Originally owned by my father-in-law who was a big Le Carre fan.

This wasn't one of my favourite Le Carre's unfortunately. The blurb and opening chapters set the plot up for a tragic ending which will tell us how awful espionage agencies are with regard to the war on terror. Therefore, I didn't feel much thrill or curiosity for how the gradually pans out. It's a clever plot, and yet oh so predictable.

Some media reviewers have focussed on the ending and how it feels far too neat and one-sided to be believable. I would agree, but to be honest, I found the relationship between Sasha and Mundy pretty unbelievable all the way through. Neither character really sparked my imagination. They fulfilled a plot purpose and that was all.

This isn't to say I hated Absolute Friends - far from it. The opening chapters and middle section focussed on cold war spying were particularly good. The descriptions of Mundy's separate, overlapping yet contradictory selves are insightful, and set up the novel's final chapter very well.

Overall, I just feel a bit disappointed. I know Le Carre wrote far better books than this.

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