Harry Tower’s family has never known that he is in the employ of the Secret Service, an organisation where he often feels somewhat like a fish out of water. Having lost his wife, who committed suicide, he son eventually announces that he is going to work for the Manchester Guardian in their Teheran office, and at that point Harry loses contact with Sean who never responds to any of his letters or messages.

One hot August night Harry is woken by the Foreign Editor of the Guardian, advising him that his son seems to have disappeared. Harry decides to go AWOL from work and heads to Teheran on a false passport but on arrival he finds signs of great unrest and probabilities of a coup. He eventually meets Sean’s girlfriend, Shanaz Salemi, and finds out that she is not only a cousins of Ali, Sean’s translator, but is also the daughter of an army general who counts the Shah as a personal friend. It is very apparent that Sean and Shanaz are deeply in love and Shanaz persuades Harry to let her join him in his search, Harry suspects that the SIS may have tracked him down and put a tail on him so is constantly having to take evasive action during their travels around the country. Will they be successful or not in such uncertain times??

Tom Brady has done it again and has produced another page-turner!

Having read and enjoyed Tom's previous novels, I was looking forward to to this latest release. Although different in tone and pace this is another well plotted story with many historical references. Harry is a complicated character, very much love him or hate him.
I did enjoy this book, but it did not grip me as much as his previous ones.

Harry was recruited by SIS before the war when he left Cambridge. Now it's 1953, his wife has committed suicide, his career is coming apart and his young journalist son Sean is missing in Tehran. He travels to Tehran to try to find Sean but arrives at the start of a coup to depose the left leaning prime minister and reinstate the Shah. Many foreign agents are in town to try to influence matters and soon he realises that not only Sean is in danger, but he is too.. Brilliantly written, the style of writing is fully on a par with John Le Carre. First Class.

Thanks to Tom and NetGalley for allowing me to read Yesterday’s Spy before the publication date.
A quote from Sir Walter Scott best describes this book : “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive”.
It is a dark, depressing story which instantly made me feel that I was watching an old black and white movie.
Bradby weaves a tale full of smoke and mirrors where nothing is as it seems and no-one can be trusted.

What a fascinating read and a very interesting history lesson as well!
Tom Bradby is a master storyteller and his books are always highly entertaining.
If you are a fan of historical spy thrillers this is a must-read. The story transports you from Germany to the UK and you end up in Tehran. It is a dual timeline story jumping between 1933 and 1953. We meet a young student called Harry and find out how he meets his wife. Then it is 20 years later and Harry is working for the Secret Intelligence Service. His wife is dead and his relationship with his son is strained. When he gets news that his son, who is a correspondent for the Manchester Guardian went missing in Tehran he knows he's the only one who will be able to find him. Who took his son or is this a trap for Harry? Slowly the layers are being pulled back until the shocking conclusion.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I really wanted to love this, having thoroughly enjoyed the author's previous books. But I really struggled to invest in any of the characters or the prmarlily 1950's setting. It picked up latterly, but a little too late for me.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy, I was under no obligation and all opinions expressed are my own.

It's the 1950's and a coup is being organised in Iran. Harry Tower, spy and confidant of Winston Churchill are unsure how the coup will go as the major players jockey for position. Then Harry get's the shock news that his journalist son Sean has disappeared. Racing to Iran to try to discover his son's whereabouts, Harry finds himself defending past actions and collaborating with some unlikely people as he tries to rescue the son he has been estranged from for over a year. Can Harry find Sean before time runs out?

I love Tom Bradby as a writer and have enjoyed his previous work but this one just didn't hit the spot for me. The bulk of the book is very slow moving and quite complicated and I struggled to keep track of who everyone was. The slipping timeline back and too between different years was also confusing and I found myself flipping back to the chapter beginning to see what year this chapter was set in.

Additionally, I felt that the action scenes felt a bit contrived and injuries tend to get forgotten - for instance, Harry sustains a serious head injury in the middle of the book and struggles with it for a page or two, and then it's just not mentioned again - even though Harry performs some pretty acrobatic action sequences.

All in all, I was left feeling a bit disappointed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in 1950s Iran, this is a complex political thriller. Retired spy Harry is searching for his journalist son at a time of political unrest. The plot is multilayered, and the historical details are fascinating, making this an original and intriguing story. As Harry considers his life, the story visits the 1930s, and the reader gets to know him, his wife and his previous role.

