Agent Zigzag – Ben Macintyre                               5/10

The true story of Eddie Chapman, a ‘gentleman criminal’ who after a series of events, ends up working for both the German Abwehr and then MI5 as a double agent during the Second World War. 

Why write a sentence once, when you can then reword it three more times and make it into a paragraph? This must surely have been Macintyre’s mantra as he systematically bulked-out what would otherwise have been a fairly compelling story. In fact, there is so much down time in the book that I became increasingly frustrated waiting for the next actual event.

The story itself is good though: The pre-war Chapman is a likeable, cheeky criminal burgeoning into ever more audacious crimes, when he is convicted and sent to prison in Jersey. On mainland Britain he would have been imprisoned for 14 years, but as Jersey is invaded by the Germans he sees a way to escape prison by offering to spy for the German secret service, the Abwehr. After a stint in a hellish prison in France, his application is accepted and he trains with the Germans before being parachuted into Britain as a spy, whereupon he promptly turns himself in to the British authorities and begins life as a double agent working for MI5.

It is an exciting tale that sees Chapman visit several countries across war-torn Europe, particularly reminiscent of James Bond as he is complete with gadgets and girls (Indeed, links to Ian Fleming and Terence Young are mentioned), yet it is told with a desperate lack of panache.

Despite the lack of urgency in the writing, Macintyre does do a few things right. The book is extensively well researched for one. He delves deep into each of the secret services and explains how they operated in detail; the training Chapman receives from the Abwehr for example is especially intriguing.

I also commend Macintyre for taking great pains to remain objective, both with his treatment of Eddie Chapman and with the war as a whole. Chapman is undoubtedly a rogue and at times he is a questionable character. Macintyre does well to maintain this air of unreliability throughout the book, as a reader I don’t think I was ever fully on Chapman’s side. The writing is not jingoistic either, I think factually the British come across as more competent than that Germans, but there is very little flag waving.

I think in the hands of a more experienced thriller writer, this could have been a brilliant book. As it stands, it is still a good read, but it doesn’t quite make the cut for me. Great if you like spy glasses, spud guns and The Eagle, not so great if you’re a fan of good story telling.