Double Jeopardy

Four world leaders are scheduled to travel by train to a summit in Vienna. British intelligence reports suggests not one but two threats to one of the world leaders, by both East German communists and the neo-Nazi Delta group, who have been targeting spies around the Lake Constance area of Switzerland. Tweed, Marler and other characters who feature in many more of Forbes's later books have to find out who is behind an attempted assassination - not only that, the neo-NAzi arms dumps are located and the communist leader uses this to his own political advantage in the run-up to the German national elections. To top it all, one of the security personnel on the train in a suspect . . . who? A timeless classic and an engrossing thriller all in one. Athough it was written in 1982, set in East and West Germany, the neo-Nazi angle could easily be applicable to today's German political climate. This is also the debut appearance of Tweed, the 'hero' of Forbes's novels. The pacing is fast, the narrative is easy to read and the story does not get too complex. Overall, track down a copy and enjoy! Oh, in case you're wondering, this is nothing to do with the recent Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd movie of the same name!

Having read another (more recent) novel by Colin Forbes which featured the inimitable Tweed, I was keen to get my hands on more. A little research revealed that this title, Double Jeopardy was apparently the first appearance by the British super-spy. Although relatively short compared to most of his later works, Double Jeopardy is still a cracking read. It tends to focus more on the activities of Martel, the primary agent, but Tweed's abilities emerge towards the end. If you become a Tweed fan like myself, you will enjoy going back to where it all started (circa 1982) and then following the sequence through to more recent publications like The Sisterhood (1999). How Forbes keeps conjuring up these plots with the amazing end/twists is the real appeal of his works.