The Double Image

by Helen MacInnes

While carrying out research in Paris, American historian John Craig is surprised when he runs into his old college professor. Sussman is a worried man. A survivor of Auschwitz, he is in shock, having seen and been seen by one of the Nazis who tortured him in the camp. But SS Colonel Berg has been dead for ten years � or has he? Before Craig can help solve the riddle, Sussman is found dead and Craig is being questioned by the police. As various international organisations are drawn into the hunt for Sussman’s killer, he realises that the ex-Nazi is far more than just a wanted war criminal. Soon Craig’s search for the truth takes him from Paris to the island of Mykonos, where he must unmask a dangerous and powerful foe.

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Historical Fiction, Greece

427 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Helen MacInnes was a Scottish-American author of espionage novels. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in Scotland in 1928 with a degree in French and German. A librarian, she married Professor Gilbert Highet in 1932 and moved with her husband to New York in 1937 so he could teach classics at Columbia University. She wrote her first novel, Above Suspicion, in 1939. She wrote many bestselling suspense novels and became an American citizen in 1951.

Reviews

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often skipped over when people list the great classic WWII/Cold War era espionage writers (Fleming, Le Carre, Deighton, Greene, etc.) is the name of Helen MacInnes. Probably, and disturbingly, this is probably because unlike nearly all (if not all) of the others MacInnes was a woman, and the old boys network of spy novelists and their fans had trouble fathoming a woman writing like this. The first novel of hers that I read was Double Image, back in 6th grade. At that time (1969?), this was one of my favorite novels – at the time I liked her better than Fleming (and I LOVE Bond!). Her approach is more Le Carre-like than Fleming-like – portraying a darker, grimmer side of the spy world rather than the gun-slinging, martini-quaffing adventure side. Yet, she also had a good sense of the entertainment value of a good yarn (ala Alistair MacLean), so her stories are a little less despairing than Le Carre’s. While her books were more character driven, and on the surface a bit gentler, than most of her intrigue-writing colleagues, but she, like Carre and Fleming, approached the world of the spy-dom with insider knowledge. Some may find it a little dated, but so are most spy novels written ca. 1965 when read today. My first re-read since the mid-1960s, and well worth the revisit. (I also recommend her final novel: Ride a Pale Horse; 1984). Ms. MacInnes died in 1985 at the age of 78.

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 1965.
Spies all around. Coded messages, secret paths, double agents, fake personas. Plenty of action, and romance too. Well written, but so long.

[Teri-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

When MacInnes' books work for me they really work. This one was such a fun read I didn't want to put it down. There are a lot of characters thrown at you in the beginning, but the author straightens them out as time goes on, even with some of them using two names - or maybe more. This cold war espionage story starts in Paris, but spends most of its time on the Greek island of Mykonos. I appreciate the descriptions, they keep the book from feeling like it could have taken place just anywhere.

If the book lacks prominent females, at least those who do show up are intelligent and competent. I also like the way MacInnes ratchets the tension up slowly until the final scenes, where there's real danger to the characters I've grown to care about. All in all, another good read, well worth the $1 I paid at my library book sale. LOL This one's a keeper.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the #5 bestseller in 1966. Apparently Helen MacInnes wrote a slew of novels in the mid 20th century though I had not read her before.

The Double Image is a Cold War spy story with many characters. MI6, CIA and the French police are working to solve the reappearance of a Nazi war criminal, thought to be dead, and to find the murderer of an American history professor visiting in Paris.

The story was hard to follow. A bit like reading John le Carre. A bit like Daniel Silva. As good in it own way as those guys and impressive because the author is a woman. Many, maybe too many, characters, have double identities. Thus the title.

I was reminded that the Cold War with its extreme fear of communism, was as all encompassing as the War on Terror is now.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Helen MacInness when I was in high school. The book held up well on re-reading it so many years later. Good plot, likeable characters, great locations, and good writing. I'm setting myself a goal - to read all of her books in the order they were written. With luck I'll be able to find them all.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for her books even though the soviet spies seem almost quaint now. This is kind of like Mad Men the spy novel.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the stock figure of the naïve American in Paris who suddenly finds himself running in an international post World-War II spy-counterspy race to capture a very nasty Nazi who got away, this old-fashioned story of foreign intrigue is classically character-based serious Marx Brothers drama.

