Mark one: the dummy

As I was reading "Mark One: The Dummy", I couldn't make up my mind whether author John Ball was writing a James-Bond-type spy thriller, a spoof of one, or just poking fun at himself and other writers. Protagonist Ed Nesbitt is the author of a successful series of espionage thrillers noted for their accurate details of spycraft. He is on an international tour visiting foreign publishers and gathering local atmosphere for later books. Nesbitt finds himself in situations more suitable for his fictional hero Mark Day. The story moves all over Europe (Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Venice, Istanbul) and then to India. The action is fast-paced with lots of beautiful women, nasty heavies, and loyal(?) government agents. Not a great book, but fun if you like the James Bond genre.