Is that something that, you know, you have to have these component parts in an espionage novel?

I think so.

And the other thing I think you have to have is complexity.

And that's something that... lecari in particular brought into the spy novel and i've written so much about lecari over the years and analyzed his novels and analyzed his style but the reason i love reading spy novels is that you're trying to figure out what's going on you know it's not clear and in a way you the reader by trying to second guess the way the narrative will go and what will happen.

So for me, of course, you can tick the boxes of, you know, Russians and betrayal, duplicity and so on.

false identity and so on.

But for me, what's beguiling about spy novel is the fact that you, as you read, are trying to figure out what's going on behind the complexities of the story that you're being told.

she's about sort of, is it 15 or so years older than, than Gabriel? Um,

And I wanted to ask you w- where you stand on the whole Kennedy assassination theory.

Well, I am a conspiracy theorist, absolutely.

And I don't s- see how any right-thinking person, uh, cannot be a conspiracy theorist.

Because if you, uh, if you look at the, the famous footage, the Z- Zapruder film, which of that man who was o- who was taking a, a sort of home movie of the c- of the motorcade, um, the, the final shot that hits Kennedy in the throat and, you know, blows his brains out, comes from in front of the motorcade.

There's, you know, there's no doubt about that.

It's, it's...

And yet Oswald was in the book depository, which was behind the motorcade.

Is that something that, you know, y- you have to have these component parts in a, in a espionage, um, novel?

Is that something that, you know, you have to have these component parts in an espionage novel?

I think so.

And the other thing I think you have to have is complexity.

And that's something that...

Le Carre in particular brought into the spy novel.

And I've written so much about Le Carre over the years and analysed his novels and analysed his style.

But the reason I love reading spy novels is that you're trying to figure out what's going on.

intentional?

Tell us a little bit more about Gabriel.

Well, I've written quite a few spy novels, including a James Bond continuation novel, and I'm sort of fascinated by that world.

And I finished a very long whole life novel called The Romantic, which takes place over the 19th century.

I thought, let's do something a little bit more fun and kind of racy.

And so I thought of this idea of taking a travel writer as a reluctant accidental spy.

And I think quite a lot of travel writers or journalists are often recruited as stringers for MI6, so there's some precedent there.

And it allowed me to write about spying from the outside, as it were.

How did how did you get published was it an easy journey for you when you started?