Jeremy Duns - Free Agent

Free Agent
by Jeremy Duns
pub: Pocket Books

Set at the end of the 60's and filled with cold war intriuge and double agents, Duns' novel follows in a fine tradition of spy novel and does so brilliantly.

Paul Dark is not a likeable man, but surprisingly easy to empathise with and understand which makes him extremely readable. He is also far from being a hero, which is always refreshing, he's not even an anti hero, he's just a not very nice man doing what he has to in order to survive under extreme circumstances. In fact no one in this novel is really likeable or heroic, quite rightly the spies are a thoroughly untrustworthy and unpleasant lot, regardless of who they work for.

Free Agent is as set against the cold war and the Biafran war so the setting for much of the novel is Africa and it's wonderfully rich with detail from the period. The golf course in the novel is recreated from a period map, and the feel and flavour of the place comes in part from the authors own experience of being there as a child, and that of friends and family. Duns' creates a real sense of place and of the reality of the war and life at the time which successfully grounds the story and maintains a sense of reality that is sometimes lacking when dealing with slightly surreal world of secret agents.

Being a current writer creating a 60's spy novel Jeremy Duns offers us the drama and action of Bond but without the dated feel of a novel written decades ago. There is little technology mentioned, and none explained in detail, although there are specifics about the guns, which is appropriate. It's a neat balancing act that makes this a much easier read than some of the older books of the type.

Free Agent is a wonderfully grey novel, Dark's own beliefs and behaviour, the behaviour of various governments, the attempts by the superpowers to gain the upper hand through influencingthe situation in Africa. As a reader I felt at times like the young french journalist, a little wide eyed and niaive, not willing to believe the story would take the turns it did. It maintained the tension, punished it's lead again and again and delivered on the dramatic climax.

A must for fans of the classic spy tropes and a strong recommendation for anyone thinking of giving the genre a try, personally, I can't wait to get into the next one, Free Country out 5th August in the UK.

We interviewed Jeremy at the Harrogate Crime Festival and the interview will be posted shortly as both typed and audio.