Winner of the Crime Fest HRF Keating Award''Not merely the conclusive homage to a compulsively fascinating character, but an insightful study into the biographical process itself'' Nicholas Shakespeare''Now that he is dead, we can know him better.'' Secrecy came naturally to John le Carr-and there were some secrets that he fought fiercely to keep. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life. Apparently content in his marriage, the novelist conducted a string of love affairs over four decades. To keep these relationships secret, he made use of tradecraft that he had learned as a spy: code names and cover stories, cut outs, safe houses and dead letter boxes. Such affairs introduced both jeopardy and excitement into what was otherwise a quiet, ordered life. Le Carr-eemed to require the stimulus they provided in order to write, though this meant deceiving those closest to him. It is no coincidence that betrayal became a recurrent theme in his work. Adam Sisman''s definitive biography