Beautiful women play important parts and Mykonos, with Mykoniots, provide a brilliantly rich Greek islands stage for the drama. Next time I may just write down all the names and really try to keep everyone straight, but the action quickly wraps and carries the reader along a fast and hilly path, with happy romance the clincher that dips its feet in chick lit. Admirably woven plot with spies moving on- and offstage, intricately dancing to a tune of their own making.

I wondered if there was a top-level MI6 or CIA puppeteer behind it all, and probably a re-read would help. It seemed that a chance Paris-cafe sighting of a Nazi war criminal thought dead simply galvanized a group of men who couldn't be sure of each other's allegiances and real identities to set off on a breakneck hunt for a German-Russian bad guy.

I miss these classics that are such light-hearted fun with serious underpinnings, so well-plotted with their quick-scene-changes and characters unexpectedly showing up in unlikely places and so am happy I stumbled on this one. A re-read, for sure!

[Greer Andjanetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A typical HM murder mystery set in Europe, this time involving a former German extermination camp guard who was presumed dead at the end of the war but is recognized in Paris by one of his former inmates. Now a Russian agent, the German kills the former prisoner, now a professor and a former student of the professor, along with the inevitable beautiful young woman, set out to solve the murder and become embroiled with spies and espionage. Quite readable.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite of all Helen MacInnes's books. Most of us don't know what goes on the name of National Security, and the risk that our undercover CIA,(etc) agents take. This story takes place in the beautiful Greek Islands. I've read this book several times, and enjoy it each time.

[Carolyn Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to come across in a local bookstore this reprint of a Helen MacInnes espionage thriller from 1966 that I'd never read. It turns out that Titan Books is re-publishing many of this "queen of spy writers'" works. MacInnes, a Scot who later with her husband became an American citizen, first wrote of the Nazis and WWII and its political aftermath and then the Cold War. Fluent in French and German, she became aware of Nazi violence and the growing menace of Hitler during her and her husband's travels in Germany in the early 30's and kept a diary which lead to her first book a decade later published in the midst of the war. I read quite a bit of MacInnes back in the 70's and 80's and own a number of her mass market paperbacks. Reading tastes change, but I used to love reading suspense novels set in Europe written with a good eye for local color. Especially set in Greece as this novel is, where I spent a wonderful summer going around the country studying archaeology. (I was delighted that while in Athens, not only did the main character hang out with fun-loving scholars from the American School where I studied, but that one of the main good guy spies was an associate there. It is not surprising since MacInnes's husband was a classics scholar and professor at Columbia.) The story begins in Paris, travels to Athens, and then to Mykonos. As is the case in most of MacInnes's novels, the protagonist is a man, typically a scholar, writer, or lawyer - a quiet, intelligent, and capable type - who is not a spy or diplomat by trade, but a bystander who gets caught and drawn into international intrigue. John Craig, an historian, underplayed his real interests, too, as if he thought intellectual display was just another form of boasting, unnecessary if you were any good, embarrassing if you weren't. Craig runs into a former archaeology professor of his from Columbia, a Jew who survived a concentration camp, who was in Paris to testify against certain Nazis. While stopping for a drink at a cafe, the professor is approached by someone he tries to ignore. After the man leaves, he tells Craig that the man was a Nazi turned Communist that he knew as a boy, and the man wanted him to recognize him and feel threatened. The next day the professor turns up dead and Craig is drawn into a chain of events.

