The Man in the Corduroy Suit by James Wolff

The Man in the Corduroy Suit by James Wolff

The Man in the Corduroy Suit by James Wolff Suit was published on 18th May 2023 by Bitter Lemon Press. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

Synopsis

The third in the espionage trilogy The Discipline Files, after the acclaimed debut Beside the Syrian Sea, and its follow-on novel How to Betray Your Country.

• “A wonderful, artful, absorbing espionage novel.” Adam Brookes, author of Night Heron


British intelligence is in a state of panic.
Cracks are appearing, or so a run of disciplinary cases would suggest.
To cap it all, Willa Karlsson, a retired MI5 officer collapses, the victim of what looks like a Russian poisoning. Leonard Flood is ordered to investigate – and quickly.

Notorious for his sharp elbows and blunt manner, Leonard’s only objective is to get the job done, whatever the cost.
When Leonard discovers that he is also a suspect in the investigation and that Willa’s story is less a story of betrayal than one of friendship and a deep sense of duty, he must decide whether to hand her to her masters or to help her to escape.

My Review

I was absolutely hooked from the minute I opened the book and met the main character , Leonard Flood.leonard is one of those unique individuals who you will either love or hate , and I loved him. The manner in which Leonard investigates what looks like a Russian poisoning is brilliantly written in a way that leaves the reader feeling that they know him personally. His persistent determination to find out all the facts, and more, strongly linked to his autistic tendencies, has the reader both cringing at, and understanding, his tactics at the same time.

I loved the way that Leonard had the ability to turn a situation back on itself and look at it from completely different angles - putting the pieces of the jigsaw together in a different order. You also find yourself wondering about Leonard's loyalties and who is he working for - whose side is he on - or both ?  All complex questions that you may , or may not get to the bottom of.

For me this was an incredibly well written book and James Wolff has that style of gripping writing that keeps you wanting to carry on turning the pages until you actually find out what happened - or not . A huge 5 star read for me and I would love another book that lets me know what Leonard, and possibly Franny do  next.

About the Author

James Wolff worked for the British government for over ten years before leaving to write espionage fiction.

His first novel, Beside the Syrian Sea, was a Times Crime Book of the Month and an Evening Standard Book of the Year.

Of his second novel, How to Betray Your Country, Publishers Weekly wrote 'Brilliant sequel. This is spy fiction like no other.'