In The Predicament by William Boyd, Gabriel Dax, writer and occasional British spy, gets involved in more suspect shenanigans, this time involving the CIA and the Americans. This book takes up his story in 1963, two years after the end of the first Dax book, Gabriel’s Moon. In Guatemala, an election is looming. After a brief lesson in how to kill using the contents of his pockets [a notebook, wallet and keys], Gabriel is sent to South America by his MI6-handler and occasional lover Faith Green. An interview is arranged with Padre Tiago the secretive, charismatic left-wing leader who is predicted to win the forthcoming election. Tiago’s views are not universally popular. When his meeting is disappointing, Gabriel fears the trip is a waste of time. Then Padre Tiago is assassinated and Gabriel flees the ensuing riots. With his journalist’s sixth sense for the dodgy, Gabriel knows the real story is being hidden. The people he meets in Guatemala City and what happens there are important to the developing plot which later leads him to Berlin and the visit of President John F Kennedy.
Gabriel’s spy adventures are alternated with sessions with his psychoanalyst Dr Haas, meetings with his Russian handler Varvara [Dax is still posing as the secretive London contact of an English traitor now in Moscow], and scenes as he settles into his new life in a country cottage in Sussex. These storylines are continued from Gabriel’s Moon so it is helpful to read that book first. Boyd wastes nothing, all of these slower sub-plots add to the narrative. They bring new perspective on Gabriel’s personality, his past spy missions, his longing to return full-time to travel writing, and his feelings for Faith.
When Faith sends him to Berlin to shadow a suspect, Gabriel wants to refuse but knows he can’t. Dean Furlan is one of the men he met in Guatemala, who he instinctively knew was up to no good. The second half of the book is a page-turning race through the Berlin streets, working with the CIA and Berlin police to prepare for Kennedy’s arrival, identify a possible assassin and stop an attack. Gabriel is growing in confidence, his spycraft is improving and he has an instinct for trouble. He is at the centre of the action.
Boyd writes an addictive spy novel set at a time of global insecurity. Gabriel is a likeable character with his complicated love life. He attempts to live a normal life as a writer, planning and researching chapters for his next book, but is unwittingly pulled into more spying by the women who has bewitched him. All told in Boyd’s masterful style, combining simple details with lush descriptions and gentle humour.
Excellent.

Here’s my review of GABRIEL’S MOON, first in the Gabriel Dax trilogy.

And my reviews of other books by William Boyd:-
ANY HUMAN HEART
LOVE IS BLIND
NAT TATE: AN AMERICAN ARTIST 1928-1960
ORDINARY THUNDERSTORMS
SWEET CARESS
THE BLUE AFTERNOON
THE DREAMS OF BETHANY MELLMOTH
TRIO
WAITING FOR SUNRISE

… and try the first paragraph of ARMADILLO.

If you like this, try these:-
‘Munich Wolf’ by Rory Clements #1SEBASTIANWOLFF
‘The Ways of the World’ by Robert Goddard #1WIDEWORLD
‘The Second Midnight’ by Andrew Taylor

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE PREDICAMENT by William Boyd https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-8oZ via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-