Friends and Traitors: An Inspector Troy Novel

The lives of Scotland Yard detective Frederick Troy and real-life historical figure Guy Burgess, the English traitor who spied for the Russians, intersect in Lawton’s superb eighth Inspector Troy novel (after 2010’s A Lily of the Field). After their initial meeting in 1935 at a party in Hertfordshire, Troy views Burgess as “an endless blabbermouth,” and his older brother warns him about being seen in Burgess’s company because Burgess is “queer as a coot,” and his father tells him Burgess is a spy. Despite all this, Troy finds the man intriguing. Through WWII and into the cold war era, as Troy rises in the ranks at Scotland Yard, Burgess is always hovering somewhere nearby, until he defects to the Soviet Union in 1951. Then in 1958, their paths cross again in Vienna after a concert; Burgess indicates that he wants to return to England. Troy alerts MI5, who send an agent to debrief Burgess. But when the agent is shot dead outside the British embassy, Troy becomes a suspect in the man’s murder. Lawton’s portrayal of Burgess as far less dangerous than in most accounts adds to the interest of this smart, fascinating historical thriller. (Oct.)