The Conduct of Major Maxim (Major Harry Maxim) Paperback – 20 Dec. 2012

The second book in the Harry Maxim quartet is every bit as engaging as the first. Published in 1982, deep into Cold War tensions between East and West, this one finds Maxim working with a soldier who has gone AWOL, and getting involved in the mystery of a wartime plane crash, stolen identities and a shoot out back in England. It's punchy stuff, driven by some good dialogue between the characters, a plot that is sometimes a bit hard to fathom, and a particularly good, action-packed finale. Lyall knew how to keep a book moving, and - as with the first volume - conveys a world-weary sense of knowing the inner workings of government and espionage.

40 years on, this taut little spy thriller is still an engrossing read. Like all Lyall’s novels it creates a believable world—technically, psychologically, politically.

This is the second Harry Maxim novel and continues the story of the S.A.S. officer sequestered to Downing Street. The story involves triple agents, soldiers gone AWOL and East German assassins, once more the heart of the story involves the 3 main characters from the first book [The Secret Servant] the still grieving Harry, the cheerfully cynical Agnes Algar and the always in need of a drink Prime Ministers private secretary George Harbinger. The story involves MI 6 trying to blackmail an East German politician and how Harry gets involved in what Laurel and Hardy aptly names another fine mess!! The narrative rattles along in fine style with Harrys military common sense clashing with the secret services interests while quietly developing the 3 continuing characters storyline. So a story not in the same league as a John Le Carre or Graham Greene but never the less an entertaining read that makes you look forward to the further adventures of Harry, George and Agnes in the next book The Crocus List.

This was the ONLY way I could get a replacement copy of this wonderful Audio book brilliantly read by Robin Browne - the modern re-issue is read by an AMERICAN reader and NOT suited to this essentially English MI5 type thriller. Wish you would transfer the original audio version to CD or MP3.Major Harry Maxim is attached to Number 10 - an idealistic activist finding that a desk job doesn't suit him. Whitehall is generally shocked by his exploits ("Find out what Major Maxim is doing and stop him doing it"!) but sometimes they have need of characters like him.When an ex-SAS corporal goes AWOL after killing someone in a friendly European country, Whitehall would prefer to push him out of the Army and hush it up, but Our Harry delves deeper and wants to save both the soldier's career and the Secret Services from the scandal of an international incident. With the action ranging from the Corridors of Power, English summer fete cricket matches, darkest Rotherhithe, memories of wartime and post-war Germany to the shipping lanes of Goole, this is a tightly written, gripping and often dryly witty thriller from the much overlooked Gavin Lyall, now sadly no longer with us.

It would be really nice if this series of books could now be available again in a printed version...hint, hint!

The female spook, Agnes, is rather less annoying this time round. There's Dieter Sims to enjoy - a truly nasty piece of work - and Ron Blagg. Maxim himself I find a wee bit colourless; yet Lyall could make his reader flip the pages all right.

A fast paced, detailed and entertaining read. Very enjoyable

I was surprised that this was still available as a Kindle Book, given that the author died some years' ago. I found it amusing, especially at the start, and it got better and better..