William Boyd’s 'The Predicament' is a spy thriller with a conspiratorial edge

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day

Episode: William Boyd’s 'The Predicament' is a spy thriller with a conspiratorial edge
Host: Scott Simon (NPR)
Guest: William Boyd
Date: December 17, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on William Boyd’s new spy thriller, The Predicament, the second novel in his Gabriel Dax trilogy. Set during the Cold War, the book blends espionage with real-world conspiracy, speculating on the JFK assassination. Boyd joins Scott Simon to discuss his reluctant but talented protagonist, the tangled world of 1960s spies, the enduring allure of British espionage stories, and his own experiences and convictions about conspiracy theories.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meet Gabriel Dax: Spy or Writer?

• Who is Gabriel Dax?
  • Cold War-era travel writer who is also a British secret agent, with the added layer of accepting cash from the KGB—approved by his MI6 superiors to deepen his cover. (01:17)
  • “He’s discovered he's actually quite good at the job… but he’s constantly moaning about how it’s taking him away from his real life as a writer. But he’s getting in deeper and deeper.”
    — William Boyd, 02:16

2. Double-Dealings and Faith Green’s Influence

• Taking KGB Money (With a Wink)
  • Gabriel is urged by his handler, Faith Green, to spend his KGB money lavishly to solidify his cover. This leads to amusing questions about the logistics, like tax filings. (02:37)
• Complex Relationship with Handler
  • There’s a professional and emotional entanglement between Gabriel and Faith Green. Boyd describes Gabriel as smitten, with Faith using this to her advantage, blurring lines and eroding trust.
    • “There is an emotional dimension… she rather exploits that, though I think she also enjoys the dalliance… Gabriel’s life can be described as a persistent erosion of trust.”
      — William Boyd, 03:24

3. A Deadly Errand in Guatemala

• A Setup, Not a Simple Meeting
  • Gabriel is manipulated into tracking down Padre Thiago, a politically important figure, under the guise of an interview, but is really being used as bait to expose the priest’s location.
    • “He thinks he’s going to interview Padre Thiago, but in fact, there’s a far more nefarious objective underway and it has a bad outcome.”
      — William Boyd, 04:14

4. Conspiracy, History, and the JFK Assassination

• Boyd’s Chosen Theory
  • Boyd openly states he is a conspiracy theorist regarding the JFK assassination, favoring a narrative involving rogue CIA elements and Mafia connections, especially after the Bay of Pigs debacle.
    • “My theory… is that there were rogue elements of the CIA, discontented operatives, particularly after the Bay of Pigs fiasco… I take these elements that are there as potential explanations and stitched them together to make, in my opinion, quite a convincing conspiracy.”
      — William Boyd, 04:57
• Fact Meets Fiction
  • Boyd insists his goal is to infuse fiction with so much historical authenticity that readers question what’s real.
    • “I want the worlds of my novels, which are fictional, to be as authentic and as plausible as possible… I like that doubt to be implanted in the reader’s mind.”
      — William Boyd, 05:59

5. 1960s Setting: Personal and Literary Resonance

• Revisiting His Own Youth
  • The novel draws on Boyd’s own teenage memories of the 1960s, from geopolitical events to cultural details, enhancing the realism of the era.
    • “When I talk about the clothes people wore, the drinks they drank, the meals they ate, I’m tapping into my own memories of that period… it’s a perfect time to set a spy novel, because the Cold War was at its height.”
      — William Boyd, 06:32

6. Why Are British Spies So Alluring?

• Beyond Bond: The Fascination with Betrayal
  • Addressing British spy stereotypes, Boyd distinguishes playful 007 escapism from the deeper, darker reality: Britain’s infamous history of high-level traitors.
    • “My theory is that one of the few things we British are good at is betraying our country… the obsession with spying and spy novels is to do with this notion… we had so many traitors at the heart of our establishment, and they were well-educated, middle class, privileged people.”
      — William Boyd, 07:48
  • Highlights real-life parallels: e.g., the Cambridge Five and Kim Philby.
    • “I think that’s where, if you like, the suavity comes in… privileged people who intellectually decide to work for the Russians, and that’s an abiding fascination. I don’t think anybody has fully explained why these men… were traitors.”
      — William Boyd, 08:04

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He’s discovered he's actually quite good at the job… but he’s constantly moaning about how it’s taking him away from his real life as a writer.”
  — William Boyd, 02:16

