The murky cover on The Mulberry Bush mirrors the murky plot of this spy novel. The narrator is a spy for an American intelligence agency. He is bitter because his father, a famous spy, was kicked out and ruined. The story is complicated. Of course, everyone lies. All the characters have secret agendas. If you’re in the mood for a dark spy novel, The Mulberry Bush is like a shadow at midnight. GRADE: B
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by McCarry. I love Mulberries, though
Maggie, I liked McCarry’s earlier spy novels. THE MULBERRY BUSH was just okay.
I read THE TEARS OF AUTUMN and THE MIERNIK DOSSIER, both of which were more interesting than this one sounds. I do want to read more McCarry, but maybe I’ll try a different one.
Jeff, I liked THE TEARS OF AUTUMN and THE MIERNIK DOSSIER, too. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a book like THE MULBERRY BUSH. It happens.
I really hated to give up on this book, but I did. McCarry’s Paul Christopher novels are, for me, the only series of American spy novels that rivals the best British practitioners of the genre, and I’d urge anyone who loves spy novels to read them, especially the first four. But this one’s a drag.
Michael, you captured the essence of THE MULBERRY BUSH: it was a drag. Like you, I loved the early Paul Christopher spy novels. I’d put those McCarry novels up against the best of Le Carre’s.
I’m not a fan of spy novels and films I have to confess, so …
George, when will we read from you again on SF?
To give you an idea, here’s something on women as SF writers:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3NFWVm1zyTX6pFKkDS3MBFV/10-women-who-changed-sci-fi
PS:
You would never catch me using “sci-fi” – for me and my friends it’s always “SF”!
Wolf, I’m an SF guy myself. But, we used to have the SCI-FI Channel here in the States. I’ll have some science fiction novel reviews next week. I go from one genre to another and oscillate between fiction and non-fiction depending on circumstances.
Yes, Phil liked the early ones too. The more recent not so much.
Patti, my reaction to McCarry’s spy novels parallels Phil’s. The early books are great. This latest book was a bit of a slog to finish.