Len Deighton Critical Essay | Critical Essay by John L. Stubing

Critical Essay by John L. Stubing

The Hitler Minutes were a transcription of [the clandestine meeting between Churchill and Hitler], and Deighton's latest espionage thriller [XPD] focuses on the worldwide hunt conducted by a variety of modern-day intelligence agencies as they try to locate them before they are made public. Deighton's attention to detail and his appreciation of the delicacies of international politics give his book a plausibility too often lacking in spy novels. This is not to say XPD doesn't have its flat spots, but … [it] will not disappoint Deighton's regular followers.

John L. Stubing, "Fiction: 'XPD'," in Best Sellers (copyright 1981, by the University of Scranton), Vol. 41, No. 3, June, 1981, p. 84.