A small town in germany is a 1968 espionage novel by british author john le carre it is set in bonn the small town of the title against a background of concern that former nazis were returning to positions of power in west germany it is notable for being le carres first novel not to feature his recurring protagonist george smiley or the circus le carres fictionalised version of mi6. Like all john le carre novels a small town in germany is beautifully crafted but while some of his books feel a little longer than necessary this does not set in the late 1960s in bonn the capital of west germany its the story of the hunt for a missing british embassy official leo harting along with some files which have disappeared with him the person sent by london to investigate is alan turner who is dogged in his pursuit of the truth no matter how many people he upsets . Like all john le carre novels a small town in germany is beautifully crafted but while some of his books feel a little longer than necessary this does not set in the late 1960s in bonn the capital of west germany its the story of the hunt for a missing british embassy official leo harting along with some files which have disappeared with him the person sent by london to investigate is alan turner who is dogged in his pursuit of the truth no matter how many people he upsets . Early le carre is still great le carre as with most of his work if you can make it through the long set up and make sense of the british ism embedded in the writing youll be rewarded with a fine novel the small town referenced in the title is bonn west germany in the late 60s during the cold war it was a different world then but maybe not so different since protests against an economic summit issues related to nato and russian spying are all in the story line the plot is solid a