I enjoy spy books, but I haven’t read anything by Matthew Richardson before and I am pleased to say that I enjoyed this. Dr Max Archer is a frustrated wannabe spy and Associate Professor of Intelligence History at LSE. Having been turned down by the intelligence services at university, he has written books on Philby and double agents. However, his career has stalled, he has failed to make full professorship and his wife of twenty-one years has left him and having kept the house, is pregnant by another man.

Stuck in a studio flat, depressed and resentful, Archer is intrigued by the invitation to meet Scarlet King. Now elderly, King was once espionage royalty and she suggests that Archer help her publish her memoir. This tells her story from the end of World War II and is full of familiar, and often notorious names, from the Cold War. Max Archer is concerned about the Official Secrets Act, but, goaded by his elderly father, dismissed by his wife, wounded and humiliated at work and at home, he sees this as a way back to his career.

What evolves is a classic chase novel, with everyone trying to uncover the whereabouts of the original story and Archer trying to discover whether the story is real, who wants it published and who wants it stopped and what they will do to achieve it. Good characters, as well as lots of secrets and twists and turns, which make this a very readable book. I will certainly explore Richardson’s other books and received a copy of this from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Whilst I ramble incoherently here, I have to add that I’m really unsure how a written review will do this book justice. Please just trust me when I say – THIS IS A MUST READ.

I’m a big fan of Espionage Thrillers so this book should have suited me down to the ground and in some aspects it did,

It’s very well written yet I found it a little hard to get in to and appreciate but once I settled in to it, it’s gripping and well done if a little predictable.

Not the smallest of books but worth investing your time in if Espionage is your thing. I would recommend to spy enthusiasts

This is a complex and riveting spy story, exhaustively researched and superbly well written, which very cleverly and entertainingly meshes fictional characters with real people and real events spanning the post-WW2 Cold War years and beyond to the present day. I thought the characters were mostly well drawn and very believable but surprisingly I found Max Archer, one of the two main protagonists, difficult to relate to and difficult to believe in. But this story has post-war Vienna, the USA and UK both recruiting Nazi scientists, traitors in high places, rivalry between the UK intelligence services, undercover Russian agents and handlers, mole hunts, defectors, spy swaps, shadowy Mossad manoeuvres, etc - what more could any fan of spy fiction want? Highly recommended.

First of all, thank you to Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I absolutely adore thriller books so ‘the scarlet papers’ was right up my street! The twists and turns in the book kept me guessing and made me even more involved within the story while making me question what the heck was going on.

This was written very well in my opinion and I honestly think a lot of time, love and effort went into this book - as shown with the bibliography at the end of the book.

I truly think this is a book to be proud of.

Wow I have just finished this twist and turning tale of spying from just after WW2 up to date. It was really well researched and so well written. A true page turner and very well paced throughout. The main characters are well developed. My only gripe as someone who does not read spy novels all the time was all the acronyms- a glossary of terms might be helpful!
This was an excellent read that I recommend highly. Enjoy!

Max Archer life is going nowhere. A failed marriage, debts and an academic career forced on him after failing to get into the secret service. Then a secret message from Scarlet King, A legendary reclusive ex spy. A manuscript that could change everything.. Fascinating, brilliant and lots of twists and turns keeps you engaged to the final page. ,

The Scarlet Papers

Scarlet King was an legendary British spy operating after the Cold War and once tipped to be head of MI6.

Max Archer is a jaded academic in Intelligence History and an author who is still looking for a breakthrough.

Archer receives an intriguing card inviting him to visit Scarlet. Was it a trap? A joke?

King gives him an extract of her notebook detailing a post War Vienna operation. It’s information on MI6’s operations and it’s illegal. But King was betting on Archer’s need for a scoop and professional vindication.

Max knows he’s involved in something dangerous that is far bigger than him and probably beyond his capabilities but his sense of previous failures and a life unfulfilled power him on.
He takes the manuscript and we slowly learn about Scarlet through extracts and flashbacks.

Meanwhile, the UK government are watching. King worked for Kim Philly before his defection - was she also a double agent? What is it they will go to any length to avoid the world knowing?

The result is a heart stopping, compelling story of the post war spy world where no-one and nothing is what it seems. The book expertly spans 50 years and roams to Vienna, Moscow, Washington and is anchored in some real events and places. .

The Scarlet Papers is a brilliantly thrilling read. I’ve enjoyed Matthew Richardson’s previous books but this is the best yet. I didn’t want to put the book down and nor did I want it to end.

I’m grateful to Michael Joseph and Penguin Random House for an advance copy.

Matthew Richardson is known for his excellent Solomon Vine books, but The Scarlet Papers is even better. It is a standalone espionage novel that tells a story of what might have been, weaving fact and fiction beautifully so that the reader is drawn to wonder where truth and fiction diverge.

The novel has a powerful beginning. Within the first few pages an intriguing scenario links the present day to classic Cold War territory in 1946 Vienna. Events point back towards the earlier world of the Cambridge spies from an original point of view.

Locations are a strong feature: Vienna, Oxford and London all classic cities associated with Cold War spying and recruitment. The central character is an intelligence historian, an academic drawn into the world of SIS by an offer he can’t resist. He is afforded a meeting with a key player from the 1950s and the so-called Scarlet Papers show us how the past looked at the time. The story develops as an academic puzzle that we get to see over the shoulders of its narrator.

It is a beautifully constructed story as the academic researches the spies and is himself shadowed by the new SIS establishment. Richardson balances the motives of his characters in a compelling read that remains credible despite the extraordinary nature of its story. He engages the reader’s sympathies for characters rather than nations and so we are drawn into complicity with more than one side. Spying is shown to be a matter of personal relationships that transcend the grander ambitions of the Cold War participants.

