'Agent Running in the Field' a modern spy thriller from master John le Carré

Midway through John le Carré’s 25th novel, "Agent Running in the Field (Viking, 288 pp., ★★★½ out of four stars), the main character Nat, a Cold War veteran of the British Secret Intelligence Service, recalls what his espionage mentor once told him: “If you spy for long enough, the show comes round again.”

And so it does for Nat and for the multitude of le Carré fans who know that this spy-novel master loves to double down on plots starring expendable, aging spies in the twilight of their careers who are pulled back into Deep State operations.

The story begins at the Athleticus badminton club in South West London, where Nat, 47, is the reigning champion. When a young, awkward stranger named Ed challenges him to a badminton throw down, the story’s vibe turns to suspicion. Despite Nat’s wariness of Ed, who over post-match pints talks obsessively of his hatred for Brexit and Trump, they hit it off and play matches most Mondays.

More:Steph Cha smartly interrogates LA racial tensions in page-turner 'Your House Will Pay'

Badminton’s not exactly babe-seducing, fast-car chasing James Bond, is it? While this novel has high-wire moments, le Carré doesn’t do "Goldfinger." Rather, Nat’s first-person narrative heats up more like Earl Grey steeping – to be savored, not stirred.

Check out: USA TODAY's weekly Best-selling Booklist

It’s 2018, and M16 has called Nat back to London from his agent-running decades in Moscow and Eastern Europe. He frets that he’s being put out to pasture. Instead, he is assigned to run Haven, a derelict London spy substation.

The story unfolds leisurely, as Nat adapts to his new desk job and settles into home life with his smart lawyer wife, Prue, and rebellious college-age daughter, Steff. Badminton included, it all makes the duplicity and betrayal harder to see coming.

Le Carré gradually builds his cast of engaging, sub rosa characters. Angst-driven Ed is a key player. So is Nat’s second at Haven, Florence, a young, classy, potty-mouthed rising star. Nat’s boss, Dom, is incompetent, compromised. Russian sleeper-agent-turned-double-agent Sergei is troublesome. Minor characters, like retired Russian spy Arkady, are defined by treachery and critical to the plot.

Once a British spy himself, le Carré, 88, has been writing best-selling espionage fiction for more than 50 years. He knows intricately the clandestine world’s tradecraft. He knows that spies – even the clever, amusing Nat – live nearly broken double lives troubled with daily doubt, distrust and deception. Yet, living a shadowy life defined by danger, heartlessness and immorality, Nat has survived as a decent, good-hearted man.

"Agent Running in the Field" is a throwback to le Carré ’s first two novels starring another retired spy, George Smiley, the author’s most famous recurring character. Though unlike those Cold War settings, this novel's crises and controversies are clear and present.

While "Agent Running in the Field" isn’t a breathtaking thriller, it is a breathing and alive contemporary tale. Le Carré’s storytelling genius frequently causes pause to consider what a pleasure it is to read him, right up to the novel’s thought-provoking, albeit anticlimactic ending.