While at first glance, “Jack of Spies” by David Downing may seem like a promising spy thriller, it fails to deliver the correct mix of action and thrill to successfully be able to encapsulate and satisfy a reader. It follows the trail of Jack McColl, a businessman who travels around the world selling his new luxury car during the pre-war era where the only car is the Model T and where they fight for road space with horses. As he tours the world with his brother and friend, he also secretly spies for the British government. Starting off with small trips on the side, by the time he reaches the United States, he starts to act as a secret agent for the government by collecting intelligence on the Germans and the Irish. There is fear that the Irish will revolt against the British, allowing the Germans to create a conflict in Europe by starting a war in Mexico. By keeping track of the Irish, the British hope to prevent a war. By the end of the book, however, the Black Hand kills the prince and a war is started.
     David Downing’s writing is confusing and alienates the reader. It is a small novel meant for adults, yet is written in the language of a young adult. The language is simple and not very intricate. A reader yearns for the description that normally accompanies mystery and spy novels, yet this book falls incredibly short. Descriptive writing is sparse and action scenes are shortened into three sentence paragraphs. Every other paragraph is filled with vocabulary words that are picked out of a SAT prep book and are placed in the worst places possible. The juxtaposition between the writing level and the level of vocabulary is horrendous and terrifying. This creates a book that is awkward to read for any age group because if one enjoys the style, they will find difficulty in comprehending the words and if they enjoy the vocabulary, the style will surely disappoint.
     Although the style is choppy and poor, the content is very accurate. From the picturesque landscapes in China and San Francisco to the political sphere, this book accurately depicts the world before WWI. The historian in the reader will enjoy the timely technology and the depiction of the timeline of his travels. The correct analysis of the time that the book was set in may be able to distract the reader from the terrible attempt at writing a thrilling spy novel, but the reader will have to truly work hard in finding the small things to enjoy.