William Catesby, a working class English lad, went to Cambridge and eventually joined the SIS, the British Secret Intelligence Service. Jeffers Cauldwell is an upper crust American who works for the CIA, a professional acquaintance of Catesby's, and is definitely not who he appears to be.

Lady Penelope Somers, "the first woman ever to become 2nd PUS, Deputy Permanent Undersecretary of State" is a force to be reckoned with and has many skeletons in her closet. Her daughter Miranda, a spoiled rich girl, is determined to break free from her powerful mother's clutches. London 1957 is when we first meet Catesby and those whose lives become intertwined with his for over a decade.

In the aftermath of WWII, Communism world-wide was becoming a threatening reality to the Western democracies, and THE WHITEHALL MANDARIN is a glimpse into the power struggles between the USSR, the USA, Britain and China between 1957 and 1969, the role espionage played during those years, and how everything disastrously culminated in Vietnam. Although it is a work of fiction, some historical figures do appear in fictionalised situations, but as Edward Wilson himself points out, not all the documentation pertaining to some events has been declassified yet, and speculation is inevitable, and in several cases in this book, one does wonder.

THE WHITEHALL MANDARIN will appeal to fans of Graham Greene and John Le Carre, as it is very British in tone, extremely well-researched and richly detailed, painting a sometimes grim picture of the day-to- day grind of spy work. It demonstrates how easily ideologies can become muddled, how flimsy motivations behind deciding to switch allegiances can appear, how rashly made decisions can lead to disaster.

I am personally quite familiar with the European side of espionage during the Cold War, but I was in store for a few surprises, and the part that deals with Vietnam was especially enlightening as the author himself served as a Special Officer in Vietnam. I find positively extraordinary, given the exceptionally large cast of secondary characters of every spy agency imaginable, as well as innumerable acronyms of departments and whatnots, that it never becomes confusing nor boring; I never lost track of anyone or anything, which is quite a feat in itself. THE WHITEHALL MANDARIN is a very well-written, engrossing and captivating book that will keep you thinking long after you've turned the last page.