JOHN LE CARRE Silverview ***(*)

The last book by the late great novelist. Enjoyable, but not one of his best.

Julian, a 30-something former City high-flier has opened a bookshop in a Suffolk seaside town. Very soon he is visited by the charming Edward, an ageing Polish emigre, who befriends him and effortlessly cajoles him into running the occasional errand or allowing him to use the bookshop's computer. Edward is a former (?) British agent who lives in Silverview, a large house owned by his dying wife, Debbie, another star of the intelligence service. 

Then there's the love interest: Edward and Debbie's daughter, Lily. 

Meanwhile Stewart, a spy chief based in London, becomes aware of a dangerous leak, which leads him to this quiet seaside town... As well as being a spy story, but with the usual Le Carre refusal to get drawn into such vulgarities as car chases and shoot-outs, it's a story of love, loss and regret, and private morals versus public duty. And it's short - just 210 pages.