Guest Post: Matthew Dunn, author of The Spy Thief - Sunday Salon

 

Matthew Dunn

Guest Post for Harvee Lau, Book Dilettante

When I wrote The Spy Thief I had certain objectives, all of which were secondary to my overarching desire to tell what I believed was a gripping tale. I am, after all, a storyteller. But the secondary objectives were real and as follows –ground the story in an espionage realism not seen elsewhere in current spy fiction; make it a completely immersive experience across all the senses; give the reader more than he or she expects or needs; and provide a motivation for my antagonist which has hitherto not been seen in fiction before.

I’m a former spy who spent many years working for Great Britain’s MI6 – the equivalent of America’s CIA, France’s DGSE, Israel’s Mossad, and Russia’s SVR, although MI6 is the oldest truly global overseas intelligence service and created the foundations for the secret world. For many years, I covertly travelled the world, confronting highly complex and fraught matters pertaining to the national security of my country and its allies. The term “spy” is often misused. Despite protestations to the contrary, there aren’t that many spies, at least not in accordance to the professional definition of the cadre. And the number of former spies writing books is miniscule. In Britain, I’m the only ex-spy writing fiction. I suspect that in America there are only a handful of former CIA officers writing stories. So, there are a tiny bunch of ex-spooks out there crafting fiction and it would be understandable to imagine that we have the monopoly on writing spy novels. We don’t and nor should we. Being a former spy means that I have a steady hand when it comes to writing about all matters espionage. But, all good authors have imaginations, are intelligent, and these days have easy access to openly-available research material. One doesn’t have to have been a spy to write a cracking spy novel. The late and great John le Carré was an MI6 officer before becoming a renowned author. But, Alan Furst is also a magnificent spy author, and he never spied in his life.  

Where I do have something to say on the dreaded word “realism” is that I’ve seen, heard, touched, smelled, and felt the secret world. I know from first-hand experience what it’s like to deal with the human condition when it’s tested to the limit in the shadows. In The Spy Thief I portray a raft of emotions, and they include those that are reactions to the most extreme events. I would hope that my readers can tell such scenes are written by an author who has manifold memories cascading through his head as his fingers tap the keyboard. The Spy Thief allows the reader a glimpse into my head. But it’s not just a “look”. I want all of the reader’s senses engaged. Thus, I’ve written the book in a certain way and with key content that hopefully ensures the reader is in the secret world and all that it contains.

The starting point for The Spy Thief project was a photograph. In 1965, my father was fresh off the boat from his last voyage, in a fifteen-year globe-navigating career in the merchant navy. He gravitated to London which, at the time, felt like “spy-central”. The Soviet Union was having an impact on British fiction, fact, and fashion. That year, cinemas were showing The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, The Ipcress File, and Dr Zhivago; the Cold War was at its peak; in London and elsewhere, people wore clothes that made them look like they were about to stab someone with a poison-umbrella. My father took his photo while strolling through a London park with his flatmate. By his own admission, the shot was a fluke. But he thought, and I concur, that the photo really captured the feel of a spy story. For years I wanted to use the photo on the cover of one of my books. The challenge was marrying the photo with the right story. Finally, I created the right story. The result is The Spy Thief.  

I’ve always set myself the highest standards and am my biggest critic. That applies to my work as an author. I constantly tell myself that readers deserve better than what I’m doing, better than what others are doing. I’m a perfectionist, and make no apologies for being that way. That doesn’t mean I always achieve what I strive to accomplish. But, I relentlessly give it my best shot and am never complacent. In The Spy Thief, I believe that I have achieved what I set out to do. In my opinion, it is my best work and I’m proud of the story. I want to test my readers, take them away from the norm, and give them a wholly unexpected and captivating odyssey.

I sincerely hope that my loyal readers and new readers enjoy the novel.

 Matthew Dunn

August 2021   

 

The Spy Thief (Ben Sign Mystery #5) by Matthew Dunn, August 2, 2021, ebook

The most vital secrets of Great Britain are being stolen and sold to hostile foreign agencies. The perpetrator is a ruthless high-ranking British official, code name The Thief.... Brilliant strategist and former MI6 spy Ben Sign is commissioned to investigate the security breach and neutralise The Thief. Sign realises he is facing the most formidable opponent he has ever encountered.(publisher)

Author Bio

Matthew Dunn is a former MI6 British Intelligence officer. He spent many years operating in deep-cover alias roles in overseas locations, often in hostile territories. His work as a spy required him to obtain secrets from hostile regimes, agencies, and individuals. He specifically targeted the highest echelons of rogue states and in doing so supported and directly influenced the national security effort of Great Britain and its allies. He retired from MI6 ten years ago and became a bestselling author. To date he has written 14 published novels, including the “Ben Sign” spy series and “Spycatcher” series. His latest novel is The Spy Thief, the 5^th standalone novel in the Ben Sign series, exclusive to Amazon in e-book and paperback format. 