It immerses the reader in the characters and the story with a tangible sense of danger and a plot full of action, emotion, and intriguing mystery.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Another cracking thriller from Tom Brady. I adored his previous trilogy with a British female Spy chief protagonist. This was a very different offering from Bradbury. Harry Tower's journalist son has gone missing in Iran. The year is 1953 and the father son are estranged after Harry's wife committed suicide a year earlier. Harry, a spy, flies to Iran where he teams up with his son's girlfriend in Tehran. Do they find Harry's son? Why was he taken and who or what really lured Harry out to Iran? The attention to detail in the plotting, the backdrop of Iran, the characters is absolutely superb. It was a fascinating, informative, thrilling read. This thriller writer just gets better and better. Yesterday's Spy is in a class of its own.

Excellent story of spies on one hand and a father’s search for his son missing in 50’s revolutionary Iran. Switching back and forth from mid 30’s Germany to the formation of Yugoslavia after WW11 and Iran in 1953 one man’s history in the SIS and his family history are fascinating details in the story. Very violent at times the search for his missing son in the midst of an Anglo/American backed coup races along. Based on historical fact this is an excellent entertaining read.

1953 Tehran - a time of political unrest, British Journalist Sean Towers who's working on an expose goes missing. Former SIS intelligence officer Harry Towers isn't as close to son Sean as he once was but he's on the first available plane out to Iran.

A book of two halves for me the first a slow build, laying down the ground work with a second half that builds to a gripping final few chapters that I flew though unable to put it down until I read the final page.
Iran in the 50's is a period of history/politics that I'd be the first to admit I have little knowledge of so this was an interesting read, obviously well researched and well written too. The flashbacks provided an interesting insight into Harrys career, his relationship with his wife and the events that led to the fractured relationship between Harry and his son and its this relationship that lies at the heart of this novel.

An interesting and immersive novel that its easy to visualise being adapted into a movie

I was absolutely thrilled to be offered this book by the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I love Tom Bradby’s books and they are so thrilling and exciting with a good command of the English language, which of course you would expect from an author of his calibre.

However, I, personally found this book hard work, probably because I’m not au fait with the areas and troubles of the Middle East and all the political events, past and present and I think, without wishing to appear sexist, it’s probably more of a man’s book, or at least someone who understands what goes on in these countries. I couldn’t make my mind up who was a “goodie” and who was a “baddie” and who was a spy and who wasn’t and what had really happened to his son.

However, saying that I had to keep reading to find out what had happened to Sean, and the outcome. The ending has a good twist, and please don’t be put off by my review, as I’m sure it’s just me, not fully understanding the events leading up to the early 1950’s. After all, I was just a twinkle in my dad’s eye!!!

My thanks to the publishers and the author for the ARC.

First stand alone read by this author as previously had read his last trilogy and loved all 3
This I enjoyed but was very different to the trilogy, the historical information is amazing and anyone with an interest in Iranian local and world politics in the 1950’s will find it a must
We meet our spy, Harry, as he finds out his son has gone missing in Tehran, but what was he really doing there…Harry makes it his mission to find out with adventures and personal introspective along the way ( re his past )
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
An unusual mixture of emotion and action made this a satisfyingly interesting and different read

8/10
4 Stars

Harry Tower is the "Yesterdays Spy" a champion of the WW2 era who's life as a spy starts in pre war Berlin where things start to go wrong . By the 1952's Harry is washed up and suspected as a Russia spy. He gets a late night phone call saying his son Sean has disappeared while working as a journalist in Tehran.
Harry plans to go and look for Sean ,but with the suspicions hanging over Harry he wonders if this is a part of a trap set for him.

The murky world of espionage is opened up for us to glimpse the cross and double cross.
Who can Harry trust ? probably no one but himself as he looks for Sean amongst the changing Iranian politics of the time. Danger is everywhere where both Harry and Sean's life hangs by a thread among the bazaar and backstreets of Tehran.
Great riveting book another page turner from Tom Bradby . Loved every word.

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.

Another exiting political spy thriller, this time a stand alone, based mostly in Tehran, Iran. Harry Tower is an old spy and finds out his son, Sean, has gone missing after writing an expose about government corruption. Harry then travels to Tehran to try and track him down.. He meets Sean's girlfriend Shahnaz and together they start to work together to find out what had happened. Is he dead or alive?

The book travels back and forth between 1935 and the 1950's so there's no use of mobile phones and the latest technology, which really intrigued me and I also enjoyed the history lesson as had no real knowledge of the time in Iran, but found it really interesting.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. I preferred his last three books a little more, but this is definitely worth reading and I'll definitely be on the lookout for whatever comes next

*3.5 Stars*

Author Tom Bradby’s latest offering ‘Yesterday’s Spy’ is set mainly in 1950’s Tehran and features recently retired SIS agent Harry Towers.

