The Repurposed Spy

Somehow the author takes an incredible scenario and makes it credible. The story is written in such a way as to make me believe it was absolutely possible and I anxiously travelled along with the protagonist as he dealt with the unlikely hand dealt him. The author handles some difficult topics with sensitivity and it is nice to see anxiety being addressed openly as part of the protagonist’s life rather than in a tokenistic way,

“I’d wanted to travel. I hadn’t envisaged doing so locked into a coffin, but variety is the spice of life, and one has to adapt to one’s surroundings”

Ronald Jones has had a long career in teaching, and now he can’t wait to retire, with travel high on his agenda. In particular he’d like to return to Brazil where he’d spent some time as a student many years ago. However, his plans are upended when he’s offered work which makes use of his language skills, but he’s thrown into a world of espionage, and he has no idea who he’s working for or indeed why. All he wanted was a simple holiday in Brazil, but instead he finds himself in serious danger.

What a thoroughly enjoyable read this was. I doubt you’ll have read a spy story quite like this one, and even though the storyline might appear a little bit incredible at times, it pulled me in to the extent that every time I put it down I couldn’t wait to get right back to it. Definitely recommended!

This is a spy thriller with a difference- I’m a big fan of this genre but I’ve never read anything quite like this. It’s a great story which held my attention from the very first page and kept me guessing right to the very last! Definitely a fun read!
Ronald Jones is a teacher of Modern Languages - Spanish and Portuguese- working in a secondary school in Slough. He lives alone and seems to be completely anti social, avoiding human contact as much as possible- somewhat surprising in a school teacher but maybe he finds children easier to cope with than adults.
Having worked hard all his life he decides to retire, take his pension and travel the world. However he gets more than he bargained for when he is approached by the mysterious Mr Smith who wants him to do a bit of translating whilst visiting South America in exchange for his travel costs. Jones thinks it sounds pretty harmless and accepts the offer.
The book is told in the form of a diary written by Jones and his travels turn into something more than a post retirement adventure when he ends up in some pretty difficult situations and held hostage by some very shady characters. Jones was a very entertaining protagonist who narrated the story in a laconic and humorous manner which had me chuckling out loud in places!
On the more serious side the book portrayed social anxiety in a sympathetic way as Jones navigated his way across South America, forced to communicate with others in order to survive his ordeal.
This is a real ripping yarn with much humour and a fair amount of action. It is a fast paced read which I thoroughly enjoyed and which I highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my advance copy.