Written in 2017, this is an interesting sequel to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Le Carré's breakout novel published in 1963, at the height of the Cold War. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was a masterpiece, a dark portrayal of the cynical ends-justify-the-means view of the espionage services on both sides of the Cold War. A Legacy of Spies revisits the events of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold from the perspective of 50 years afterwards: the children of Alec Leamus and Liz Gold (the protagonists of Spy), now grown and deeply embittered, attempt to sue and/or extort the British Secret Service (and especially the very likable Peter Guillam, right-hand junior to George Smiley) for the wrongs done to their parents.
This backward look is an interesting idea (see
Le Carré's piece in The Guardian on how he came to write Spy), and it does effectively highlight some cultural changes in attitudes toward secret services, but the issues at stake are not as powerful as those in almost all of Le Carré's other books and, accordingly, I did not find it as satisfying.
Recommended by our Italian tutor, Antonio, this was the first book I have read by John Grisham and it's unusual for him, because it's not about lawyers as much as it's a kind of spy story in which a miserable power broker, Joel Backman, betrays his country for money, is caught and thrown into a high security prison, but after six years is pardoned by a lame duck President, at the behest of the CIA. The CIA wants to learn more about the secrets Backman was selling by finding out who will kill Backman after his release! So they drop him in Italy, help him get adjusted, and then leak his whereabouts to the Russian, Chinese and Israeli security forces. Well, it's not fantastic literature, but it IS a page turner, and it's laced with Italian phrases, and wonderful descriptions of the people and sights of Bologna. Leggiamo! 
Just received, and quickly re-read, Tinker Tailor.. by John Le Carre, from the Folio Society. It has probably been 25 years since I first read it - it's still wonderful. My favorite spy book of all time. Of course, I can only visualize the characters in terms of the BBC series, which starred Alec Guiness as Smiley. Wonder if that's available in DVD somewhere...have to go check....AHA! (see lower left). Wonderful book about betrayal with highly memorable characters!
