For more than five decades, John le Carré has been the revered master of the British spy novel, and his latest work, A Delicate Truth, is no exception. While the edginess of earlier classics, such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, has inevitably faded, le Carré continues to do profound justice to the genre.

Moving away from the Cold War, which formed the backdrop for much of his previous work, A Delicate Truth sees le Carré experimenting with contemporary espionage. It opens in Gibraltar, where a privately funded, top-secret counter-terrorism operation, codenamed Wildlife, is spearheaded by the cunning and ambitious Foreign Office Minister, Fergus Quinn. It is apparently a roaring success, or so diplomat and accessory to Operation Wildlife Kit Probyn is led to believe.

Three years, a knighthood and a generous promotion later, Probyn has a chance encounter with a former member of the Wildlife team, who is suffering heavily from post-traumatic stress disorder. Allegations of collateral damage, a staggering intelligence failure and a massive cover up by the Foreign Office throw his newfound retirement into disarray. Alongside Quinn’s former private secretary, Toby Bell, Probyn quickly learns that no amount of diligent enquiry will reveal the truth. The Foreign Office is determined to keep the answers he seeks out of the public domain, at whatever cost.

A Delicate Truth is yet another instalment in a long career of illustrious achievements, cementing le Carré’s place as one of Britain’s finest writers.

Dexter Gillman is a freelance writer.