Ken Follett is one of my favourite writers (see my blogs on The Pillars of the Earth, Fall of Giants, Winter of the World, Edge of Eternity, The Evening and the Morning, The Key to Rebecca, A Dangerous Fortune and The Armour of Light), so I treated myself to reading Eye of the Needle on some long train journeys at the end of September and it was utterly enjoyable.

It is set in the Second World War and is a spy thriller that races around the UK on the trail of ‘Die Nadel’, The Needle, a German spy unlike any other, who is at risk of reporting back to Germany one of the biggest secrets of the war and ruining Allied chances of an invasion of France. Die Nadel is a cold-blooded, ruthless killer who will let nothing get in his way, but academic turned spycatcher Godliman is doggedly determined not to let him escape with a roll of film that could change the shape of the war.

The pace of this thriller is perfect and I felt like I was leaping on and off trains on his tail, as a trail of bodies of anyone who stands up to him is left in his wake, whilst a few incompetent people who should have known better, not questioning who he is and what he is doing, manage to survive. My only critique was that Lucy really should have put two and two together sooner, as a highly intelligent (albeit young and a bit naive) woman, but this was a very early work and I know that Follett’s female characterisation suffers none of that in later books.

This was utterly enjoyable from start to finish, with a satisfying ending as everyone gets what they deserve. A must for anyone enjoys reading about World War Two or a jolly good spy thriller, or, as in my case, both.