We first met Gabriel Dax in William Boyd’s 2024 novel, Gabriel’s Moon. Then, the itinerant travel-writer-turned-MI6-agent became ensnared in the intrigue surrounding the overthrow and murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first elected Prime Minister in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Now, three years later, Gabriel struggles with the conflict between his chosen path in life as a writer and the work forced upon him by Faith Green, his handler at MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service). To Faith and her superiors, he is a double agent the KGB believes is their own double agent in the SIS. The strain is killing him. But for MI6 his role is vital. And for what seems unrelated reasons, Faith is now sending him off to Guatemala, of all places. His task is to interview an elusive populist leader expected to become the country’s president in upcoming elections.
A mission to a troubled land on behalf of the CIA and MI6
As you may be aware, military dictators had ruled Guatemala for a decade by then. A 1953 coup engineered by the CIA had ousted a newly elected socialist president. In fact, the United Fruit Company, Guatemala’s biggest landowner, had manipulated the US Government into taking that action. And once again in 1963 the company feared that a popular new leader would confiscate its land. But the candidate, an ex-priest known as Padre Tiago, is in hiding and has eluded every attempt to interview him. The CIA and MI6 are desperate to know his views. And Gabriel can get to him masquerading as a correspondent for a left-wing journal. If he can elude whoever is trying to kill him before he even leaves England.
The Predicament by William Boyd (2025) 220 pages ★★★★☆
All hell breaks loose
Once in Guatemala City, Gabriel encounters a highly-placed CIA officer named Jack Sartorious. And at the same hotel he runs into a businessman named Dean Furlan, who explains he’s in the country to buy coffee beans in bulk for his restaurants in the US. But there’s something dodgy about Furlan. Gabriel observes him having a heated discussion with a Caucasian man who looks like a thug.
Finally, however, after days of waiting, Padre Tiago’s agents invite Gabriel to visit him. Hooded, and driven far into the countryside, he arrives only to discover after mere minutes with the man that there will be no interview. Suddenly, he’s back in Guatemala City. And then all hell breaks loose. Gabriel counts himself lucky to make it back to England. But there intrigue piles on intrigue all over again.
Spoiler alert: the real story
The author takes his time building the foundation for his story in The Predicament. You’ll get the impression that the book is about what history has shown to be a minor coup d’etat in Guatemala. But that’s not the case. Only midway through the book will it become clear that the real story here revolves around President John F. Kennedy’s brief 1963 visit to West Berlin, just five months before he was assassinated in Dallas. Naturally, Gabriel Dax is at the center of the action that unfolds there. And action it is!
About the author
The two Gabriel Dax novels are the most recent of William Boyd‘s 19 novels to date. He has also written scores of screenplays, stageplays, short story collections, radio scripts, and two nonfiction books. He has won numerous awards and fulsome critical praise for his work and was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to literature.
Boyd is British. He was born in Accra, Ghana, to Scottish parents in 1952. He grew up there and in Nigeria but attended preparatory school in Scotland. Later he studied at the University of Nice (France), the University of Glasgow, and Jesus College, Oxford. He holds an MA in English and Philosophy from Glasgow.
For related reading
Last year I reviewed Boyd’s first Gabriel Dax novel, Gabriel’s Moon (An unsuspecting author is trapped in Cold War intrigue).
The novelist Paul Vidich has also built his spy novels on historical events. You can access his books at A newcomer who writes superb spy novels.
You’ll find other great reading at:
- The 15 best espionage novels
- Good nonfiction books about espionage
- Best books about the CIA
- The best spy novelists writing today
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