It took some concentration to get into this story, as there are numerous characters, mostly male, who are a part of an American diplomatic group and undercover intelligence agents, and their English, French, Russian, and Greek counterparts. Craig's connection is through his brother-in-law, a diplomat coming home from a stint in Moscow, passing through Paris on his way back home with his wife, Craig's sister. At a party Craig meets the diplomatic team, and relates his meeting with his professor. When it turns out that the professor was possibly murdered, and Craig was the last person to talk with him, the intelligent agents become quite interested in Craig. The narrative jumps around from Craig to the intelligence agents to the soviets and it takes several chapters for it to come together, while I tried to keep the characters straight. I do have to say that I guessed the double agent immediately from his first introduction. That did not interfere with the suspense, though, as the culprit is narrowed down to two men, and of course I couldn't be certain. As is also typical in a MacInnes novel, there is a little romance with a heroine who is attractive and intelligent like the male lead. She gets little time here, though, but there are two female intelligent agents, one on the good side, one on the bad, who play their roles. They of course have to be decorative in order to attract their prey, and are in typical female roles of the time as secretaries, hostesses, and interior designers, not to mention arm candy. So it must be noted here that though this is written by a woman, it is very much of its time, and gender roles are well established. MacInnes herself was in her late fifties when this was published, as she was born in 1907, and sometimes her observations about younger people's mode of dress in the swinging sixties seem like an old-fashioned great aunt's. Her understanding of intelligence maneuverings seems well-founded, though, as her husband had served in the British MI6, even though the newest Bond-type gadgets seem ridiculously primitive in our technological age.

The unsettling tenor of current events had me wanting to read an espionage novel again, so this was a timely find. I enjoy MacInnes's books, and her intelligent, cultivated, and caring heroes, even if they are a bit straight-laced. The action and suspense are not as violent or as edgy as those thrillers of today, which suits me fine. There is some violence, as the subject matter would indicate, but the worst of it is only hinted at. This was a re-visit to a former era, which suddenly seems to be relevant again. I would recommend to those who like an espionage suspense tale that is intelligent, while lighter and less depressing than some of the grimmer novels of this genre. Three and a half stars rounded up.

[John Senner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good old cold-war-era spy story. John Craig is an academic doing research on a book and he meets his old professor in Paris, who is being followed by a Nazi war criminal/soviet spy. And the trouble begins.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite of her books! (At least of the ones I've read so far!

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy this author's books. Well done, and good to read.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fast-paced Euro-espionage offering from Helen MacInnes. This time the action moves from Paris to Mykonos in pursuit of a former Nazi turned Russian agent.

[Adelaide Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in January 1999.

The Double Image is a competent spy thriller, not the chauvinist action of Ian Fleming nor the convoluted plotting of John le Carré but more straightforward and down-to-earth than either.

John Carey, an economist, in Paris while travelling to Greece to research the history of trade routes, meets his old teacher Professor Sussman by chance. Sussman has just returned from Frankfurt where he has been testifying at the trial of some former guards from Auschwitz. Their leader, Heinrich Berg, who grew up with Sussman, is believed to be dead - and yet Sussman has just seen him here in Paris. This would have seemed to Carey to be hallucinations brought on by the trauma of testifying, were it not for the fact that Sussman is murdered in his hotel room that same night.

Carey is now drawn into a world of seedy espionage; Berg is now posing as the Russian Insarov - with the explicit implication that the Communist states of Eastern Europe were harbouring many former Nazis. The climax of the book occurs on the Greek island of Mykonos, where just about everyone involved turns up, to take part in or to attempt to foil a plot by Insarov/Berg (the double image of the title) to kidnap a Western electronics expert from an American base in Smyrna.

The Double Image never really rises far above the commonplace, black and white world of the minor thriller; the author it reminded me of most strongly was Alastair Maclean. Accepting without question the commonplaces of the Cold War - East is worse than West, less moral, more unscrupulous - MacInnes never questions what is going on.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. This was a completely hilarious spy novel of the anti-communist era. Granted, the gadgets, tricks, running around in a foreign country... I can see why they were such a hit back in those days. And now I can finally say I read an original "Russian spy novel".

