Eye of the Needle is a spy thriller by Welsh author Ken Follett. It was published in 1978 by the Penguin Group. It was Follett’s first successful book.
Here’s my review of the book.
Plot
Four boarders live in the house of the widow, Mrs. Una Garden. One of them is Henry Faber, who is quiet and handsome. One night, Mrs. Una downed a full bottle of whiskey and left for Faber’s room. The purpose is to satisfy the hunger of her body. That night, Faber was writing messages on his transmitter in his room. Una breaks into the house and sees it immediately, and Faber is forced to kill her. Because Faber is a German spy, his code name is ‘Needle’!
Instructions came from Germany to Faber to meet with another agent in England. But Faber knows that the British intelligence is sitting everywhere to get a trap. Faber secretly meets the agent at night and kills him, too. No one has the right to live after seeing Faber.
British intelligence finds the link of the same killer with these two murders. The type of murder is the same. They were murdered by a stiletto through the heart. Eventually, they also discover that this killer is the German spy Needle. A cat-and-mouse game started between the two groups.
The two heads of the two countries are sitting on the two chairs of the two countries. Hitler in Germany and Churchill in Britain. The Germans are waiting for Needle’s message. Germany will attack after Faber informs Britain’s position and capabilities. On the other hand, Britain had prepared a fake war field to fool the Germans so that the Germans would attack here, and if they did, Britain would attack in the opposite direction. But Needle got this information. Now, he must be stopped. Under no circumstances should that information be allowed to reach the Germans.
Faber is running. He got the information he needed. Now, it’s time to escape. British forces are coming behind. A submarine will be waiting for him in Aberdeen, Scotland. If he can ride it once, he will be safe.
But luck did not help Faber. While escaping by stealing a boat from the shore, it gets caught in a storm at sea. The boat breaks down. Then, he floated with the help of the waves and reached the island of Storm Island.
Then? Can Faber escape to his country? What awaits him on this island?
My Review
Ken Follett’s “The Key to Rebecca” and “The Man from St. Petersburg” were two of the most remarkable books I read as a teenager. It is difficult to find a reader who has not read these two books. Follett got the love in the reader’s heart with these two books.
“Eye of the Needle” is one of Ken Follett’s best works. It is one of the masterpieces of espionage and spy thrillers. It ranks among the top five spy thrillers on Goodreads. A book filled with page after page of excitement and thrills.
Price
Kindle – $13.99
Hardcover – $30.71
Paperback – $16.92
Personal Rating
8/10. The role of a German spy in the Second World War and his work style have been well presented by the author in this book. With professionalism, brutality, and risk of life, how badass a spy can be wouldn’t be known without reading this book.
