Tom Bradby's Kate Hnederson series were quite good (well, except the third one, which was disastrous), which is why I wanted to read his standalone new novel, "Yesterday's Spy". A historical spy-thriller occurring mostly in 1953 Iran. A missed opportunity, really, as Bradby's writing is anything but exciting and gripping, as he focuses his attention on all the wrong details, and never really delves into the politics and life in Iran. Everything feels unreal and superficial, including the characters who were flat and underdeveloped. Dialogues between characters also left a lot to be desired. This book was primarily set during the 1953 Iranian coup. It was interesting to learn about this. Yes, I know this is fiction, but if a novel gets you interested enough to look up information on your own it has done its job.

The narrative also contains chapters set during the 1930s-40s that provide more details of Harry’s earlier life and career. Still, he might be considered a has-been by some but in 1953 he is still able to breeze into 10 Downing Street and is on friendly terms with the PM, Sir Winston Churchill. All the characters are very well crafted as is the storyline. There really is something for everyone, the intrigue you would expect in a Spy Thriller, plenty of action as Shahnaz finds out that Harry really is pretty handy in tight situations, guilt and introspection from Harry all too aware of the people he has hurt in his lifetime plus a ringside view of what a coup d'etat is like in the middle of 1950's Tehran. I read this shortly after reading the highly acclaimed John Le Carre novel "Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy" and it took me a while for me to separate this book from that one, particularly the main character Harry Tower who would fit right in the Le Carre novel. I liked this much better than Tinker, Tailor, Solider Spy.I am a big fan of smart espionage, which also makes me a big fan of Tom Bradby. His latest stand-alone outing, “Yesterday's Spy”, provides plenty of action while exposing the moral ambiguities of what we do for king and country. Set mostly in Iran, August 1953 - a period of political unrest where a transfer of power sees the Prime Minister replaced by an army general, Yesterday's Spy follows SIS operative, Harry Tower, one-time Maths student at Cambridge University, as he searches for his son, Sean, an investigative journalist who it appears has uncovered the financial details of a company based in Tehran, pointing to a number of shareholders making ‘a killing’ – before disappearing. Harry and his journalist son Sean see eye-to-eye on almost nothing and barely speak. But when Sean disappears in Iran after writing an article critical of certain “powers-that-be,” Harry’s on the next plane to Teheran to find him. Harry meets Sean’s Iranian girlfriend, Shahnaz, and together, they begin the search for Sean. That hunt is complicated by civil unrest in Iran caused by American/British attempts to replace socialist Prime Minister Mossadegh with the Shah to ensure access to Iranian oil. It’s even further complicated by something the Americans are demanding from the British, something Harry won’t like very much. Thank you to the author, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Then Harry gets a call – Sean has gone missing. Yesterday’s Spy springs into action as Harry flies to Iran to find his son. There are people who remember Harry and are hostile to the British presence, the political atmosphere is febrile and the city charged with violence. I certainly felt that Tom Bradby had undertaken considerable research into the politics of the period including the 1953 Iranian coup. Tom Bradby's cold war thriller features a British spy called Harry Tower, who dashes to Iran in search of his son Sean, a journalist who has gone missing. The tale is set mostly in 1953 at the time of an Iranian coup d'état, in which the British and American governments were attempting to overthrow the democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammed Mosaddegh (who was left leaning) in favour of the Shah. [They were of course successful and the Shah ruled as absolute monarch with American support until 1979 when he was deposed in the Islamic revolution]. A big thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I loved the last three books he had written in the Kate Henderson series so was very excited to be invited to read Tom Bradby's latest book. On August 19, 1953, Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in a coup d’etat jointly planned by the United States and Great Britain and led on the ground by the CIA. With the support of the country’s leading mullah, Abol-Ghasem Kashani, Americans under the command of Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. restored Mohammad Shah Reza Pahlavi as Iran’s supreme leader. The shah’s brutal, dictatorial regime during the following two decades led directly to the 1979 Iranian Revolution that still echoes in today’s headlines. Now, British journalist Tom Bradby recalls the events of 1953 in Yesterday’s Spy, a fast-paced spy thriller loosely based on the history of the coup.Tom Bradby’s “Yesterday’s Spy” is a very well-written spy novel set in 1953 Iran. Part historical novel, part thriller, part mystery, and part espionage tale, it is also a novel of interesting characters playing “the great game” for very high stakes. I am grateful to the author and Grove Atlantic for granting me access to an ARC in return for an honest review. As a fan of Mr. Bradby's earlier Kate Henderson series, I was disappointed by this story. I knew little about the 50s politics in the Middle East, particularly Iran, so the plot was new to me. It made for a good potential story of the cold war in a different venue. That potential was not realized, with much more of a focus on James Bond-esque action with little character development. I was used to Mr. Bradby's use of moral ambivalence in his previous novels, but this story did not build on its premise. Yesterday’s Spy opens in Germany in 1933, where young Harry has been studying mathematics on a term away from Cambridge. We follow him through his recruitment by MI6, his wartime assignments behind enemy lines, and his postwar work sending anti-Communist agents to infiltrate Yugoslavia and Albania. But those missions go badly wrong from the start. Harry falls under suspicion for their failure. Nearly a decade later, he is still under a cloud as a result. But his boss, and Winston Churchill (now Prime Minister again), both support him absolutely. Yet there appear to be others in SIS who do not. Because one of his colleagues in on his tail in Tehran. It’s a mix of a man coming to terms with his life and failings ( as well as success’s ), drama and an insight into spying, foreign policies and how the UK amongst others behaved in Iran at that time Has Sean been taken because of the story he wrote, or because of a story he has planned? Or could his abduction be related to Harry’s own intelligence activities? Harry has history in Iran, and enemies. Harry’s travel to Iran 1953 may have been unofficial but his presence is noticed by both friends and enemies.

Well written, Mr. Bradby takes us to a time and place we know very little about, but that helped shape today’s world. The action is fast-paced and intense, the plot believable, the characters well formed. Another fine read by Mr. Bradby. thrillers featuring MI6 operative Kate Henderson. As the title suggests in this standalone thriller he has looked to the past history of the British Intelligence Service. Riveting...with style and energy, evocative scene-setting and strong characterisation' Financial Times Before long, he is on the run - not only from a faceless enemy, but from his own past. Which will catch up with him first?Thanks to Atlantic Monthly Press/Henry Holt & Co for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 📚 ❤️ 🥰 His wife has recently died and his relationship with his son, Sean, is strained. In August 1953 Harry receives news that Sean has gone missing in troubled Iran after writing an exposé about government corruption. He travels to Tehran to search of his son and needs to draw on all his skills to survive.