Review of Argylle – Elly Conway

The globe-trotting spy thriller that inspired the action blockbuster Argylle , starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Matthew Vaughn of Kingsman trilogy fame.
One Russian magnate’s dream of restoring a nation to greatness has set in motion a chain of events which will take the world to the brink of chaos. Only Frances Coffey, the CIA’s most legendary spymaster, can prevent it. But to do so, she needs someone special.

Enter Argylle. His life came to a crashing halt as a teenager. Since when he has been treading water, building barriers between himself and the world. Until one moment of compassion and brilliance will bring him to the attention of the most powerful woman in the secret world.

Coffey knows all about Argylle’s dark past. She knows it haunts him. But she also knows it may give him the skills to join the team going up against one of the most powerful men in the world. His crash course in espionage will take him from the jungles of Thailand to the boulevards of Monaco, from the monasteries of Mount Athos to a forgotten cavern buried deep in the mountains.

It is a deathly rollercoaster ride that will either make him – or break him…

Argylle

Elly Conway

Bantam

Supplied by Penguin Random House New Zealand

Reviewed by Stephen Litten

Aubrey Argylle, adult orphan son of itinerant drug dealers, is living a dead-end existence in the Golden Triangle acting as tour guide to people who think the area somehow glamorous.
He sees a light plane crash and steps in to help the survivors. This attracts the attention of the CIA, and the drug lords whose toes he crushed.
The story follows Argylle’s basic training with the CIA, integration into a pre-existing team (that had suffered betrayal by one of its number) and a convoluted plan to thwart a Russian oligarch’s search for the Amber Room. The action proceeds across a variety of locations, from Monaco to a Belgian industrial estate, to Versailles, and to the northern slopes of the Carpathians.
Now, spyfy is not my usual genre but it’s something I quite enjoy watching. But this is a book, and after 365 pages, I think Elly Conway didn’t get it quite right. In the Author’s Note for New Edition (which caused me to search for any previous editions and all I could find was a 2022 copyright for the cover image), Conway claims the character of Argylle arrived fully formed and the book more or less wrote itself.
Unfortunately, she should have edited it, because the story deserves at least two books. From recruitment to the first encounter with the Russian oligarch, we have book one. And from there forward we have one, maybe two books leading
to the conclusion of the plot arc, because a decent villain is a shame to waste in only one book.
I liked the story, and generally I liked the characters, but the handling was at times clumsy. I believe this is Conway’s first novel, so most of the flaws can be attributed to beginner’s style
and a lazy editor. If you’re into spyfy, this could easily be your thing. If you’re not, it’s worth a crack.