Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Thrillers often get dismissed as mere “airport books”, something of little substance to while away a few hours on a long haul. But, as this immensely enjoyable book attests, British thrillers once ruled the world. Mike Ripley, journalist turned author, turned archaeologist(!), writes with a passion for this much maligned genre. Taking the specific time period from the publication of Fleming's Casino Royale in the 50s to Higgins' The Eagle Has Landed in the 70s, Ripley gives us a reader's history of the British thriller.

All the big names are covered: Hammond Innes, Alistair MacLean, Fleming, Deighton, Dick Francis, Wilbur Smith; as well as numerous less well-known authors who jumped on the British thriller bandwagon during the sixties and seventies. Ripley also sets this book boom in context. A fading post-war Britain, grey and dour, needed an injection of technicolour. That came in the shape of James Bond and his imitators, but also in the “adventure” thrillers of MacLean, Innes and the like.

Later the spies took over with Le Carré, Deighton and Allbeury bringing realism and romance to the genre. Dick Francis, Jack Higgins, Frederick Forsythe, Gavin Lyall - all these authors, many of them journalists, enjoyed huge success with several of their novels being turned into films. As the 70s wore on the Americans caught up and began to dominate. But for a while there, British thrillers were unbeatable.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is essentially a series of essays about the various thriller writers that topped the best seller lists for two decades and provided Britain with a shot of adrenaline just when it needed it. Ripley brings to light many forgotten authors that will have the reader scouring second hand book shops and eBay. A hugely enjoyable, informative book.