Alexander, the curator, is sent to Auckland to escort Captain James Cook to the Auckland Art Gallery. On opening night, the priceless portrait is stolen. Alexander has to find the painting to save his career but he also has to deal with a Soviet spy whom he has been clandestinely photographing. He meets Dr. Mel Johnson who proves irresistible to him when he is invited to her female-only martial arts school.

A Maori Land Rights group led by Wiremu Wilson claims to have kidnapped Captain Cook and is holding the painting ransom for lands that were seized before and after the Treaty of Waitangi, and Wiremu has the authorities in a panic.

To further complicate Alexander’s stay in Auckland he has to deal with Dr. Mel’s boyfriend, and his missing scientific notebooks that are wanted by the FBI and the KGB, as well as the intrigue between the Security Service and the New Zealand police.

Alexander has to come to terms with being a spy, betraying his friends and deciding how far he will go in his new government job. He struggles to discover who he has become and what he has lost.

Set in 1976, The Jaded Spy is the middle story of the Jaded trilogy and is a window into a vibrant changing New Zealand, with the growing Maori Land Rights movement, student riots, the Soviet spy scandal and a political party that will do anything to stay in power and destroy its enemies.

Author

Nick Spill

I was born in England, Lived in London and immigrated to New Zealand where I learned to play rugby, chase girls and play the viola and guitar. During the 1970s I worked for the National Art Gallery and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 

Country of Origin

Books:

Series: Jaded Trilogy

Book Number:
3
2020
Book Number:
2
2019
Book Number:
1
2016
Review The Jaded Spy, Nick Spill
Karen Chisholm
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Review Review - The Jaded Kiwi, Nick Spill
Karen Chisholm
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Blog #amreading The Jaded Kiwi, Nick Spill
Karen Chisholm
Monday, April 18, 2016
ISBN
B07YYL5WVC
Year of Publication
Publisher
Book Source
Reading Pile
Series
Book Number (in series)
2
Review The Jaded Spy, Nick Spill
Karen Chisholm
Tuesday, August 4, 2020

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