'Waiting for Sunrise' | William Boyd

Last week I mentioned my weekend in Brussels. A 400 mile trip across a massive section of France calls for a long train journey, and a long journey calls for a great book.

Luckily I had this gem in my bag waiting to be opened on the train. William Boyd is one of my favourite authors at the minute – his attention to historical, geographical and character detail, in particular, is second to none. On the subject, I’ve never read any of the James Bond books but was so excited to hear that Boyd has taken over the writing of the series and have been meaning to get my hands on Solo ever since. If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this spy novel measures up to Fleming’s originals!

Back to Waiting for Sunrise, and I was gripped from the start. The novel opens in early 20^th-century Vienna, where Boyd’s protagonist Lysander is being treated for a personal psychological problem by a protégé of Freud. In the waiting room, he meets Hettie Bull, with whom he begins an intense and incredibly problematic affair. Later he is arrested but placed under the supervision of the British Embassy on bail and flees.

Indebted to the British government, the next year Lysander has gone from established theatre actor to a spy in the war. But his seemingly simple mission has more links, danger and consequences than he Lysander could have anticipated. In the midst of the intelligence events Hettie returns and Lysander becomes caught up in yet more trouble.

Boyd retains the unfailing momentum of the plot by weaving adeptly between family life, wartime events, sex and scandal. He has evidently taken inspiration from the events of the time, including scientific developments, and used them to deftly craft a work bringing together mystery, drama and love. Electricity and peril runs from beginning to end – a wholly satisfying and riveting read. I’m already looking forward to reading my next Boyd novel.

'Sweet Tooth' | Ian McEwan

Last week while I was back home I was pleased to see that my mum had taken out Sweet Tooth from the library (yep, my family are just as geeky as me when it comes to books). Of course she couldn’t read it then as I wasted no time in snapping it up!

As a fan of McEwan’s novels since reading Enduring Love at school, I had skyscraper expectations for his foray into espionage writing – and he didn’t fail to deliver. Sweet Tooth is set in 1970s England, primarily London, and is narrated by a well-educated and flighty bishop’s daughter, Serena Frome, who is in her final year of maths at Cambridge at the start of the novel. An affair with a history tutor, Tony Canning, has further-reaching effects than it initially seems, as he recruits Serena as an MI5 spy, sculpting and disciplining her before abandoning her in a lay-by and disappearing, never to be seen again by Serena. Naturally, that’s not to say he doesn’t remain a key figure in the plot.

McEwan maps out Serena’s life – new friends, work, and feelings – before revealing the secret mission that provides the novel’s title. Every detail of kisses, lunches and relationships kept me captivated as the mission is hidden from us in typical McEwan style until much later. We are constantly kept guessing as to who is really being spied on – there appear to be some covert affairs among Serena’s co-workers, and there is a suggestion that someone has broken into her flat looking for something too.

When we find out about the mission the pace quickens – Serena meets Tom Haley, the subject of her mission, and according to some reviews I’ve seen, an incarnation of the author himself. The development of the two characters’ relationship alongside Serena’s mission is thrilling and mysterious. Personally I always seem to find that it is McEwan’s ability to create shockingly realistic and mesmerising relationships between characters, conjuring up the intensity of jealousy, lust and hedonism that sets him apart from others.

It wouldn’t be a McEwan novel without a revelatory and cathartic twist at the end that changes everything and makes you see the whole story in a different way – but I’ll leave it there so I don’t ruin it for you! This is one of those books that once you’ve finished reading, you immediately want to discuss with someone else to talk about the surprising ending (I had the same feeling with Life of Pi). One of the best books I’ve read this year – I’m already looking forward to the next offering.