Not as good as the film. ( )

Cold war suspense story in which a tightly wrapped British civil servant becomes the reluctant friend then conduit for a Russian defector. Judith Farrow and Sverdlov meet while both are on vacation in Barbados, then part. He decides to defect and contacts her, driven by the expectation of imminent arrest. His asylum is contingent on his revelation of a highly-placed spy, code name Blue, and the negotiations are conducted with the parties trying to stay one step ahead of their respective governments and the machinations of said spy. Much more of a thriller than romance, but characterizations are excellent and the plotting compelling. A favorite. ( )