I spent most of the week craving a specific vibe, so I tried and put down a bunch of things that weren't quite it. Ended up settling on The Ways of Khrem by D. Nathan Hilliard, even though it's not what I wanted either; it's holding my interest, though, so I'm satisfied.

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Finished The Secret Servant by Gavin Lyall (Cold War thriller) | bingo: different continent, motion picture, war, alliterative, steppin' up HM, political

An Army Major is seconded to the Prime Minister's office, where he's directed to look into rumors surrounding a new member of the nuclear advisement committee.

Outside of the unusual premise, which I liked, this felt pretty bog-standard old-school spy thriller. Some chapters near the end could have been condensed into a few paragraphs, and a couple of bits haven't aged super well (but no slurs, for a change!). Overall, I found this 'fine', but nothing I'd recommend.