The Last Supper, by Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry might be the true heir to John Le Carré. His spy novels have plenty of thrills, but focus on the human aspects of espionage, the betrayals, the inability to trust anyone, the costs of being “in the business”.

The Last Supper

Perhaps the most richly complex of McCarry’s renowned Paul Christopher novels, The Last Supper is an epic recreation of the history of an organization ensnared by a culture of conspiracy, deceit, and senseless violence. On a rainy night in Paris, Paul Christopher’s lover Molly Benson falls victim to a vehicular homicide minutes after Christopher boards a jet to Vietnam. To explain this seemingly senseless murder, The Last Supper takes its readers back not only to the earliest days of Christopher’s life, but also to the origins of the CIA in the clandestine operations of the OSS during World War II. Moving seamlessly from tales of refugee smuggling in Nazi Germany, to OSS-coordinated guerilla warfare against the Japanese in Burma, to the chaotic violence of the Vietnam War, McCarry creates an intimate history of the shadow world of deceit and betrayal that penetrates the psyches of the men and women who live within it.

https://www.thehawaiiproject.com/book/The-Last-Supper--by--Charles-McCarry--229072

Nobody knows that cost more than Paul Christopher, McCarry’s best known creation. Christopher is an on-again, off-again spy first introduced in The Tears of Autumn, which to my mind presents the most plausible explanation of JFK’s assassination I’ve heard. His girlfriend Molly has been killed for reasons that aren’t entirely clear but are certainly related to Christopher’s intelligence work.

The Last Supper tells the story of the early days of the CIA, moving through time from WWII-era Burma to Vietnam during the war to Communist China, and later years. The Last Supper paints a deeply detailed back story of Christopher’s parents, and how he came to be who he is. And presents the mystery of who has betrayed Christopher and killed his girlfriend.

In tone and pacing, The Last Supper reminds me most of Le Carré’s A Perfect Spy, which to my mind not just a great spy novel but one of this century’s truly great books. The Last Supper is richly detailed, historically accurate and informative, and a wonderful mystery.