Watchman (Standard format, CD)

An early, Rebus-less spy thriller from Rankin (The Naming of the Dead, 2007, etc.), published for the first time in the United States.Miles Flint, a weary, aging dogsbody in MI5's surveillance-and-report unit (the "Watcher" service), decides to tag along and help tail "Latchkey," an Arab businessman who might have skulduggery in mind. Despite the surveillance, Latchkey bolts, leading to an Israeli decapitation and major cover-ups by several secret services, most of which attract attention from Flint, who suspects something fishy is going on. Soon Flint is on the run from those who want to silence him, a crowd that includes his superior Partridge; his wife's new romantic interest, his colleague Billy Monmouth; and Andrew Gray, who, with CIA backing, has several informants on his payroll. Flint is sent packing to Belfast, supposedly to oversee the apprehension of some IRA terrorists, but the fix is in, and the beleaguered watcher must flee with Will Collins, one of the pair whose arrest he was supposed to be witnessing. The two piece together a saga of frayed allegiances, self-aggrandizement and chicanery that began with an assassination and spanned the career of an MP on a security-funding commission before winding up as a four-part investigative series in a London daily.Not as stylishly compelling as Rankin's later efforts, but a gritty appraisal of the bomb-wielding miasma of the 1980s and a highly readable explanation of the demons that drive zealots to switch sides. (Kirkus Reviews)

Bombs are exploding in the streets of London, but life seems to have planted more subtle booby-traps for Miles Flint. Miles is a spy. His job is to watch and to listen, then to report back to his superiors, nothing more. The job, affording glimpses into the most private lives of his victims, appeals to Miles. He doesn't lust after promotion, and he doesn't want action. He wants, just for once, not to botch a case. Having lost one suspect - with horrific consequences - Miles becomes too involved with another, a young Irishwoman. His marriage seems ready to crumble to dust. So does his home. But Miles is given one last chance for redemption - a trip to Belfast, which quickly becomes a flight of terror, murder and shocking discoveries. But can the voyeur survive in a world of violent action?

General

Imprint:	Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	2004
Authors:	Ian Rankin
Readers:	Roger Allam
Dimensions:	148 x 129 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Standard format
Disks:	5
Pages:	256
Running time:	360 minutes
ISBN-13:	978-0-7528-6123-4
Categories:	Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Crime & mystery > General Promotions
LSN:	0-7528-6123-9
Barcode:	9780752861234

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