• “There is an emotional dimension [with his handler]… she rather exploits that, though I think she also enjoys the dalliance… Gabriel’s life can be described as a persistent erosion of trust.”
  — William Boyd, 03:24

• “He thinks he’s going to interview Padre Thiago, but in fact, there’s a far more nefarious objective underway and it has a bad outcome.”
  — William Boyd, 04:14

• “My theory… is that there were rogue elements of the CIA, discontented operatives, particularly after the Bay of Pigs fiasco… And stitched them together to make… quite a convincing conspiracy about how JFK was assassinated.”
  — William Boyd, 04:57

• “I want the worlds of my novels, which are fictional, to be as authentic and as plausible as possible… I like that doubt to be implanted in the reader’s mind.”
  — William Boyd, 05:59

• “One of the few things we British are good at is betraying our country… the fact that we had so many traitors at the heart of our establishment, and they were well-educated, middle class, privileged people…”
  — William Boyd, 07:48

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Timeline of Important Segments

• 00:02 — Episode and guest introduction
• 01:17 — Scott Simon summarizes The Predicament and introduces Gabriel Dax
• 02:10 — Gabriel’s new identity as a spy
• 02:37 — Discussion of the KGB payments and handler Faith Green
• 03:12 — The nature of Gabriel and Faith’s ambiguous relationship
• 03:57 — The Guatemala mission and its real purpose
• 04:46 — Espionage, JFK assassination theories, Boyd’s narrative
• 05:59 — Mixing historical fact with fiction
• 06:32 — Personal ties to the 1960s era
• 07:19 — The myth and psychology of the British spy
• 08:02 — British history of high-level traitors
• 09:00 — Episode wrap-up

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Tone and Style

The conversation is thoughtful, witty, and tinged with British irony. Both host and guest bring a sense of literary playfulness, with Boyd embracing historical ambiguity and relishing the “conspiratorial edge” that pulses at the heart of spy fiction.

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Summary:
The Predicament offers not only a classic spy tale but also a meditation on trust, historical memory, and the slipperiness of truth. William Boyd uses both personal recollection and public intrigue to craft a thriller that asks the reader: What lies beneath the stories nations tell themselves and one another?

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's Emperor's book of the day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Some writers play coy about whether or not their novels reveal their true thoughts on a matter. They say stuff like, oh, that's just the character's opinion, not mine, even though it sure does feel like the author's opinion. Other times an author will outright say this was written specifically because it reflects what I think. Today's interview is an example of the latter. It's with novelist William Boyd about his spy thriller novel the Predicament, which is set during the height of the Cold War. And in this interview with npr, Scott Simon Boyd talks about how the book presents a theory as to what actually happened when President Kennedy was assassinated and how it's a theory Boyd is quite convinced by. That's ahead.

[B]

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[D]

Let me tell you about Gabriel Dax. He's a Cold War era travel writer who goes all over the world. That nicely positions him to also be a British secret agent. But he also gets envelopes of cash from the KGB, which MI6 thinks is just fine. Keeps his cover. British intelligence sends Gabriel to Guatemala on a friendly errand for the CIA, but the trip has none foreseen lethal result. And that will pluck a wire inside Gabriel when he's sent to West Berlin to find termites, traders in spy slang shortly before the visit of President John F. Kennedy. The Predicament is the second novel in a planned Gabriel Dax trilogy by William Boyd, the honored British novelist who joins us now from London. Thanks so much for being with us.

[E]

Great to be here, Scott. Thank you.

[D]

This is the second book in the trilogy, as we said. Is Gabriel by now more of a spy than a travel writer?

[E]

Yes, reluctantly so. I think he's discovered he's actually quite good at the job. He has resources and he has instincts that actually suit his spying life. But he's constantly moaning about how it's taking him away from his real life as a writer. But he's getting in deeper and deeper.

[D]

There's cash payments he takes from the KGB with permission. Does he declare them on his tax filings? With Inland Revenue?

[E]

I suspect not. He's instructed by his mysterious and alluring NI6 handler, Faith Green, to spend the money, very obviously. So he's bought a cottage, he's bought a motorbike, he's buying paintings. He's just profiting from this, as you said, KGB cover that he has. He's meant to be a termite, a mole himself, but of course, it gets extra complicated.

