Overall, I enjoyed
this offering, by one of my favourite authors, and I will certainly be on the
lookout for the final Gabriel Dax novel. (Review by Fiona de Goede)
In the preface, the author has cited a quotation (which he
translated from French) by Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, 1957: There is the story
– and then there is the story within the story.
And then there is another story, buried, that only a select few are able
to read.
This indeed sums up the premise of The Predicament. Gabriel Dax, travel writer and reluctant operative for MI6, is sent to Guatemala to try and ascertain whether a political coup of the current regime is being plotted.
Whilst there, he encounters various unsavoury characters and events hot up. Gabriel has to leave Guatemala in somewhat of a hurry and he then finds himself in West Berlin. Much to his horror, he then stumbles upon an audacious plan to assassinate the young President John F Kennedy, whilst on a state visit to Berlin. Several of the unsavoury characters that he encountered in the Guatemala scenario, crop up again. Gabriel has to thwart this assassination attempt but time is very much against him.
The story is set in 1963 – when spies and agents were a very different breed than they are (I would imagine) today. Gabriel is taught the basic skills of self-defense and the artifice of following a suspect. That more or less is the extent of his training – no gadgets, no frills. Just his innate sense of knowing what to do and how to react. And this is what made reading this novel such a treat.
The elegance, style and polish that is Gabriel Dax was a pleasure to read and I found myself enthralled with this character. His sartorial elegance, his fine dining menu choices and his overall man-about-town aura is just too wonderful.
Gabriel’s love interest is the mysterious Faith Green, his MI6 handler. She never allows him to get too close to her but Gabriel does manage to win her over, to some extent, albeit mostly on her terms. Clearly a woman ahead of her time…
The Predicament is the second book in the Gabriel Dax trilogy – the prequel, which I have not read, being Gabriel’s Moon. Overall, I enjoyed this offering, by one of my favourite authors, and I will certainly be on the lookout for the final Gabriel Dax novel. Hopefully soon. - Fiona de Goede
The Predicament is published by Penguin Random House South Africa ISBN 978-0-241-76114-4
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