Once a Crooked Man
David McCallum
(Macmillan)
Dh34
David McCallum – yes, actor David McCallum of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Sapphire and Steel and NCIS fame — confidently embarks on a second career in this highly entertaining debut, which fuses an espionage novel with a mystery thriller.
McCallum, 82, is no John le Carre. Nor does his Once a Crooked Man hero, Harry Murphy, resemble George Smiley – or, for that matter, U.N.C.L.E.’s Illya Kuryakin, the role that made the Scottish actor famous.
But he respects the genres’ tenets, supplying the right amounts of intrigue and violence for a well-plotted, action-packed tale.
Although he isn’t a household name, Harry has had a decent career as a New York actor — a few TV and film roles, a couple of Broadway plays and lots of voice-over work for adverts. After an audition, he tries to use the toilet in a restaurant in Queens at the same time the three Bruschetti brothers are discussing how to get out of the organised-crime business.
He overhears the brothers plotting to murder someone called Villiers in London — one of those pesky loose ends they need to tie up.
Flush with cash from a mayonnaise commercial, Harry impulsively flies to London where he manages to prevent the murder but is mistaken for a mob enforcer by the criminals and the British police. He has just become part of “the reality show to end all reality shows”.
Fortunately, he has learnt a lot of acting tricks that help him infiltrate the mob.
Once a Crooked Man makes the most of the mistaken-identity scenario as Harry finds great satisfaction in becoming a man of action, forced to work outside his comfort zone, even when the role of a lifetime may end in his death. McCallum populates his novel with all the requisite characters: a female agent who might have ulterior motives; a detective whose sad-sack demeanour disguises his insight; trigger-happy hit men; and realistic criminals who claim to be businessmen but are thugs.
Occasional humour adds levity but McCallum keeps a hard-boiled edge to the story. It seems he had a lot of fun writing Once a Crooked Man, as will his readers devouring his energetic novel.
* The Associated Press
Skewed figures
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
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Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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