[D]

And let me ask you about his relationship with his handler. That phrase becomes a little fraught from British Intelligence. Faith Green. They can also be involved, can't they?

[E]

Yes. I mean, there is an emotional dimension to their relationship as well as a professional one. And in fact, it's not too much to say that Gabriel is smitten by Faith, and she rather exploits that, though I think she also enjoys the dalliance. But there's always a source of worry that somehow things are not what they seem. And I think Gabriel's life can be described as a persistent erosion of trust and it makes him more and more anxious.

[D]

Gabriel meets with a Guatemalan trade union leader and a former priest known as Padre Thiago, and the Padre expects to get a message from Gabriel, from Fidel Castro. Gabriel doesn't have any such messages. This a lapse or intentional?

[E]

No, it's a setup. Gabriel is being used because Padre Thiago, who might win the next presidential election, is in hiding and the powers that be that don't like him want to know where he is. In fact, Gabriel is a kind of. He's a lure in a way, to find out where Padre Thiago is hiding. He thinks he's going to interview Padre Thiago, but in fact, there's a far more nefarious objective underway and it has a bad outcome.

[D]

The story moves on to West Germany, following that thread from Guatemala. The CIA does seem to have a case against President Kennedy, don't they?

[E]

I am a conspiracy theorist when it comes to the assassination of jfk, but it depends what conspiracy you choose. There are various possible explanations, but my theory, which I outline in more detail in the novel, is that there were rogue elements of the CIA, discontented operatives, particularly after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. One forgets that JFK and Bobby Kennedy were not universally popular at the time. And the whole Guatemala issue is to do with regime change and destabilization in Central America, which the CIA were heavily involved with, with the Mafia as well. So I take these elements that are there as potential explanations of what happened and stitched them together to make, in my opinion, quite a Convincing conspiracy about how JFK was assassinated.

[D]

Is that a literary exercise for you or what?

[E]

Yes, it's a literary exercise because I'm a realistic novelist, and I want the worlds of my novels, which are fictional, to be as authentic and as plausible as possible. And throughout my fiction over the years, I've always introduced real events, historical events, real historical people, in order to give it that kind of ring of truth or to make the reader sometimes think, is this true? Or is this something that Boyd has made up? I like that doubt to be implanted in the reader's mind.

[D]

What's it like to spend so much time in the 1960s for you?

[E]

The 1960s coincided pretty much with my teenage years, and so I have vivid memories of them and vivid memories of the events that took place. I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. I remember the assassination of jfk. And so when revisiting them for these novels is a kind of time travel for me, when I talk about the clothes people wore, the drinks they drank, the meals they ate, I'm tapping into my own memories of that period. And it is a long time ago now, but it's still very vivid to me. And it's a perfect place, perfect time to set a spy novel, because the Cold War was at its height and the good guys and the bad guys were, in theory, clearly defined.

[D]

I figured out while reading this novel, you and I are the same age within days of each other.

[E]

Oh, right, right.

[D]

And we've both grown up with the character of the suave British spy. Yes. Why has that lasted so much? Let me tell you my theory. Okay?

[E]

Okay.

[D]

All right. Ian Fleming and some other people needed to make up something following, you know, Britain's darkest days in which they prevailed, but they wanted to be back on top of the world, hence. Oh, seven.

[E]

Yes. But I think you've got to separate 007 from the more serious spy novels. My theory is that one of the few things we British are good at is betraying our country. And.

[D]

Well, the Cambridge Five, you're thinking.

[E]

Yeah, the Cambridge Five. And I think the obsession with spying and spy novels is to do with this notion, particularly in World War II and post war Cold War, the fact that we had so many traitors at the heart of our establishment, and they were well educated, middle class, privileged people. I mean, Kim Philby, the super spy, was a Soviet double agent at the heart of MIC for over 20 years. And I think that's where, if you like, the suavity comes in that it's not some guy with a grudge. These are privileged people who intellectually decide to work for the Russians, and that's an abiding fascination. I don't think anybody has fully explained why these men consistently and for such a long time were traitors.

[D]

William Boyd's new novel the Predicament, and there's another one to come. Thanks so much for being with us.

[E]

Great to be here. Thank you very much, Scott.

[A]

And just a reminder that signing up for book of the day plus is a great way to support NPR's book coverage and public media. And you'll get to listen to every episode sponsor free. So please go find out more at plus.NPR.org/Book of the Day.

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