Welcome to Litsy!

As with the first George Smiley novel, Call for the Dead, this is a murder mystery, not the Cold War spy stories for which Le Carre became famous. It's a good mystery, plenty of English Murder Village style secrets, and it's tinged with sadness. Smiley always seems to disappointed, although not surprised, when people do bad things, and you can't help but walk away with a bit of that same melancholy. (Cont.⬇️)

Audiobook. This is one I probably should have picked up and read physically rather than listened to for greater comprehension. I didn't really get it, and why the author deviated from the spy intrigue to use his starring spy to serve as a private investigator in a case a woman who knew him as a colleague of others approached. But the characters of all involved were interesting, as well as Smiley's conversations with them over brandy or sherry.

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It‘s curious that le Carré started off his series about a spy with two murder mysteries, or rather he wrote the final 7 books of his murder mystery series about spies. Regardless, the buildup was great, but the ending was rushed and the motive for the killer—in my opinion—was quite thin and vague. It is an odd leap from this George Smiley novel into the next one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Not a classic first line, but the book is better than its foundational sentence.

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Wow, sometimes these le Carré novels just fly. Read more than a quarter of the book last night.

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Second Smiley down!

Second in le Carré's series featuring spymaster George Smiley, this one has barely to do with spies at all. Instead, a retired Smiley investigates a murder at a public school. It's an old-fashioned whodunit, and just fine for what it is ... but le Carré made the right decision to bring Smiley out of retirement and back to the Circus for the next book.

Le Carré‘s second Smiley novel is not a spy thriller, but a classic mystery. A woman writes to a journalist saying she fears her husband is going to murder her. The journalist sends Smiley, someone she knew from the war, to investigate. But Smiley is too late. Stella Rode is dead. Did her husband kill her, or is there another solution? I enjoyed this, but can‘t wait for Le Carré to hit his stride with his spy novels. ??‍♂️

Re: Smiley “Looks like a frog, dresses like a bookie, and has a brain I‘d give my eyes for. Had a very nasty war. Very nasty indeed.”

A surprising murder mystery instead of a spy novel. I enjoyed this book because I just love George Smiley. The mystery was interesting too, but it fell apart at the end. There was a twist that I didn't see coming and, to be honest, left the distinct taste of misogyny in its wake. It seemed to come out of nowhere, like I had been reading a different book before. I was like, huh? So, yeah, serviceable mystery but with a weird and uncomfortable end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Retired from ‘the service‘, George Smiley finds him self investigating a murder in the claustrophobic, snobbish and nepotistic Carne School, a private boys school in the south of England. #Scarathlon2020 #TeamSlaughter 15pts + 1pt

This is the 2nd in the George Smiley series. In this one, George has retired and it is a straight murder mystery, but there are old connections to George‘s former spy network involved in the mystery. I enjoy reading le Carre‘s work. It is a little dated, but it‘s an interesting look at a 1960s British boy‘s boarding school. A fun read for me on my way to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy! 4.0⭐️ #2019

I ❤️ Smiley.

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