A Most Wanted Man, by John le Carré

I "read" this as an audio book.

In the ongoing mess of world affairs one suspects a high degree of incompetence, subterfuge, and mindlessly selfish power-grabbing. Le Carré does nothing to allay this suspicion.

This book is set in Hamburg, Germany. It deals with a young refugee from Chechnya, amazingly naive in spite of the brutal treatment he has endured on his flight from torture and imprisonment. The story is, of course, detailed and complex. Some people in Germany try to help him, and a very many do not.

If one is disposed to be paranoid or depressed about current events it might be best to skip this one.

Another excellent novel in concept and execution.

Our Kind of Traitor, by John Le Carre

I've never read a bad LeCarre, and the streak continues. Perry and Gail meet Dima in Antigua. They are more or less ordinary people from England on a holiday. He is, as it turns out, a rather highly-placed member of Russian organized crime, who (of course) wishes to defect to the UK.