After finishing last year’s Gabriel’s Moon, I was pleased to learn that William Boyd was writing a second book about Gabriel Dax. I’ve now read it and enjoyed it even more than the first.
The Predicament begins in March 1963 with travel writer Gabriel trying to lead a peaceful life in a small East Sussex village. However, his parallel life in the world of espionage just won’t leave him alone. His Russian contact, Natalia Arkadina of the KGB, still believes he is a double agent working on behalf of Russia and has requested a meeting with him to give him his latest assignment. Meanwhile, Faith Green of MI6 has also approached him with a new mission: to go to Guatemala and interview Padre Tiago, the man expected to win the upcoming presidential election there.
Gabriel is not thrilled about getting involved in spying again, but agrees to the Guatemala plan as he’ll be able to combine the trip with some research for his new book on the world’s rivers. Unfortunately, things go badly wrong and he leaves the country in a hurry, having made himself the target of some unscrupulous people. It’s not long before he is given a new task, though – this time he must go to Germany and try to prevent an assassination attempt on President Kennedy, who is visiting West Berlin.
I don’t often choose to read spy thrillers, but one of the things I find compelling about this series is that Gabriel is such a reluctant and accidental spy. He never intended to get mixed up in international espionage and is really not very good at it! We do see him adding to his skill set in this book, though, being trained on how to lose someone who is trying to follow him and how to use everyday items as weapons. And although his Guatemala mission is disastrous, he does play a part in foiling the conspiracy to kill JFK in Berlin (I’m sure it’s not a spoiler to say that it was foiled as everyone knows that he wasn’t assassinated in Germany). Boyd does a good job of creating tension in the Berlin sections, despite it already being obvious what the outcome is going to be!
Gabriel’s Moon probably had slightly more depth, as it also featured a storyline about a childhood trauma that affected Gabriel’s mental health, but I preferred this book overall – possibly because when I read the first one I was comparing it unfavourably with Boyd’s previous and very different novel, The Romantic, which I loved. And although the mental health storyline is pushed into the background in this book, Gabriel does find himself facing some other personal predicaments: he is being accused of plagiarism by another travel author, who is not pleased that Gabriel has written about the same group of islands; his ex-girlfriend Lorraine is trying to rekindle their relationship; and Gabriel himself is continuing to struggle with his feelings for his MI6 handler, Faith Green. Faith is an enigmatic character – is she really romantically interested in Gabriel or is she just stringing him along for her own purposes?
The Predicament is an entertaining read with some fascinating settings – Guatemala on the brink of a political revolution and post-war Berlin shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Throughout the book, Gabriel’s Russian contacts, Natalia and Varvara, keep pushing for him to also visit Moscow, so maybe that will finally happen in the next book! This is apparently intended to be a trilogy, so hopefully we’ll get answers to some of the other questions in the final novel too. Something to look forward to.
Thanks to Viking for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
She Reads Novels 
You enjoyed this book more than I did. I preferred Gabriel’s Moon. I am so behind with writing reviews as I read The Predicament in August and still haven’t written about it. I really should before I forget it!
I think Gabriel’s Moon was probably a stronger book but I wasn’t really in the right mood for it at the time, so I personally got on better with this one. I’m behind with reviews too – I’ve been struggling to catch up all year!
This review has reminded me that I bought a copy of Gabriel’s Moon for Mr. Rune who loves William Boyd. I intended to read it myself later on but then forgot about it. Looks like I’ve missed out and will have to go back to it.
I would definitely recommend going back and reading Gabriel’s Moon. I don’t often read spy fiction but these two books are both excellent.
Love the sound of this, I’ll read Gabriel’s Moon first!
Both books are great, but it’s definitely a good idea to read them in order!
I dont think I’ve ever tried a spy book (besides a YA series in my teens) but ive always loved movies based around them. Im also admittedly curious to see what someone clumsy falling into it all looks like to be honest. Im thrilled you enjoyed this one so much and hope the finale ties everything up nicely.
I haven’t read many spy books, but they’re usually fun. This one also has a lot of other things going on, such as Gabriel’s personal relationships and the politics of the countries he visits, so it’s a really interesting read. I’m looking forward to the third book.
I was the other way round – I slightly preferred Gabriel’s Moon. But I enjoyed both and am looking forward to seeing how he brings it all together in the third book! Faith is definitely ambiguous, isn’t she? I can’t make up my mind about her at all…
I don’t trust Faith at all – it seems as if she’s just taking advantage of Gabriel’s feelings, but I hope I’m wrong for his sake! I’m sure we’ll find out in the final book.
The fact that he’s such a reluctant spy does add a nice layer to this one. It sounds like fun, though I don’t usually read spy books either.
Yes, the reluctant spy aspect makes it even more entertaining!
Reading it right now. Strange how it seems to be going very quickly. No matter, I’m obviously absorbed!
Yes, I found it a quick read too!