The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John le Carré - 4 1/2 stars

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Blurb: Alex Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, he's been out in the cold for years, spying in Berlin for his British masters, and has seen too many good agents murdered for their troubles. Now Control wants to bring him in at last - but only after one final assignment.

He must travel deep into the heart of Communist Germany and betray his country, a job that he will do with his usual cynical professionalism. But when George Smiley tries to help a young woman Leamas has befriended, Leamas's mission may prove to be the worst thing he could ever have done.

In le Carré's breakthrough work of 1963, the spy story is reborn as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining.

With a new introduction by William Boyd and an afterword by Le Carré himself.

Review: I enjoyed this one, and it was the obvious choice for this tag with le Carré's death on Sunday. I must admit to not getting everything - this is partly due to reading it between 2 and 5 this morning (one of my health conditions is playing me up), but also for not reading the series in order.