The Fourth Protocol

Rating:
Summary: average for Forsyth, but pretty good overall
Review: This is not Forsyth's best book, but it's not too much of a dropoff from The Day of the Jackal. The Soviets have a plot that will lead England to be a socialist ally, and it is up to a fairly minor British civil servant to thwart it. The plot versus the detective work is told simultaneously like in the Jackal. There's a nice section about uncovering a false-flag spy operation in London, and it's a jewel theft of all things that gets the ball rolling. An interesting disparity is set up between the Brit detective and his spy chief; one thinks the USSR can be beaten outright while the other feels he must acknowledge the USSR as an enemy that's here to stay.