John le Carré is regarded by many to be the greatest espionage author of all time, and his Smiley books are right there at the pinnacle not just in spy fiction but, some would say, across all fiction genres. But, Houston, we have a problem… The author’s last novel in the series was A Legacy of Spies in 2017, and he sadly passed away in 2020. So, if you love the milieu le Carré created and want more of the characters, atmosphere and stories, where can you turn?
Well, the author’s son, Nick Harkaway, has chosen to continue the series. Whatever the rights or wrongs of continuation novels may be, and however we might argue about the authenticity of such works, if you’re hugely into Smiley and The Circus, chances are you’ll want to dive right in. First, Harkaway brought us Karla’s Choice in 2024, which took us back to the 1960s at an early point in George Smiley’s career, where he faces a nemesis well known to readers of the starting point of the series, Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy. Now, we have The Taper Man, again set in the mid-60s and filling more gaps in Smiley’s timeline.
The main point of difference here is that this sees Smiley in the United States – Los Angeles to be specific – and working with ‘The Cousins’, also known as the CIA. Here at Crime Fiction Lover, a detour to the US concerns us a little. It’s not traditional le Carré territory, but thankfully it takes a while before we leave European shores. Things get started with an incident in Helsinki that involves a British agent that requires Smiley’s attention. His subsequent investigation brings to light a Soviet counterintelligence operation putting British assets behind the Iron Curtain in peril. And, in fact, the setting in the heart of Cold War Europe provides some clever juxtaposition to 1960s America, a political and cultural landscape Harkaway’s father never explored in detail.
The Taper Man doesn’t directly continue on from what happened in Karla’s Choice, instead telling a self-contained story. There are nuggets from both the previous novel and the wider Smiley canon for fans to feast on, particularly references to Smiley’s marital strains with his wife Ann and guilt over the fate of Alec Leamas, as depicted in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
Harkaway is his own man when it comes to taking ownership of the Smiley world, and chooses to spend sizable chunks of the novel following undercover agent Roy Bland in the heart of Soviet Russia, who seeks all the information he can and feed it back to The Circus. However, Smiley isn’t just along for the ride in this novel. By having two stories in parallel, taking place on both sides of the Cold War, brings something unique to the series. Smiley is sent to the US, somewhere more alien to him than Berlin or Vienna, a world apart from his sleepy London existence. Constantly referred to as ‘Sir George’, he is tasked with weeding out a sleeper agent who has long remained dormant – the titular Taper Man.
Harkaway’s storytelling and writing capture the same spirit and depth achieved by his father. Layered and dense, this is a riveting story that feels perfectly at home within the wider Smiley series. He captures the pessimism, cynicism and political conflict of both Eastern Europe and the US in the mid-60s. While he may not be writing about it as it was happening, like le Carré, there is still a timeliness and sense of urgency to Harkaway’s book.
While Karla’s Choice proved that not all continuations have to be pale imitations, The Taper Man proves it was no fluke. If it doesn’t perhaps have the surprise factor of that novel, it is another worthwhile visit to the world of Smiley, Control and The Circus, with new additions that flesh things out further, in ways that honour and deepen the work of Britain’s archetypal spy fiction author.
The comparisons are never-ending but if you love Smiley also see the Slough House novels by Mick Herron.
Penguin Books
Print/Kindle/iBook
£10.99
CFL Rating: 4 Stars