But there are also scenes of action and danger that Ian Fleming or Robert Ludlum might well have enjoyed.

There are people who remember Harry and are hostile to the British presence, the political atmosphere is febrile and the city charged with violence. Harry connects with various spies (including Vasilyev), cops, criminals, members of the military, arms dealers, information brokers, and various players in Iranian government, gathering conflicting information as a noose seems to be tightening around Harry’s neck. The spy thriller is often a runaway train of an adventure where agents need to think on their feet and improvise.

A missed opportunity, really, as Bradby's writing is anything but exciting and gripping, as he focuses his attention on all the wrong details, and never really delves into the politics and life in Iran.

The result is a violent chase stretching across three continents, where loyalties – between spies, partners, nations and lovers – become fatally divided. I was super excited to read it as I'd recently read my first Tom Bradby novel "White Russian" and absolutely loved it. Tom Bradby's Kate Hnederson series were quite good (well, except the third one, which was disastrous), which is why I wanted to read his standalone new novel, "Yesterday's Spy". Inspired by Len Deighton’s own experiences of the film industry, Close-Up is a brilliant exposé of the sleaze, venality and betrayals of the studio machine. With the Cold War drawing to a close in the East, Bernard Samson is still haunted by the events that have turned his life upside down over the last ten years.

The highlights of the book are the evocative descriptions of Tehran in 1953, which ring true to an outsider like me, and Bradby’s well developed characters, especially his moving portrayal of Harry as a man trying to come to terms with his life and failings. The narrative also contains chapters set during the 1930s-40s that provide more details of Harry’s earlier life and career. His son, Sean, has gone missing in troubled Iran after writing an exposé about government corruption.

I found the writing a little dry and did not connect well with any of the characters, but they were from a different era with different lifestyles and attitudes. At the forefront of post-war spy writing and penning twenty-seven novels, Len Deighton changed the nature of spy fiction with his unique, cynical style.You feel the loss of the main character Harry Tower’s wife passing through details of their love story plus the anguish of losing not only the closeness Harry once had with his both his deceased wife but also his son Sean, to ultimately the horror that Sean’s disappeared in Tehran and Harry struggling to find him, a child he realizes he doesn’t know. Steve Champion – flamboyant businessman, former leader of an anti-Nazi network in the Second World War – is a man surrounded by mysteries. Churchill wants to be sure that if there’s any blowback it’s the CIA who cop the flak but also that Britain maintains its slice of the pie. All records of it have been hidden, and anyone who discovers the truth dies – their file stamped XPD; Expedient Demise. Bradby tells an interesting story with that as the backdrop and I was engaged throughout the entire book and was immersed in the coup itself, which is a factual event that actually happened.

The emerging story of the forces behind the coup, including both British and Americans as well as senior figures in the Iranian police and army. His son disappears while covering the news in Iran prior to the coup d’etat in 1953, in which Iran went from a democracy to a monarchy.A very enjoyable read, and recommended for fans of Eric Ambler, David Ignatius, Charles Cumming and Joseph Kanon. Author Tom Bradby’s “Yesterday’s Spy” starts off slow but don’t be fooled—the story really gets going in this historical fiction mystery. He’s also been bought out by millionaire tycoon Zach Petrovitch – who just happens to be married to the love of Mickey’s life.