Bernard Samson Series

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A trilogy of trilogies with an epic thrown in for good measure, this is the second best known series of Len Deighton ("Harry Palmer" comes first).

It stars a British spy called Bernard Samson, who discovers that his wife, also a spy, is working for East Germany.

The books in the series, divided by their trilogy:

Trilogy 1: In which Fiona Samson turns out to be an East German agent and defects. Bernard acquires a girlfriend called Gloria.

• Berlin Game
• Mexico Set
• London Match

Adapted into a TV series in 1998. It was a ratings failure and Len Deighton disowned it. He has since bought the rights and has prevented it being re-released on DVD.

The Epic:

• Winter- The story of two brothers living in Germany from 1900 to 1945. Background to the series.

Trilogy 2: In which Fiona Samson turns out to actually be a triple agent. Her sister ends up dead and buried in an East German roadworks.

• Spy Hook
• Spy Line
• Spy Sinker- Hook and Line from points of view rather than that of Samson.

Trilogy 3: Written after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but set before it.

• Faith
• Hope
• Charity

This series contains examples of:

• Berlin
• Bookends: Each book in the 'Game, Set and Match' trilogy begins and ends inside a car.
• Clear My Name: Fiona's defection throws suspicion on Bernard too.
• Fake Defector
• The Mole
• Oxbridge: Bernard has a chip on his shoulder over those who owe their advancement to their connections as opposed to his field experience.
• The Stale Beer approach to Spy Fiction
• World War Two (Winter)
• Ugly Guy Hot Girlfriend: Bernard and Gloria
• Unreliable Narrator