 

Author Social Media Links

THE SPY THIEF:

https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Thief-Sign-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B09BT5HTK1/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+spy+thief&qid=1628170906&sr=8-1

 AMAZON:

https://www.amazon.com/Matthew-Dunn/e/B004EHL8EM%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

 https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMI6

 https://www.instagram.com/matthewdunnauthor/

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-dunn-30731a17/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5395765.Matthew_Dunn

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/matthewdunnauthor/_created/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmjGu6yrTlQp9uvzaABzHxQ

https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/matthew-dunn

Thanks to the author, Matthew Dunn, for giving us a look into the writer's mind, with his British intelligence background and  intimate knowledge of the people in the world of international espionage. 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon

Book Reviews: Dark Spies by Matthew Dunn; and Dog Beach by John Fusco

Brief reviews of two excellent thrillers:

Dark Spies (Spycatcher #4) by Matthew Dunn
To be published October 7, 2014; William Morrow

I've enjoyed all Dunn's Spycatcher thrillers. The action is superb though a bit violent in parts but the plot is excellent. 

Intelligence operative Will Cochrane is hunted by his former bosses, the CIA, for having disobeyed orders on a mission, even though he did so to save the life of another CIA operative under fire.  There is more going on, however, and Will is determined to find out what, as he risks his life to get back incognito to Washington D.C. and the mysterious Project Ferryman files. 

I rated this 4.5 stars on goodreads
I received a review ARC/galley from the publisher. 

Dog Beach by John Fusco
Published September 9th 2014 by Touchstone
Genre: action, thriller

Story of an aging Hong Kong stuntman being chased by the Chinese triads in California reminds me of Jackie Chan, who could play the part if this were a film. This thriller set in Malibu is written by a screenwriter who has written the sequel to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

I rated this 4 stars on goodreads. 
I received a review ARC/galley  from the publisher.

Interview with Matthew Dunn, author of the spy novel, Slingshot

My review of the political thriller Slingshot has this accompanying Q and A with British author Matthew Dunn which was not posted but which I am now printing here.

About Slingshot: Master spy Will Cochrane must catch a missing Russian defector as well as one of Europe’s deadliest assassins in this action-packed follow-up to previous novels in the series, Spycatcher and Sentinel.

Former MI6 agent and author of the Spycatcher series, Matthew Dunn gives readers a peek into his former life.

 1. How did you conceive of the character Will Cochrane? How is he like you, at least you when you were working? How is he different?

 I wanted to create a character who personified the reality of intelligence work that operatives do in the field – the loneliness, the requirement to make tough decisions on the ground without being able to call for support from headquarters, the moral ambiguities of those decisions, the strong intellectual prowess, and the relentless mindset. An operative also needs a tough body, yet one that can be filled with both love and respect for the people around him. Cochrane is a lot like me when I was in MI6, though his family background is different. I’m now ten years older than he is, have two children, am recently married, and write for a living. I’m no longer Will Cochrane.

 2. Do you see writing spy novels as a way to shed light on popular misconceptions or educate readers about the realities of international politics today?

 In essence, there are two primary activities of spy agencies: the long-game of running foreign spies to obtain intelligence that can inform the foreign policies of the agency’s government; and covert, frequently extremely violent, paramilitary actions. The primacy of either activity ebbs and flows depending on the circumstances of the times. During the Cold War, all sides knew that pulling a gun was counterproductive as there was a standoff on all levels. Since then, things have been very different and that was reflected in my work as an operative, though I was also very involved in the running of foreign assets and at one time was living under deep cover with 15 different alias identities. My novels are fiction of course, but they reflect what can and does happen in the field, all of which never makes the papers unless something goes terribly wrong. Even then there are mechanisms in place to block or misdirect public scrutiny. The biggest misconception about the reality of espionage is that it is not exciting and extremely dangerous. That is very wrong. My novels reflect the realities of being in the field. I have no point to make, beyond telling it how it is.

 3. While you probably can’t get too specific about this, how do you translate your experiences as an MI6 agent into the scenes and characters in your novels?

