Mike Ripley - Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2017

Copyright © Mike Ripley 2017

Foreword copyright © Lee Child 2017

Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2017

Mike Ripley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008172251

Ebook Edition © March 2019 ISBN: 9780008172244

Version: 2019-03-04

For Len Deighton,

who has a lot to answer for.

‘That’s one of the reasons I wrote my first crime novel, because my father was reading Alistair MacLean. I didn’t want to write Dubliners. I wanted to write something he would read’

Ian Rankin

‘Indispensable and destined for awards’

Maxim Jakubowski

‘Ripley produces funny lines as often as most people breathe’

The Times

‘[Ripley] reduced me to tears of laughter with some of his deadpan summaries of the period’s lesser lights’

Daily Telegraph

There will be spoilers. Live with it. Many of the thrillers referred to here were published fifty years ago.

You’ve had time.

‘A book, film, or play depicting crime, mystery, or espionage in an atmosphere of excitement and suspense.’

Collins English Dictionary

‘What exactly is a thriller? The term seems to cover a multitude of sins and quite a fair proportion of virtues.’

Margery Allingham, 1931

‘You after all write “novels of suspense” – if not sociological studies – whereas my books are straight pillow fantasies of the bang-bang, kiss-kiss variety.’

Ian Fleming in a letter to Raymond Chandler, 1956

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Praise ‘That’s one of the reasons I wrote my first crime novel, because my father was reading Alistair MacLean. I didn’t want to write Dubliners. I wanted to write something he would read’ Ian Rankin ‘Indispensable and destined for awards’ Maxim Jakubowski ‘Ripley produces funny lines as often as most people breathe’ The Times ‘[Ripley] reduced me to tears of laughter with some of his deadpan summaries of the period’s lesser lights’ Daily Telegraph

Spoiler Alert

Thrillers THRILLERS Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Praise Spoiler Alert Thrillers Foreword Preface Chapter 1: A Question of Emphasis Chapter 2: The Land Before Bond Chapter 3: Do Mention the War Chapter 4: Tinkers, Tailors, Soldiers, Spies. But mostly journalists. Chapter 5: End of Empire Chapter 6: Travel Broadening the Mind Chapter 7: Class of ’62 Chapter 8: The Spies Have It, 1963–70 Chapter 9: The Adventurers, 1963–70 Chapter 10: The Storm Jackal Has Landed – The 1970s Chapter 11: The New Intake Chapter 12: Endgame Appendix I: The Leading Players Appendix II: The Supporting Cast Notes & References Acknowledgements & Bibliography Index About the Author Also by Mike Ripley About the Publisher ‘A book, film, or play depicting crime, mystery, or espionage in an atmosphere of excitement and suspense.’ Collins English Dictionary ‘What exactly is a thriller? The term seems to cover a multitude of sins and quite a fair proportion of virtues.’ Margery Allingham, 1931 ‘You after all write “novels of suspense” – if not sociological studies – whereas my books are straight pillow fantasies of the bang-bang, kiss-kiss variety.’ Ian Fleming in a letter to Raymond Chandler, 1956

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1: A Question of Emphasis

Chapter 2: The Land Before Bond

Chapter 3: Do Mention the War

Chapter 4: Tinkers, Tailors, Soldiers, Spies. But mostly journalists.