Miles Flint is a Watchman, which is another word for a spy
in his line of work. He is good at what he does and he has
an innate ability to "just disappear." However, recently he
has been preoccupied with marital concerns and plagued with
a general disinterest in life, including his own. The
tension and distance in his marriage is second only to his
distance from any kind of personal clarity about himself,
and who he is. Miles is lost and it is affecting the
quality of his work.
However, Miles is still very good at his job, and when an
assignment goes awry, and results in the death of a foreign
official in London, Miles suspects that something is wrong
at the agency. The cover-up that follows is more than just
the agency trying to dodge negative press and public
criticism. Suddenly, capable and competent agents are
reassigned, or they just disappear. Then Miles is sent on
what is supposedly a routine mission to Belfast. He
realizes, too late, that his assignment is anything but
routine. Suddenly he finds himself in deadly danger, a
target, an expendable extra -- and the chase is on. The
mystery as to the real agenda of the head of the agency
unravels, and Miles finds himself in the midst of a life-
threatening crisis.
Ian Rankin maintains his high standard of Edgar
Award-winning excellence with this novel. The story moves
quickly and the mystery is skillfully developed. Rankin's
description of Miles as a distracted and lost soul is
accurate to the point that I could feel Miles' despair with
the way his life was going. The picture the author paints
of the strained relationship between Miles and his wife is
realistic and adds to the initial dark mood of the story.
Conversely, as Miles begins to understand what's happening
around him, he becomes empowered and more like his old
self, as his wife remembers him in the early days of their
courtship. The character transformation of Miles, from a
defeated man to a take-charge guy is substantial, but not
so profound that it detracts from believability. The
characters have their issues and personality flaws, which
make it easy for the reader to identify with them and buy
into the emotions of the plot. When Miles gets closer to
figuring out what is really going on within the agency, the
action picks up dramatically. The sequences that follow
from this point forward all the way to the end of the book
are fast-paced to the point of being exhilarating, at
times. WATCHMAN was a fun read, and I truly had difficulty
putting it down.
From #1 international bestseller Ian Rankin, an
unlucky spy gets one last chance at redemption.
Miles Flint is a spy who has been making
some serious mistakes. His last assignment led to the death
of a foreign official in London, and after getting too
close to his current subject he wound up in police custody.
But something is wrong at the agency that has nothing to do
with Miles' errors. Why did his last suspect know more
about Miles' assignment than Miles did? Why have so many
operatives recently resigned? Despite the Director's
assurances, Miles begins his own investigation, to the
dismay of his colleagues and even his own wife. Then Miles
is sent to Belfast on a routine mission, a mission that
confirms his darkest suspicions--and threatens his life.
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