Spring Days in Winter is a thoughtful, intelligent and very well-written Cold War novel, but what stood out to me most was the voice of the book. John Michell writes with real confidence and he gives his narrator, Ben Calvin, a dry, honest and often darkly funny way of looking back over his life.

The story follows Calvin, a disgraced MI6 officer, as he waits in a death row cell in Belfast’s Crumlin Road prison. From there, he reflects on the choices that brought him to this point. That could have made for a very bleak novel, but Michell handles it with great skill. There is regret, guilt and sadness throughout the book, but there is also wit, humanity and a sharp sense of character.

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One of the things I admired most is how naturally the book moves between espionage, personal confession and moral reckoning. The Cold War material feels convincing and carefully handled, but the heart of the novel is really Calvin himself. He is flawed, damaged and often painfully aware of his own failures, yet he remains compelling throughout. Michell does not ask us to excuse him, but he does make us understand him.

The writing is elegant without ever feeling forced. There is real intelligence behind the prose, and the humour is especially well judged. Michell has a gift for taking serious material and allowing moments of absurdity or dryness to break through, which makes the book feel very human. The result is a novel that feels both literary and accessible.

I also thought the structure was very effective. By framing the story around Calvin’s final hours, every memory carries weight. The book feels like a confession, but also like a final attempt by one man to make sense of himself before time runs out. That gives the novel a strong emotional pull.

Spring Days in Winter is a mature and accomplished piece of writing. It is gripping as a spy story, but it is also much more than that. It is about regret, love, failure, ageing and the price of living with secrets. John Michell writes with real craft, and this book shows an author in full control of his material.

I found it intelligent, moving and very skilfully written.

Spring Days in Winter by John Michell, Michael Terence Publishing, $29.05. Available on amazon.com.au or at any good bookstore.

Chris McAuley is a Canadian writer whose work spans novels, comics, film, audio drama and tabletop gaming. He has written for major genre worlds including Dracula, The StokerVerse, Fighting Fantasy, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, The Terminator, and Dark Legacies. 

John Michell is a Brisbane-based writer. His work draws extensively on his experience as an Australian diplomat (1979-2012) and a former lawyer. He specialises in Cold War Spy fiction. His previous works are Dublin Zoo, The Far Grass, Weather over Mendoza and The Wind from New Jersey.