St Ives: Kernel Books, 2022

ISBN 978-1-3999-2319-4

This is the third espionage novel in the series following the dangerous and action-packed career of Nick Hellyer.  Like the previous two titles, Hellyer’s Trip and Hellyer’s Coup it has a number of strengths.

Prowse has the gift of conveying a sense of place and historical time.  Hellyer’s Line is set for the most part in Athens, where he has been sent to sniff out a British diplomat who is suspected of spying for the Russians.  Prowse manages to capture the atmosphere of Athens – and of Greece – at the time of the Military Junta, and the political tensions between Greece and Turkey over the island of Cyprus.

The plot is complex but fast-moving and gripping.  Hellyer is not universally welcome as an incomer to the closed world of the British Embassy. Almost everyone has something to hide, and the action moves back and forth with rapid twists and turns, with multiple double-crossings and deceit.  Hellyer is, as he has been before, rapidly involved in an amorous relationship, which is also not always what it seems on the surface.  And as the story moves to its surprise resolution, we are left with mixed feelings about the reliability of our diplomatic service.  The action is carried along in large part by Prowse’s use of dialogue, which comes across as authentic.

The characters are powerfully depicted, not least Hellyer himself, who over the course of the three novels has become increasingly recognisable as a flawed hero – though still unpredictable.

So, a thoroughly exciting read and highly recommended.

One thing to note is that this is not a graded reader.  It is a ‘proper’ novel.  However, Prowse’s background is in ELT, and he was for many years the editor of the highly successful Cambridge English Readers.  One of the key features of those readers was their readability – with strong story lines, vivid characters and skilful use of dialogue.  Clearly, what he learned in his role of editor of that series has carried over into the mature fiction he is now writing.  One of the problems for teachers of advanced learners has always been how to wean them off the highly-controlled texts represented in graded readers.  I would suggest that novels like Hellyer’s Line do offer a first step into non-graded reading.  So why not give it a try?