Thursday, August 26, 2010

Five classic chase novels

Louise Bagshawe is the author of twelve bestselling novels and a Conservative MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire.

One classic chase story she discussed with Anna Blundy at FiveBooks:
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

This is another terrific chase story with a bit more characterisation, Ken Follett’s first really big success as an author. It’s interesting because the protagonist is a German spy who has to transmit important information to Germany and he goes on the run to try to do it. He knows the British are staking out the locations of the D-Day landings and he is trying to get that information to Germany until the very end, when he falls in love. And the woman he falls in love with on a remote island in Scotland, is charged with tracking him down and killing him. Follett brings in more elements of psychology and of love and love gone wrong – the woman he falls in love with is the wife of a paralysed man and he tells some of that backstory, but again it’s a fascinating chase story with psycho-drama. It is fantastic. You’re in a weird position of wanting the German spy to fail, but at the same time you can’t help admiring his cleverness even though he is a psychopath.
Read about the other books on Bagshawe's list.

--Marshal Zeringue