Tom Bradby's cold war thriller features a British spy called Harry Tower, who dashes to Iran in search of his son Sean, a journalist who has gone missing. The tale is set mostly in 1953 at the time of an Iranian coup d'état, in which the British and American governments were attempting to overthrow the democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammed Mosaddegh (who was left leaning) in favour of the Shah. [They were of course successful and the Shah ruled as absolute monarch with American support until 1979 when he was deposed in the Islamic revolution]. A man in search of his son. An agent on the run from his past. A country on the verge of revolution... Harry Towers is a spy with British intelligence who has reached the end of his career, and has also lost his wife to suicide, and his son to both neglect and apathy. Harry receives a call from that his son has gone missing in Iran, a country that Harry had some dealings with in the past, and knows from current work at his job, is ripe for revolution. With American help. Harry travels to Iran, finding the country much worse than he expected, and also much more dangerous. For his son was writing articles about powerful people, who might not like what is being said about them. The more Harry digs the more he wonders if the many sins of his past are catching up with him, and that he and his son are in much more danger than he thought.

Nothing good ever comes from a midnight phone call. For washed-up spy Harry Tower, it is the worst news at the worst possible time. His son, Sean, has gone missing in troubled Iran after writing an expose about government corruption. Their relationship has never recovered since Harry's wife's suicide, for which Sean holds his father responsible. And Harry, with his career on the verge of disintegration, needs to find him and put things right. Tom Bradby writes good and believable characters but his locations and settings are what marks out his stories.All the characters are very well crafted as is the storyline. There really is something for everyone, the intrigue you would expect in a Spy Thriller, plenty of action as Shahnaz finds out that Harry really is pretty handy in tight situations, guilt and introspection from Harry all too aware of the people he has hurt in his lifetime plus a ringside view of what a coup d'etat is like in the middle of 1950's Tehran. The narrator was Champion's second in command during the war, and has continued to work for "the Department" ever since. So he seems the obvious person to use to infiltrate Champion's scheme, though he is not keen to do it and the fact that he is the obvious choice makes it harder for him to convince Champion of his sincerity. (And, once he has done so, to ensure that his employers still believe he is on their side.) Generally this is familiar Len Deighton territory; the narrator's character is little different from that of the narrator of Spy Story. (He actually has the same boss, though he doesn't seem to work in the same branch of intelligence at all.) I suppose no pigeon fancied them, when just a short flight away, the tourists would be throwing them croissants, and they could sit down and eat with a view of Saint James Park.” Before long, he is on the run—not only from a faceless enemy, but from his own past. Which will catch up with him first?

Mr. Bradby’s treatment of Iranian settings and Iran’s society, politics, foreign affairs, and economy in 1953 is first-rate. He skillfully depicts life in Teheran where modern automobiles share the roads with donkeys and camels, spicy aromas drift on the wind from bazaars, and chic western styles of dress and grooming co-exist uneasily with traditional Muslim garb. The 1953 Iranian coup was one of the seminal events of the 20th century. Its importance is under-appreciated in the US. And accounts of that time tend to focus on the CIA. Even MI6, whose collaboration with the Americans was indispensable, is often overlooked. So is the Soviet involvement. I read this shortly after reading the highly acclaimed John Le Carre novel "Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy" and it took me a while for me to separate this book from that one, particularly the main character Harry Tower who would fit right in the Le Carre novel. I liked this much better than Tinker, Tailor, Solider Spy.My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Grove Atlantic for an advanced copy of this new historical spy story. Kinsey Millhone, the P.I. created by Sue Grafton, is seen reading Len Deighton novels in many of her books. I had heard about Deighton, the movie Ipcress File was based on his novel of the same name. So, when I saw this book in a second hand book stall I bought it promptly. But, sadly, what followed was a mediocre read.

This is a love story because it’s about Harry and Amanda and Sean and Shahnaz. Amanda committed suicide and Bradby blends her story into the relationship between father and son very skilfully. Can Harry not only find Sean but reconcile with him about the family’s past? Both this and the spy story work. Yesterday's Spy is the 7th of my re-reads of the early Len Deightons (I first read almost all of them in the 60's/70's/80's) after having learned of the Penguin Modern Classics republication of all of his novels, which were published during 2021 as outlined in an online article Why Len Deighton's spy stories are set to thrill a new generation (Guardian/Observer May 2, 2021). The later quartet of books doesn't have quite the charm of the earlier ones however. I think this is mostly due to them not having the banter between working-class 'Harry' and his former upper-class boss Dawlish. Yesterday's Spy has the otherwise nameless spy operating under his old World War II Resistance name of 'Monsieur Charles.' He is sent by his current boss, ex-Marine Col. Schlegel in 'The Department,' to resume acquaintance with Steve Champion, a former ally in a French underground resistance network during World War II. Champion now makes his living from arms dealing, and is suspected of selling to terrorists and governments in the Middle East. The concern is that his latest scheme involves nuclear weapons.Well written, Mr. Bradby takes us to a time and place we know very little about, but that helped shape today’s world. The action is fast-paced and intense, the plot believable, the characters well formed. Another fine read by Mr. Bradby. The narrative also contains chapters set during the 1930s-40s that provide more details of Harry’s earlier life and career. Still, he might be considered a has-been by some but in 1953 he is still able to breeze into 10 Downing Street and is on friendly terms with the PM, Sir Winston Churchill. Nothing good ever comes from a midnight phone call, especially from Downing Street. For washed-up spy Harry Tower, it is the worst news at the worst possible time. His son, Sean, has gone missing in troubled Iran after writing an exposé about government corruption. Now, Harry has secretly flown to Tehran to find his son, a novice journalist for the Manchester Guardian, who has been kidnapped. There, he pursues first one lead to his son, then another, encountering lies at every turn. Meanwhile, he finds that MI6 is attempting to frame him as a scapegoat for missions that went wrong during and after World War II.