Finished: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (le Carre). A really good, twisty, turny, suspenseful, surprise ending, spy book. :-) This one is supposed to be le Carre's best book. I must say I did enjoy it...and more so than Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Of course, going back to his earlier books and seeing the characters that were in that later book as younger characters makes it a little sad how the one of them turned out to be the huge traitor years later. Anyway, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold took place right when the Berlin wall was going up. Spies for both the East and the West were trapped on the wrong side when it went up. This story focuses on British spy, Alec Leamas, who is in charge of operations in Berlin for Britain's spy organization, known as "the Circus". Operations are not going well, as all of his operatives are being killed by Mundt, the director of the East German Intelligence operation. As the story opens, Leamas is waiting suspensefully at the checkpoint between East and West Berlin for his last remaining operative to make his safe escape to the west. Alas, the operative is shot ten feet from freedom. Alec Leamas is called back to headquarters in London by "Control". He figures he's going to be put out to pasture. Instead, "Control" (the British boss) asks him if he's ready to come in from the cold, i.e., retire. Alec says no, which is a good thing, because Control has one more job for him if he's up to it. He'll have to pretend to hit rock bottom, be kicked out of the Circus, go on a drinking binge, etc., until the other side believes that he's so down and out that he'd actually defect to their side and give up all the British intelligence secrets. The goal of the mission? Get inside and help bring about the assassination of the evil Mundt. Alec accepts the job, knowing the danger and risks...but there's nothing he'd like more than to take down Mundt. So, the story gets very complicated and becomes a series of tense meetings, twists and turns, interrogations, and leads to a surprise mole inside the East German Intelligence Service. Alec is so disappointed at the end to realize he has been used by his own government, along with most of the others involved...and sadly, the story doesn't have the ending I would have liked. It's a really, really good book, though. I couldn't put it down! :-) And, this was only le Carre's third novel! Now, I think I'll have to go back and get le Carre's first book, Call For The Dead, which introduces the Circus, Control, and all the spies.