Miernik Dossier: The First Paul Christopher Novel

The Miernik Dossier (the first of the Paul Christopher series), is written in a style that one would find if he/she could infiltrate the files of an espionage agency and open up an actual dossier. The story is told through reports of various agents, intercepted communications, a diary, letters, etc. It tells the story of a mixed group of intelligence agents who normally met for lunch once a week in Geneva among other interactions, who find themselves brought together on a trip to the Sudan. The point of the trip, for Paul Christopher (an American agent under deep cover at the time), is to determine whether or not one of the group, Tadeusz Miernik, is indeed a spy from behind the Iron Curtain and mixed up with a small band of terrorists in the Sudan called the Anointed Liberation Front (ALF). It all starts when Miernik requests to remain working for the World Research Organization in Geneva, after he is contacted from Poland and called back home. His story is that he will be put into prison if he returns, but others think he is a Soviet spy who is possibly going to defect to the West as a cover. The trip to the Sudan, ostensibly to take a Cadillac to the father of one of the group provides the vehicle through which Paul can watch Miernik and make reports on his status. I won't add any more about the plot line, but McCarry is a talented writer who lets the suspense build page after page, and who allows the reader to make up his or her own mind. The characters are very well drawn, and the whole atmosphere of intrigue, deception and spycraft quickly engaged me so that I did not want to put this book down. Definitely recommended for those who enjoy Cold War-era spy fiction, and anyone who has maybe read McCarry's later works in the Paul Christopher series and missed this one. Highly recommended.

As a writer McCarry blows away the current thrller writers such as Brad Thor et. al. His characters are real people, psychologically complex. Because of his background as an actual intelligence officer he is able to describe how the game is really played, not resort to a lot of Jason Bourne-style shootouts. He also uses an ingenious plot device- information about the characters is revealed through agent reports, surveillance logs, and the like. McCarry skillfully illustrates how World War II- only 15 years or so before the time frame of the story- left its scars on the survivors.

The Miernik Dossier was shockingly good. Before this, I had never read anything by McCarry. In fact, I had never even heard the man's name. I was lucky to come across a review of this re-issued work in a magazine. Now I am collecting everything by him. The story follows an odd assortment of people, some of whom may or may not be intelligence agents, as they travel south through Europe into Africa. For the entire length of the book you will be wondering and guessing and probably changing your mind many times as to who is working against whom and trying to figure out if Miernik is who he says he is. The writers of the dossier themselves seem to be unsure. In that sense the Miernik Dossier has similar elements to a mystery or detective novel, but yet it goes way beyond that. It is also a highly compelling character study, with each of the group drawn intricately by the author so that you come to know the characters. This makes it all the more suspenseful because these people who you seem to know or possibly identify with in some way may very well not be who you think they are. The Miernik Dossier is a highly entertaining read. True spy literature, in the vein of Ashenden, that is enjoyable for those who enjoy spy stories, mysteries or simply great writing. I cannot wait to read this book again!

Charles McCarry is one of the top writers of espionage, suspense/thriller fiction and most definitely in the same literary league with John LeCarre, Alan Furst, Eric Ambler and Ken Follett. McCarry's nuanced, at times poetic, writing style, his ability to create real, flesh and blood characters who will move you, and his fast-paced, taunt storylines, put him at the top of the list for craftsmanship and inventiveness. Therefore, I do not understand why McCarry's books are out of print and have been for some time. In order to read them I have had to look for used book sellers who have his novels in stock at a reasonable price - not an easy task. However, for anyone who reads this review and becomes motivated to search out "The Miernik Dossier" or any of the author's other novels, I urge you to follow through. You won't be sorry - I promise. I should note that McCarry worked for the CIA many years ago, during the height of the Cold War, and the air of authenticity that permeates his books makes them all the more fascinating and absolutely riveting. His position as one of the "Old Boys," and his knowledge of "The Company" and the political goings-on in the DC Beltway add tremendously to his most original plots. "The Miernik Dossier," published in 1973, is McCarry's debut novel and also the first book to feature Paul Christopher, the cool, sophisticated American undercover agent - who is to the author what George Smiley is to John Le Carré. The narrative, purely experimental at the time it was written, is comprised of a collection of 89 numbered extracts from intelligence reports made by field agents (from various countries), as well as memos, wire-taps and diaries revolving around a somewhat bumbling Polish exile who might be a double or even triple agent...but then again who might not. No one knows for sure whether Tadeusz Miernik is a good guy or a bad one, or whose side he is on - not American agent Paul Christopher, nor British Intelligence officer Nigel Collins, nor Kalash el Khatar a North African prince, nor any one of the colorful characters who plot, spy and elevate the art of subterfuge to the highest level. One of the novel's highlights involves a trip (mostly by Cadillac) from Geneva to the Sudan with Miernik, Khatar, Collins, a beautiful Hungarian seductress (who might be a spy), and Miernik's sister, who must be smuggled out of Czechoslovakia before she can join the group. There's plenty of dark humor to be found between the pages also. I have now read almost all of Charles McCarry's books and cannot recommend them highly enough. I have had to go out of my way, as previously mentioned, to acquire his work but am so glad I did. This one is a particular favorite of mine. If you are a fan of John le Carré, authors Furst, Ambler and Follett, you will certainly become a McCarry fan, as are le Carré, Furst, Ambler and Follett. They have all read him and praise him to the sky. ENJOY! JANA

First McCarry novel for me - found it in paperback in a bookstore in Evanston, Illinois in 1973 or so. MCarry is as good as LeCarre and his Paul Christopher novels, of which this was the first, are as good as spy fiction gets. The Miernik Dossier is an epistolary novel - field reports from Christopher as he works on recruiting Polish diplomat Miernik. If you like your spy novels rich in character development and steeped in the moral ambiguities of the secret world, this is one you should try. (Good luck finding it, though.)