Agent Zigzag is a spy story with as many twists and turns as the name implies, but it turns the truth into a journey that's more giddying than any fiction. Ben McIntyre's has chosen a truly intriguing character to bring alive. Eddie Chapman is a devlish rogue, womaniser, an opportunist, a criminal whom wartime circumstances turned into an invaluable asset. But unbelievably he actually existed. Chapman left the army and fell into robbery. He mixed with gangsters and peers, film-makers and even magicians Eventually jailed on Jersey, he was then taken by Germans and trained as a Nazi spy. On returning to England, he immediately, turned himself over to the authorities and offered to work for Britain, becoming a double agent. It's a dangerous game playing one side against the other, but which side will find him expendable first? A remarkable tale of a remarkable man.

McIntyre narrates events in a pacy, dramatic style blending together official MI5 documents, diaries and memoirs with effortless lucidity. But he creates an evocative portrait of the man and an atmospheric account of the time. It reads like a ripping yarn full of intrigue, mystery, daring-do, and double-dealing.  As such he blends well-researched biography with travelogue, entwining the two with masterly ease. There is not an overwhelming volume of description, preferring to capture a flavour more in tune with reportage, but it's told with passion, enthusiasm, and a great deal of humour.  McIntyre clearly has a fond admiration for his subject and the reader will find him as equally charming as all his wartime friends and acquaintances. A beguiling read.