I’m a huge Boyd fan, have been reading him since the 1980s when he released his debut A Good Man in Africa. He has never disappointed, and Gabriels’ Moon kept me a fan.
Gabriel Dax’s nights are haunted by the half-memories of a tragic fire and death of his mother when he was six years old. But despite the resulting insomnia, he has made a reputation for himself as a travel writer and lives a comfortable, satisfying existence in Chelsea.
Occasionally, big brother Sefton – who works in the Foreign Office – asks him to drop off a package on his travels, which Gabriel finds intriguing but is happy to do. Then Gabriel is approached by Faith Green, an admitted member of MI6, to undertake a task for her, and Gabriel’s role as a messenger escalates into something rather more dangerous. And how, if at all, is his seduction into this world linked to the tapes of his interview with Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the new Democratic Republic of Congo?
Beautifully plotted, with several threads to enrich the book’s tapestry, the story unfolds almost casually, in a laidback style which reminded me time and again of that beloved master of the spy thriller, Le Carre. Every character is well defined – Dax’s girlfriend who works in a Wimpy Bar, her chancer brother (loved Tyrone), Sefton’s bluff bonhomie, Faith Green’s cool composure – the foreign settings of the 60s (park anywhere in London) are beautifully drawn in deft strokes, and the language is gorgeous. I have a list of new words to sneak in somewhere in my writing.
Highly recommended.
Find Gabriel’s Moon here
Find When war came to Laundry Cottage here.
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