 One of the joys of writing fiction is that I can disguise my experiences inside a fictional tale. In SLINGSHOT, you’ll read about real events and people. The names of the people have obviously been changed, and the events take place in different locations and under different circumstances. I will leave it to readers to attempt to deduce truth from fiction. When I write, I see everything through the prism of being an MI6 officer. A frequent question I will ask myself is, “what would I have done?’ It’s a useful question and there is often no right or wrong answer, just as it is in the field when you’re an operative and you’re faced with intractable problems. Will Cochrane makes mistakes, as I have done in real life, has to recover from those mistakes, and has to keep going. The people I write about are similar to people I know. The events are similar to those that I and others have been in. That’s the world I know. I concede it’s very different from the world that most others know.

 4. From James Bond to Will Cochrane, what do you think accounts for the timeless appeal of fiction featuring dashing spies?

 Though I never wrote the Spycatcher series with comparisons in mind to Bond (or for that matter, at the opposite end of the spectrum, John le Carré’s George Smiley), it is understandable that comparisons are made. I write my novels with a contemporary and very precise understanding of espionage and for that reason Cochrane is different to other fictional espionage characters. Regardless, all share in common a dislocation from the real world in favor of an understanding of a very real, yet secret world that is all pervasive and often deadly. Such characters' ability to operate in that world, and to be supremely intelligent, often charming, frequently deadly, is very intriguing. But more than that, I think the ability of operatives to be chameleons has a tremendous appeal. Readers want to know who they really are. That is a challenge.

5. SLINGSHOT concerns some of the Cold War “loose ends” left behind in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. What do you think most people don’t know about what’s going on in that part of the world today?

 Most people don't understand the threat from foreign states. Right now, Russia, Iran, the Israel/Palestine conundrum, China, North Korea, and Syria are the biggest threats to world peace. Terrorism pales in comparison to what these states can do. After the collapse of communism, Russia re-built itself on a capitalist platform. It is aggressive to the West and, alongside China, does not want to be a responsible world power, as evidenced by its repeated vetoes in UN Security Council proposed resolutions to stop genocide in places like Syria. The nuclear powers who have the capability to destroy the world are the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, and China. Three of those "big 5" are responsible. Two are not.

 6. What are Will Cochrane’s greatest weaknesses as a spy and as a person?

 Cochrane has a huge heart and yearns for another life, particularly with a woman who would love him for who he truly is. This is his strength, rather than weakness, but of course - in the world in which he operates - love and compassion are honorable traits that evil men will use against him.

 7. Could a frightening story like the one in SLINGSHOT actually take place today?

 Something similar and dreadful nearly took place. I know, but can't reveal details.

 8. There are a few pivotal roles played by women in SLINGSHOT: a retired operative named Betty who’s brought in on a vital assist; and a whip-smart CIA analyst named Suzy. Did these women come to life entirely from your imagination? Or did you work in the field with women like these?

 I've met some of the bravest women and men in the world. Gender doesn't differentiate them; they are the same breed of unique animal. I can't give you details of specifics about people I knew beyond one anecdote.

 During one of my trips to MI6's training facility, I walked off the shooting range and confronted an old woman. It was common to meet unusual people in the facility as we often received briefings from Cold War warriors, for example, from both sides of the Western/USSR fence in order to inform the contemporary work we did. But I'd never seen this woman before. She asked me what I was doing and I told her that I'd just been testing a new customized handgun. She immediately had a look of horror and said, "Guns terrify me!". I smiled, walked her to the range and showed her how to shoot it. She took the gun from me and, ignoring my instructions to position the weapon at eye-level, then held the gun against her belly and fired five shots at the target. All hit a tiny radius around the target that any Special Forces operative would have been proud to strike. I asked her how she did it, given she looked as fragile and as old as my grandmother. She didn’t answer, but just smiled and walked off.

 That evening I found out she was a former British Special Operations Executive officer who'd been parachuted into Nazi-occupied France and the Netherlands, who'd blown up German transportation lines, had - together with the resistance civilians she'd rallied - killed hundreds of Nazis, and had ultimately been captured by the Gestapo who put her in dungeons, brutally tortured her, before sending her to an extermination camp.

 Men and woman, young and old, risk their lives every day by operating in the secret world. I know many of them, and in my novels you'll meet some of them as well. Women like Betty and Suzy existed. SLINGSHOT is my heartfelt homage to them. --
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What do you think of the interview and the author's world view? Do you agree with Mr. Dunn  about the political world as it is now?

For reviews of Slingshot, visit the Partners in Crime Book Tour schedule.

