It still delivers an evocative experience though not as striking as the first read. Some of the details of the plot now seem much clearer, especially the characters. What confused me previously was the changing names of the novel's personnel and the various story lines as the author moved back forth in the timeline. Anyway, the key impression carried over from the first read, that of changing mores, is even more strongly reinforced on the second pass. A stark indicator is how society and governments view and deal with homosexuality.

The new impression I have from this second read is how the author loves to weave tales. For several characters, he goes back to their formative tears to try and explain their behavior in the present tense of the novel. They all tend to be colorful. I think the best time to read a literary spy novel such as this is during late fall or early winter, when the lengthening days invite one to cozy up with the flights of fancy of great storytellers.

I forgot about the plot twist at the end of the book and so enjoyed the final reveal as much now than I did then.

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Review from March, 2016

Spy story, told in wonderfully nuanced prose.

This starts out as a love story, which in the loveless, trust-free lives of spooks can only mean it will end in tragedy. There are several lovers - the American spymaster, Paul Christopher, a recurring character in this series of books by Charles McCarry and his flighty, unfaithful wife Cathy; Otto Rothschild, aging agent, mentor to Christopher, and his very young spouse; Kaminsky, Russian author whose partner is perhaps his native Russia; Cathy and her cadre of occasional lovers. Take your pick. In fact, the real secret lovers are revealed later in the book. The withholding of this fact until very near the end is very spook-ish, just the kind of thing that make spy books so engaging. And even later, it comes to light that the author had a double entendre in mind, for in fact the central theme of the book is the nature of the spy as lover of secrets.

This, my second book by the author, and reading the series off sequence, was just perfect for a late winter read. The tragedy of the untrusting nature of the spy seeking love in their lives is a theme just ripe for literary picking. I thought this book might bear similarities to John le Carré's Smiley's People but, in fact, it is a different treatment, for here the nature of the spymaster is unrelenting, overwhelming any hope for that human aspiration to love and be loved.

It would take a certain frame of mind to truly like this book, a willingness to let the author lead the way in his unhurried fashion, a receptiveness to the nuances of culture and insights, the hunger to be surprised and led down unknown paths. And of course, to re-live the bad old days of the Cold War. Recommended to fans of spy stories written as great literature. ...more

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Jun 16, 2017 Bradley West rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thrillers

I'm a big fan of Charles McCarry's The Tears of Autumn and The Last Supper. So when a friend urged me to read The Secret Lovers next, I was primed to go. From the outset I was disappointed at the painfully slow pace at which the various story lines unfolded. Le Carre mastered the art of the excruciatingly-slow-reveal that still kept readers up late, followed by Len Deighton in his Game, Set and Match trilogy. McCarry writes well and I like Paul Christopher . . . but not enough to slog on beyond ...more

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May 23, 2017 Michael Martz rated it it was amazing

A great, old-school spy novel by the wonderful Charles McCarry. The 'Secret Lovers' is a look at a complex investigation back in the Cold War era using techniques that involved more thinking than today's data-based approach. Interesting plot, steady pace, great characters, fine tradecraft, tremendous writing...excellent! ...more

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Dec 20, 2014 Nooilforpacifists rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller, cold-war-fiction

Wow. First I've read of his since I was a lad. ...more

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Jan 22, 2015 Sandi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, crime-mystery-thriller-suspense, read-2015

A good Cold War spy story though I have enjoyed the other books in the series more. The plot was plenty complicated but one of the female characters was particularly grating and unrealistic compared to the others in the book. Listened to the audio version which was read by Stefan Rudnicki.

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