- This new novel by the excellent William Boyd is the third in his Gabriel Dax series. I very positively reviewed the second last year: here
- Cold Sunset is just as good. In fact in a number of ways it's better. Gabriel is a very popular travel writer who gets approached every now and then by Faith Green, an MI6 secret service agent working to uncover Russian spies. It's the mid 1960's at the peak of the Cold War. The traitors Philby, Maclean and Burgess have been uncovered. And there must be more.
- Gabriel is a handsome unmarried man in his mid-thirties. He and Faith, also single and attractive, indulge in frequent sex. And he has other attractive partners too. In fact there is far more sex in this novel than in the previous two combined. It adds a spark!
- The plot thickens considerably as the novel proceeds. Spies are uncovered and they need to be eliminated. Gabriel is sucked in and he becomes hunted. Yet he does the job. He spends time in Russia, Norway, and the Greek Islands, and his gun is always at the ready.
- The plot gets complicated as it proceeds but it remains logical and credible. Boyd knows how to enrich the drama and colour it with glorious details on art, architecture, and literature.
- Hopefully he is working on a fourth in the series.
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