Plugging away

After a gap of 25 years, BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson is having another crack at spy thriller writing. His first effort, published by St Martin's in 1981, was "Moscow Requiem", with British diplomat David Wortham entangled with a Russian mistress.  American book review magazine Kirkus was not impressed: "a disjointed, completely uninvolving series of international vignettes....an ineffectual (and already dated) first novel."

In 1983 came "A Fine and Private Place". The hero - Alex Serafin, a 40-something professor at Cambridge.  Kirkus was kinder: "Predictable action/suspense in the Buchan tradition... slightly enlivened by the Poland/Solidarity backgrounds."

In October, we get "Moscow Midnight" from Hodder & Stoughton, our hero this time is Jon Swift, "from the old stock of journos - cynical, cantankerous and overweight." Mr Simpson thinks it might be an earner....

On the day I send my publisher the manuscript of my novel about Russian intelligence & tv journalism, I’m chuffed to see that hardback sales are up by 31% this year, & book sales up generally. The gloom-merchants were wrong about the death of the physical book.

— John Simpson (@JohnSimpsonNews) July 20, 2018

Meanwhile, readers will not be surprised to see that Mr Simpson has acquired another honorary degree, this time from Exeter.