Night Heron - Adam Brookes

Chinese whispers

In some respects, Adam Brookes' Night Heron is a standard and even run-of-the-mill espionage thriller.  The operation here runs along familiar lines, with stock characters and shady agencies. There are however a few points where Night Heron stands out from the crowd. One is that it's set in China, a place of major significance in the world today, and one whose actions and growing power is still largely unknown. Another point in its favour is that this is the debut novel from a former BBC correspondent in China, so it's written with an on-the-ground familiarity with the subject.

What is most interesting about this spy thriller however is the nature of the informant. Peanut/Li Huasheng, code-name Night Heron, has helped the British Intelligence before, but it was 20 years ago. In the meantime he's been locked away in a "labour reform faculty" in the Qinghau desert. On escape he attempts to reopen his links with British Intelligence through a journalist in Beijing, Philip Mangan, with the offer of access to top secret missile information in return for getting him out of China. What Peanut doesn't know however is that a lot has changed in China and the world in the last 20 years, namely computer systems, mobile phones and other communications technology and with it the whole new world of cyber-espionage.

It's not just that technology now provides access to vast amounts of important information for people with the right connections, but it has also improved security and counter-espionage, with mobile tracking devices, camera surveillance and advanced warning systems against hacking and unauthorised access. Peanut is in way over his head - which is a scary place to be here - but the kind of information he has access to is tantalising to the Intelligence agencies who are willing to use a British journalist. Despite the potential dangers, Mangan is persuaded to cooperate.

The espionage operation elements of Night Heron aren't particularly new, but the implications of the use of information technology, the ability to gain access to whole digital databases instead of mere paper files, and the nature of system security with the involvement of corporate interests is highly topical and relevant. Brookes actually deals with both aspects well, thrillingly and convincingly detailing the hierarchy, power-play and conflicting interests of the secret service while considering and clearly laying out - as if it wasn't already clear from the revelations of Edward Snowden - the vast implications of who has access to this information and how they intend to use it.