Gently and the Assassin
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2014) of the Walker Mystery hardcover original (1980).

Jules hastily filled a glass and the Englishman took quick gulps. A middle-aged man, he was solidly built and his jacket sagged from hefty shoulders. Also he had an air of authority, of being a man who could handle a situation. As far as one could tell his clothes were of good quality and his waterlogged brogues perhaps handmade.

Gently Under Fire represents a major change in the long-time series of the Scotland Yard Chief Inspector. The original title The Honfleur Decision drops the long-running title theme of phrases incorporating the use of the character's name within a cliche phrase. The publisher is suddenly Walker Mystery and not Cassell Crime. The biggest change though is that the story is a suspense thriller and not a murder investigation. It also turns into somewhat of a romance.

The story starts off with a bit of humour. Gently enters a bar in the coastal town of Honfleur, France. He is on vacation with his sister and her husband. It turns out though that he is thoroughly drenched from having been tipped into the harbour waters by an unknown assailant. Was it some kind of malicious prank against English tourists or some sort of misunderstanding? But then he is fired upon and the situation becomes more serious as evidently someone intends to assassinate him.

With the assistance of the local police and eventually the DST, it turns out that Gently's mysterious assailant is a terrorist who has mistaken Gently for an English agent on his trail. Gently becomes the bait in an entrapment plan. He meanwhile falls in love with a Frenchwoman who may not be all that she seems to be.

See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Walker in 1980. Image sourced from Goodreads.

This was not the style of my preferred Gently and it marks a major shift in the series. It was quickly followed by a direct sequel The Scottish Decision (Gently #27 - 1981), later republished as Gently Heartbroken.

Trivia and Link
Gently Under Fire was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. ( )