The Night Manager »

Any spy novelist working today must contend with the legacy of John le Carré, and it's a rare author who earns comparison with the master. Le Carré's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold and his trilogy starring British intelligence hero George Smiley and nemesis "Karla" are classics of Cold War literature, but the closing of that era has not left le Carré at loose ends: His later novels have departed for new milieus with no sacrifice of intrigue.

Enter the new world of espionage, where the skills forged by generations of spies during the darkest days of the Cold War are put to even more terrifying use. Penetrate the secret world of ruthless arms dealers and drug smugglers who have risen to unthinkable power and wealth. The sinister master of them all is an untouchable Englishman named Roper, the charming, unstoppable ruler of a corrupt world all his own.

Slipping into this maze of peril is a former British soldier, Jonathan Pine, who knows Roper well enough to hate him more than he hates any other man on earth. Now personal vengeance is only part of the reason Pine is willing to help the men at Whitehall bring Roper down.

Herbert Mitgang

Mr. le Carre has succeeded again. His characters, men and women, are as rich as any he has created, the locales are equally colorful and the story demands telling. He has put human faces on some of the worst troubles all over the world today. . . in "The Night Manager," the author leaves us with the possibility of change. After such a rough but remarkably readable journey through the arms and drug culture, Mr. le Carre deserves credit for keeping the flames of romance and idealism glowing. -- New York Times