WATCHMAN

The British Secret Service here is a far cry from the smoothly functioning machine of James Bond and others- Chicanery, politicking, and worse are giving introspective agent Miles Flint a hard time. His marriage is in trouble. He's being blamed for the failure of Operation Latchkey, resulting in the undesired murder of an Israeli gunrunner. Operation Harvest, next in line, has failed to stop yet another IRA bombing in London, already in a state of near hysteria after a series of them. There are hush-hush changes among his coworkers and finally an assignment to Ireland, supposedly to assist in the uncovering of a terrorist cell. Flint soon finds out that it's meant to be his last hurrah. His escape and newfound determination to get to the bottom of things are the best part of an often confusing story that's slow starting but builds to a tense, convincing finale. Slightly disappointing sequel to Knots and Crosses, whose reporter character Jim Stevens makes a peripheral appearance here.