Book Review: Slingshot by Matthew Dunn

Title: Slingshot: A Spycatcher Novel by Matthew Dunn
Genre:  thriller

Published June 25, 2013; William Morrow

I read the first in the series, Spycatcher, and thought it was an excellent book. Here is a quote from my review:

The usual superlatives go to a thriller that is uncommonly good: action packed, gut wrenching, suspenseful, and at the same time quite realistic. I was sympathetic to the main character, (Will Cochrane) a British agent who works in secret and who is unknown, even to  British intelligence service MI6, of which he a part.  (review of Spycatcher)

I missed reading the second in the series, Sentinel, and caught up with the third, Slingshot. Slingshot is all spy novel, as the book description below shows, and I missed the personal side of Will that made the first book so good. I would have liked a more developed subplot or subplots and earlier in the novel. As it is, the book is all top notch spy action and it was hard to sympathize with any of the characters. This could have been because the plot seemed far fetched, though the reality may very well be close to what actually takes place behind the scenes. To get into the series, I would suggest you start with the first book, Spycatcher. There is a giveaway of a set with both books below.

Publisher description: Master spy Will Cochrane must catch a missing Russian defector as well as one of Europe’s deadliest assassins. Will monitors the streets of Gdansk, Poland—waiting for a Russian defector, a man bearing a top secret document. But suddenly everything goes sideways. The target shows up, but so does a team from Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) hell-bent on keeping the man from walking. Then, in a hail of crossfire, a van snatches the defector out from under them all. Everyone wants the man and the codes he carries—but now he’s gone.

Then Will learns that the Russians have tasked their own ‘spycatcher’—an agent just as ruthless and relentless as Will—to retrieve the document. Now Will  faces two clever and deadly adversaries, who will stop at nothing to achieve their aims.

For other reviews of this book, see the tour schedule.
Thanks to Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours and the publisher for a review copy of this book.


Author info: As an MI6 field officer, MATTHEW DUNN recruited and ran agents and acted in deep-cover roles throughout the world, conducting approximately seventy missions, all successful. He lives in England. His novels in the series are: Spycatcher, Sentinel, and Slingshot. He is at work on the fourth Spycatcher novel.

GIVEAWAY:

Partners in Crime and the publisher is offering one set Mass Market edition of Spycatcher and Slingshot to a reader. To enter, leave a comment with an email address indicating you wish to be entered in the contest. No P.O. box addresses, please. U.S. residents only. A winner will be randomly selected July 3 and informed by email. A response will be due by July 5. Good luck!

UPDATE: The giveaway winner is Naida, chosen by random.org Thank you all for entering the contest. 

Book Review: Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn - Sunday Salon

Spycatcher

Welcome to the Sunday Salon.

"So how could I possibly know about you, when your existence is kept secret from most of MI6, let alone other agencies?

Will smiled and looked away for a moment. When he was no longer smiling, he returned his gaze to the man before him. He decided that, despite his injuries, he could kill this man and everyone outside this room in less than thirty seconds. (ch. 3)

Title: Spycatcher
Author: Matthew Dunn  
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; (August 9, 2011)
Source: Publisher for review
Objective rating: 4.75/5

Comments: The usual superlatives go to a thriller that is uncommonly good: action packed, gut wrenching, suspenseful, and at the same time quite realistic. I was sympathetic to the main character, a British agent who works in secret and who is unknown, even to  British intelligence service MI6, of which he a part. The story of his background and how and why he became such a fighter for justice and as a result, such a trained killer, is second only to the plot of trying to find and destroy the mastermind of terrorism around the world, an Iranian known only by the name of Megiddo.

I was all the way to the near end of the book. The only fault I found is that the wrap up of the hunt for Megiddo and the final confrontation took too long to come. The suspense was dragged out too long at the very end, I felt, and I was impatient for the ending. I anticipated some of the surprises that were revealed at the end, but that in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

Product Description
Matthew Dunn spent years as an MI6 field operative working on some of the West’s most clandestine missions. He recruited and ran agents, planned and participated in special operations, and operated deep undercover throughout the world. In Spycatcher he draws on this fascinating experience to breathe urgent, dynamic new life into the contemporary spy novel.

Featuring deft and daring superspy Will Cochrane, Dunn paints a nerve-jangling, bracingly authentic picture of today’s secret world. It is a place where trust is precious and betrayal is cheap—and where violent death is the reward for being outplayed by your enemy.

Will Cochrane, the CIA’s and MI6’s most prized asset and deadliest weapon, has known little outside this world since childhood. And he’s never been outplayed. So far…

Will’s controllers task him with finding and neutralizing one of today’s most wanted terrorist masterminds, a man believed to be an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Intending to use someone from the man’s past to flush him out of the shadows, Will believes he has the perfect plan, but he soon discovers, in a frantic chase from the capitals of Europe to New York City, that his adversary has more surprises in store and is much more treacherous than anyone he has ever faced—and survived—up to now.

About the author: Matthew Dunn was an MI6 field officer. He lives in England. Visit his page at Matther Dunn