Published 2nd September 2021 by Wildfire Books.
From the cover of the book:
A woman hiding a deadly secret. And the man who went in search of adventure, but found himself in danger...Gary Nelson has a routine for the commute to his rather dull job in the city. Each day, he watches as a woman on the train applies her make up in a ritual he now knows by heart. He's never dared to strike up a conversation . . . but maybe one day.
Then one evening, on the late train to Gipsy Hill, the woman invites him to take the empty seat beside her. Fiddling with her mascara, she holds up her mirror and Gary reads the words 'HELP ME' scrawled in sticky black letters on the glass.
From that moment, Gary's life is turned on its head. He finds himself on the run from the Russian mafia, the FSB and even the Metropolitan Police - all because of what this mysterious young woman may have witnessed. In the race to find out the truth, Gary discovers that there is a lot more to her than meets the eye . . .
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This begins with a delicious scene of intrigue and shady shenanigans at London's Strand Hotel, where a group of disparate Soviet émigrés meet to discuss a possible collaboration on a film project. Their reasons for leaving their homeland differ: among them some have escaped persecution, some are celebrities, some are out and out mobsters - some of them may also be spies, but it is not easy to tell where their real allegiances lie from the surface. In any event, this is a meeting that ends badly for more than one of the men at this table, for reasons Alan Johnson is going to take us on a very enjoyable spooks caper to discover!
The action then moves to another of our central characters: the very ordinary Gary Nelson, who finds himself involved it the fallout of the events in the Strand Hotel by virtue of the young woman he watches apply her make-up every day during his boring commute into the city. His longing for adventure is answered with rather more than he was prepared for when one evening this young woman asks Gary to sit next to her. Delighted to finally be able to speak to the woman he has been admiring from afar for so long, his joy turns to shock when she holds up her mirror to show him the words "HELP ME" scrawled in mascara. What's a hero-in-waiting supposed to do? Well, exactly as she asks of course!
Gary's life suddenly becomes the stuff of fiction, as he and and the apparent damsel in distress, who calls herself Arina, hales from the Ukraine and works at the Strand Hotel as a waitress, find themselves on the run from Russian gangsters, the British and Russian security services, and the police, who all want to get to the bottom of what went on at the fateful meeting. Each of these groups have problems of their own to contend with too - problems that take us deep into the workings of the Russian gangs that have made their home in London, the political pastimes and power plays of those involved in the intelligence services, and a lovely thread of conspiracy that threatens to derail the investigation of the pleasingly named Detective Superintendent Louise Mangan. Along the way, Gary's housemates and mum also get dragged into the twisty affair. Will Gary and Arina survive to tell their tale?
There are so many wonderful things about this book!
Its roots lie in an authentic spy story which draws on themes around the legacy of the Cold War, the break-up of the Soviet Union, how the security services operate, and the intriguing connections between Russian criminal gangs, super wealthy oligarchs, and those at the top of Russian politics. The way Johnson uses these themes to infuse this story with threads of money, corruption, retribution and ambition is supremely slick, and speaks volumes about his knowledge of both Russian political history, and the contemporary landscape in the East and the West. There is plenty of tension, menace and bloodshed to be found in thee pages and I loved every second of it.
In addition, Johnson manages to make this a compelling mystery tale, throwing a crateful of red herrings at you before you find out exactly what has gone on here, who has done what to who, and why - with some intriguing surprises.
But this is also a very human tale. Gary is just an ordinary bloke, living a humdrum life. He has very relatable hopes and dreams, working relationships, and housemate dramas - he also has a close and loving relationship with his single mother, which touches on some interesting themes about parenthood all on its own. Although, there are some darkly humorous moments to be had from the gritty spooks and gangsters side of this story, it is by and large in the interactions Gary has with his friends, family and colleagues where most of the chuckles lie - and a chance for Johnson to incorporate a bit of romance too. This all lightens the piece as a whole, making it very accessible for a general audience, even those who don't normally find themselves drawn to a spy yarn.
This is a cracking good read, plain and simple, that mixes things up in terms of what we normally expect from a political thriller, and I cannot wait to see what comes next in terms of fiction from Alan Johnson after this captivating debut.
The Late Train To Gipsy Hill is available to buy now in hardcover (which is gorgeous), ebook and audiobook, from your favourite book retailer.
Thank you to Caitlin Raynor at Headline for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
About the author:
His childhood memoir This Boy was published by Bantam Press on 9th May 2013. It won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and the Orwell Prize, Britain's top political writing award. His second volume of memoirs. Please Mr Postman, was published in September 2014 and won the National Book Club award for Best Biography. The final book in his memoir trilogy, The Long and Winding Road, was published in September 2016 and won the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Memoir.
Alan retired as an MP before the 2017 general election after 20 years as an MP. On 20th September 2018 his latest book, In My Life – A Music Memoir was launched at Studio 2, Abbey Road where the Beatles made almost all of their records.
He and his wife Carolyn live in East Yorkshire.
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