This particular story involves a guy by the name of Berg, who was in Nazi Germany. He worked in a concentration camp releasing all communists. After the war, he was declared dead, but he really went to Russia, where he became an agent. Drama ensues starting with someone noticing and recognising him in Paris, where a young amateur spy and novelist picks up the chase on behalf of his sister's friends. It goes to Greece, where they cloak and dagger around the island of Mykonos.It was here that a majority of the sneaky action happens, and you begin to wonder who, exactly, is lying to whom, and who is working for which government.

Somewhere along the way I stopped giggling at the obvious cloak and dagger of it, and started enjoying it. Could it be because I've always had a love for atrocious spy novels? Yes. But more so because I was reading one of the original anti-communist era books, and I had never done that before. It was like a piece of our delusional cultural history mixed with the awesomeness of microfilm hidden in the most unusual things, like a tie clip.

[Calzean · Rating 1 out of 5]

An holocaust survivor sees a Nazi goaler who is supposedly dead. The survivor is then found dead. And so the story of who is doing what to who starts and goes on and on.

Hasn't aged well. Does not have the complexities of Le Carre or the darkness of a really sinister villain. While it has exciting technical spy gadgets which might have been interesting at the time, the story relies on a lot of dialogue as the various parties attempt to outwit each other. As with a lot of espionage stories the roles of the characters are more about outpointing their opponents as to the reason why they do what they do.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the post-Kennedy Cold War era, this spy novels places historian in Europe doing research for a book on trade routes where he accidentally runs into an old college professor. When the professor dies Craig is caught up in the spy game as he held track down a Nazi who was presumed dead for the past decade. He also meets the girl of his dreams and must protect her.

[Liz V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A chance encounter with a former professor and the story of a supposedly dead Nazi walking the streets of Paris leads John Craig into the world of espionage/counterespionage and from Paris to Athens and Mykonos.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Author!

I found this author and her books years ago when the Cold War was in full strength. After living in Europe in the 1970s, I was fascinated by that time period. Great to reread a favorite!

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

[Tanya]

Another hit

The author has another hit mystery. I love her books and find satisfaction in every one that I read. Well drawn characters and good historical information.

[Cynthia Pelfrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not finish it. I don't know why, but it just didn't call to me.

[Akwhepworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had trouble keeping all the characters straight --- and following the plot for that matter. Loved the setting, but I just didn't pay enough attention to the details in this one.

[Barbara Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book of hers that I read and still one of my favorites.

[truenorth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy, interesting read. Almost four stars

[Jennifer Morefield · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a post WWII spy novel. It was a bit slow paced and a bit complicated. It was hard to tie all the characters in and tie the story together. Not bad, but not great.

[Audrey Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tightly packed spy/adventure/travel story. Kind of made me long for the simpler times of the Cold War era....

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among the places I've never wanted to visit was Mykonos--and the other Greek islands. Until I read this espionage thriller by Helen MacInnes. Now, I wish I was there to breathe in the same scented air from the ocean, to scramble across the rocky bays, trudge up the hills, and walk through the narrow streets of the city. Sure, that has probably all disappeared since MacInnes wrote this book in the mid 1960s. But it still lives through her words. For MacInnes is a master of creating atmosphere. And as her books went along, her spy stories became better and better. Like this one. Opening in rainy Paris, where historian John Craig meets his former professor, Sussmann, Double Image soon has Craig introduced to a nest of Soviet spies and assassins. Drawn into a vast clandestine operation to upset Soviet designs to steal American secrets, Craig finds himself swept onto the Greek island of Mykonos, which couldn't be more different than wet, cold Paris.

This is the best MacInnes book I've read so far. And they just keep getting better and better as I read along, having begun with her pre World War II spy story, reaching through the World War II novels, and now settling into the world of the Cold War during the 1950s and 1960s. MacInnes serves up one tale after another that lets you know what was at stake during this time. No, it's not the nature of what is being stolen, or threatened, or sabotaged. It's the very fascinating personal interactions among the people caught in the crossfire between the West and Soviet dominated states of Eastern Europe and Russia. Not to mention her stories are getting more and more complex. Wonderfully so. And there is a good length to them. You get your money's worth with a MacInnes novel. It's something you can settle into for at least three or four days.