This is a novel with an international theme set in Australia circa 1996 which develops into a tale of intrigue and deception at the political level. It is the story of John Hennessey, a novelist and ex-army intelligence officer who has had a manuscript stolen and published in the UK by one Gavin Dean, an Australian criminal of vicious temperament. There is, however, much more to the situation than a stolen book. Hennessey is questioned by the police, and subsequently interviewed by an urbane individual representing the Office of Special Investigation (OSI), a small, specialist unit set up to identify and prosecute war criminals living peacefully, but furtively, in Australia since 1945. As a skilled interviewer of German civilians wishing to work for the British army in Germany in 1959-1961, National Service Captain John Hennessey finds himself drawn into a situation that quickly escalates and darkens.

"Couldn't put this book down"

Lynn Martin

Author, historian and authority on single malts

"An Imperfect Spy is something more than a thriller - it is also a sensitive, nuanced reflection on human relationships that pays heed to the emotional level. Bravo!"

Jean Curthoys

Author and feminist philosopher.

"The spy may be imperfect but Lockhart's new novel is the perfect philosophical thriller - delivering an enthralling tale of love, politics, and corruption, it also plunges the reader into the midst of some of the most compelling intellectual questions of our time"

Jeff Malpas

Author and philosopher

Douglas Lockhart is a Glasgow-born Scot and Australian citizen whose writing career blossomed into existence while doing National Service with the British Army (RAMC) in Germany. A journalist and novelist by trade with one foot in academia, Douglas has written for magazines and newspapers, had a play performed, and written scripts for educational radio in Australia.

During the seventies he taught biofeedback process at the Franklin School of Contemporary Studies in London, was invited lecturer on 'The Nature of Creativity' at Keble College, Oxford, and in recent years was an Honorary Research Associate (at large) with the University of Tasmania's School of Philosophy. He now lives with his partner in Hobart and is Writer in Residence with the Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart, Tasmania.