The Break Line

James Brabazon, Penguin Books, R229

“Legally sane psychopath”

Max McLean is suave and armed. He is an asset to the espionage ecosystem that he’s a member of — the elite intelligence operation referred to as The Unknown. But to err is human and when McLean cocks up an assassination assignment, he’s given one last task to prove himself. [Insert docket with TOP SECRET printed in big, fat, red letters here.] The gist of the mission is to travel to Sierra Leone to finish an operation which a former colleague of his — “the bravest man I know” — was unable to complete. He’s so traumatised by what he witnessed that he’s been institutionalised. It’s a thrilling read and Brabazon revels in his depictions of the atrocities McLean happens upon (spoiler: it’s pretty sif), but the military references and lingo went straight over this peacenik’s head.