Towers’ journalist son Sean, has gone missing in Iran after writing an article involving government corruption - obviously a very dangerous thing to do. Harry heads out to Tehran to find his son - he doesn’t know if Sean has been kidnapped or ‘disposed’ of, but he certainly intends to find out.

With flashbacks to the 1930’s, we begin to see what makes Harry tick, however, I can’t say that I really connected with him or any of the other characters.

Though it wasn’t my favourite Tom Bradby thriller because of my disconnect with the characters, it was nevertheless fast paced at times, (particularly towards the end), and I still enjoyed it.

After his spy trilogy, Bradby ventures back (1953) to Iran in the days of the Shah. These are turbulent times. Prime Minister Mossadegh is clinging to power. Churchill wants Iran’s oil and has imposed an embargo on Iran. The Americans via the CIA are trying to manipulate the Shah back into power to keep out the Communists. There are local factions fighting to be heard and the Army Generals want a piece of the action too,

Against this background, an English Guardian reporter Sean Tower goes missing in Tehran – probably kidnapped. He is the son of a dysfunctional British spy Harry Tower. Harry is keen to travel to Iran to locate his son. Despite opposition to his visit, Harry dons a new persona and arrives in Tehran to search for his son.

At the beginning of the book, the story jumps between time periods and it is initially a little confusing. Harry has spent much of his time in eastern Europe trying to “influence” events for the UK spy service and Churchill. Despite his successes, there have been some disasters. It seems that there is a mole (Bradby is fond of moles!!) on the British side leaking information to the Soviets. In addition. Harry’s home life has been a disaster too. His wife has committed suicide and his son Sean blames Harry.

Sean (despite Harry’s misgivings about his son’s abilities) has uncovered some information about drug deals and the Guardian has published his story. Unfortunately, Sean has upset many local dignitaries and businessmen with his revelations. Furthermore, he is on the track of a new story, and Harry believes he has been kidnapped to prevent publication. Sean’s girlfriend, Shahnaz (the daughter of an influential army officer) soon meets Harry and they set off to track down Sean.

The plot is littered with references to Iran’s history, politics and culture. Interesting and initially illuminating to understand the background to Iran’s problems in the 1950s. Unfortunately, in the end it begins to feel like a history lesson.

Is Harry a hero or a villain? What is more important country or family? Well, you need to read this thriller to discover that. There is plenty of action and political intrigue. You are guessing almost to the end to find out who the mole is. This book has the makings of a film! Perhaps not Bradby’s finest but a great read nevertheless.

A Spy survives WWII and returns to find his wife dead, cradled by their son, having committed suicide during an episode of depression. He loved his wife and was devastated that he was not there in her time of need, it also led to the alienation of his son because of losing his mother. When he learns of his sons’ disappearance while stationed in Tehran as a journalist, he feels it’s he duty to find his son, puzzled as to why and fearing the worse. In Tehran he finds the city and Iran in a state of turmoil and on the brink of civil war machinated by foreign powers and other vested interests bfcuase of Iran wanting a share of the wealth generated by the British owned Anglo Iranian oil company that was exploiting its oil resources. He meets up with his son’s Iranian girlfriend and together they explore into a complex maze of events with the son as a pawn in some political game resulting in considerable danger from which they barely survive.

I really enjoy Tom Bradby's writing, so getting an ARC of his latest Yesterday's Spy was something to look forward to. Frankly, I was a little disappointed by the hook at the beginning; the Ratskeller beer hall. I thought it lacked depth, are all Nazis fat and sweaty, in March too? I doubt Amanda would have had the space to do her visionary John Cleese impersonation. Anyway, the novel moved up a gear after that and became a really immersive spy thriller in the vein of le Carré and equally as difficulty to determine 'sides'.
I thought the skirmish in the night sky with a Hurricane would for the pilot of that plane have the same odds of winning the lottery. There was one moment when I thought my Kindle had lost its place and that was the second rendering of Amanda's suicide as it seemed a verbatim account of the first. I checked, it was more of a paraphrase. Overall a very entertaining and enlightening novel, certainly one to make you step back and think.

This was a great Historical Fiction and Spy story.. Non stop action, betrayal and intrigue all play their part. A great cast of well described characters and an absorbing storyline. The historical interventions gave a sense of reality to the story.. Another triumph for Tom Bradby .