There are some truly excellent modern writers of espionage fiction, carrying on the tradition of Le Carre and others. Matthew Richardson is one of the best of them and The Scarlet Papers is a very worthy addition to the canon of espionage literature.

A thrilling espionage tale where a burnt out academic is chosen to write and reveal the life of Britain’s top Cold War spy. Engagingly written and utterly immersive, it really had the energy of a James Bond style book - a single character becoming utterly wrapped up in this world.

I will say what let this book down and prevented the full five stars was the plot twists - I found them incredibly predictable a lot of the time.

Received arc from Penguin Random House and Netgalley for honest read and review,this review is my own.
A different kind of book for me to read,espionage thriller type. It was an interesting with a few different timelines, but came together quite well.
I enjoyed the main character Scarlet and it was a really good story.
Well Worth a read if you are a fan of espionage mind of books .

We are drawn in as the writer and narrator of Scarlet’s story is drawn in - tantalised by her clues, and also by the big names dropped - so is our narrator - although we switch to other locales and people also investigating … the time frame is crucial in a way and it is subverted by the double whammy investigation going on .. it’s great fun that while she is laying traps, so are her counters in M15 investigating what she’s up to with the narrator - will she reveal a biggie - it’s why we don’t. Know the entire story - so all the double (and triple) agents are revealed - it’s a universal dilemma. Great fun, despite some of the tedium of having to go through the conventions of the genre to establish its credibility … very talented writer, for sure …

Amazing journey through the story of a spy. The novel takes us from the end of the war in Vienna to the Cambridge spies to the present day. A journey taken in the memoirs of a high ranking female SIS member that wants her memories published. The trouble is, nobody but an Associate Professor of Intelligence History at the LSE, Dr Max Archer does.

A great read with a glimpse of the shadowy world of spying .With breath-taking pace the novel shows us all the undercover deeds that spies get up to .Nobody trusts nobody and nobody is who they appear to be.

Enjoy the delve into the murkier side .Although a work of fiction it all has a ring of the possible with true events littered through out the story.

Thanks to Matthew and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Scarlet Papers before the publication date.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable book with many twists and turns which have the reader engaged and questioning the truth throughout.

At 42, Dr Max Archer is an Associate Professor of Intelligence History at LSE. Having published 2 books which were not very successful, his career has stalled. Meanwhile he sees his peers having successful careers and financial stability. To add to his misery, his lawyer wife has petitioned him for a divorce, leaving him homeless and in debt.

When he is intriguingly offered access to the alleged memoirs of a ghost in the Intelligence Services, Max is unable to verify the writer or the authenticity. Should he use the highly sensitive contents to make a name for himself, whilst risking his freedom?

It is obvious that Matthew has performed in depth research into the subject of spies, by his use of the details about publicly known spies, from the era of the Cambridge Five to the current day.
He has used this to create a factual core scaffold, around which he crafts the fictional story of spies, double agents, the Intelligence Services and Politics, whilst adding some dry humour along the way.

It would make an excellent film.

Despite really enjoying historical fiction, I didn’t really care for this one as I couldn’t get right into it from the start. Perhaps having other, more tempting titles waiting to be read didn’t help.

Very cleverly written, this espionage thriller takes a bit of getting used to but is a thrilling ride throughout.

Although written as a novel about spying, this book is full of factual names and events that actually took place. It is extremely well researched and the characters are believable. There are lots of twists and turns. There is a colossal bibliography at the end and the author acknowledges the amount of time it took to write and research. very clever and a little different from the spy-type genre.
I enjoyed it.

A complex piece of fiction that reads almost like intertwined biographies from the spy fraternity (that would never be published). The research and detail that must have gone in to this is slowly unwrapped as each page turns and reels you in. This is an archetypal novel on post war “intelligence” and beyond that gives a feel for the establishment, the era and characters to be rooted for or reviled. What a good book.

Spies, double agents, triple agents, duplicity and lies, what a book!
For decades there have been rumours of a sixth spy in the Cambridge 5. But what if it was a woman, and what if she was at the very top. And what if she wanted to get the truth out in the form of a memoir
That is the basis for this book and it is a cracking story.
I miss this type of story
I miss this type of story being written so well
I highly recommend this book to all espionage fans.

It is said you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, I agree. My personal rule of thumb is, how much you don't want the book to end. It has served me well up until I read The Scarlet Papers. It was true, I did not want it to end but when it did, I felt complete, satiated. It wasn't a sun setting, dogs barking and children laughing ending for sure. No, more of a cerebral journey which reached its destination. I cannot recommend The Scarlet Papers highly enough. The period covered being from WW2 to the modern day and it centred on a spy master, more slippery than any eel I have encountered and more intelligent than most humans, with both IQ and EQ touching the buffers. It gave me real food for thought over what really happened to all those deeply embedded double agents when the wall came down. It also made me realise what a self serving profession it is, a game within a game and along with prostitution, one of the oldest.
A few minor niggles, the colour of ink and corrections to the scarlet papers are at odds in different parts of the novel. The watch was a possible but it would have had to use gsm and gps because of the lowish power output, with gsm in the channel being a little iffy. The almost instant placing of bugs is ridiculous as is their size. A digital watch uses next to no power but still needs a battery, a bug needs more power so needs a bigger battery and that limits its size unless of course a transponder bug is being used and those need high levels of external RF.
All in all, one of the best spy thrillers I have read. A ten would have been the correct score but as there are a maximum of 5 stars I am going to give it a big fat 5!