History Literature / TheCatch

* StuffedIntoATrashcan: The end of Benny’s brief career in espionage. After a burglary gone wrong he was beaten up, his leg was permanently injured, and he was dumped in a skip.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: The newspapers print the faked allegations, which are promptly debunked. The newspapers are sued, driving at least one into bankruptcy. Daisy and Benny are vilified for attempting to destroy the prince's reputation - and any real evidence against him is now ignored. As for Bachelor, he’s left facing eviction and UncertainDoom when [=MI5=] investigate his misconduct]].

Bachelor’s responsibility is the "milk round" - keeping an eye on former [=MI5=] assets who’ve retired in the UK. Most of his clients were active in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar days and so his job has been shrinking as they gradually pass away. Unfortunately, so has his income.

* SpottingTheThread: Bachelor suddenly realises that if the two [=MI5=] security 'Dogs' need ''him'' to find Benny, rather than using the security service’s resources, then this is somehow "off the books", not an official request.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: [[spoiler:A very wealthy American sex trafficker has died. An unnamed member of the British Royal Family is implicated in his crimes. And Benny has the incriminating photos to prove it.]]

So when he’s abruptly awoken there by two [=MI5=] heavies, it seems that his luck's run out and he's in a lot of trouble.

It has. He is. But not for the reason he thinks. One of Bachelor's more unusual clients has vanished, and somebody needs to find him. Fast.

* BegoneBribe: A variant. Benny Manors had no interest in [=MI5=] monitoring him after his injury, so paid his handler to go away and stop bothering him. [[spoiler:And then cheated him out of the rest of the payment, safe in the knowledge that he’s now compromised and open to {{Blackmail}}.

* BegoneBribe: A variant. Benny Manors had no interest in [=MI5=] monitoring him after his injury, so paid his handler to go away and stop bothering him.

Bachelor’s responsibility is the "milk round" - keeping an eye on former [=MI5=] assets who’ve retired to the UK. Most of his clients were active in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar days and so his job has been shrinking as they gradually pass away. Unfortunately, so has his income.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: [[spoiler:A very wealthy American sex trafficker has died. An unnamed member of the British Royal Family is implicated. And Benny has the incriminating photos to prove it.]]

* TheHandler: As first seen in ''Literature/TheList'', John Bachelor is at the least important end of the scale. He looks after "the milk round", [=MI5=] assets who’ve retired but still need monitoring.

''The Catch'' is a 2020 novella by Mick Herron, the third in a series of linked stories focused on [=MI5=]’s John Bachelor, a washed-up and barely competent employee who’s hoping to reach retirement before he gets fired. The novellas also tie into Herron’s ''Literature/JacksonLamb'' series and some characters from those books appear.

* {{Blackmail}}: Benny Manors’ preferred line of work. Mostly using photos or other incriminating evidence taken via burglary. [[spoiler:Although in Bachelor’s case, it's more subtle - once Bachelor’s taken a small initial bribe to leave Benny alone, he's compromised and there's no need to make further payments. If he causes trouble for Benny, Benny can reveal the first bribe to [=MI5=].

!! The Catch contains examples of:

The story has no connection to the TV series ''Series/TheCatch''.

It has. He is. But not for the reason he thinks. One of Bachelor's more unusual clients has vanished, and somebody needs to find him. Fast.