In all, an easy read for a holiday or journey with this pacy international thriller. The characterisations are a bit thin, and the story flits from location to location without much colour or detail.
Category: Reviews
In Senior Gap Years, you have the time to catch up on all the books you missed. These are independent reviews of books that I am enjoying in retirement (yes, I used the “R” word!). Please free to comment on the reviews.
The Storyteller of Casablanca (by Fiona Valpy)
The story is twofold. Zoe in 2010, moves to Casablanca with her husband and baby daughter, Grace because of her husband’s job. She can feel her marriage flatlining and her life is crumbling. Then she finds a box hidden under a floorboard of the old house they have rented, which contains the journal of a young girl Josie ..
The Counterfeit Candidate (by Brian Klein)
This debut novel published in July 2021 has over 1500 five star reviews, and as the renowned author Peter James says “The best ‘what if?’ thriller I’ve read since Day of the Jackal”. The Counterfeit Candidate has been meticulously researched and the background information gives the book much credibility. Brian Klein is a natural storyteller..
The Partisan (by Patrick Worrall)
This is quite a dark, sinister and chilling novel – not for the faint-hearted. There are graphic details of atrocities, violence and torture. A spy thriller for modern times with Ukrainian war as a reminder.
The Paris Library (by Janet Skeslien Charles)
Once again I find myself transported back to World War II, this time in Paris. The last read was Simon Scarrow’s Blackout in wartime Berlin. Strange as I am not consciously picking wartime novels based on fact! The Paris Library is founded on the contribution the American Library in Paris made to the lives of…
Blackout (by Simon Scarrow)
Feels like I am walking in the shadow of Bernie Gunther! Simon Scarrow is now following in the steps of Philip Kerr. The late lamented Philip Kerr wrote 12 novels about wartime and post-war Berlin in the eyes of detective Bernie Gunther. In the same mould, Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke patrols the wartime streets of…
This is the Night They Come for You (by Robert Goddard)
Robert Goddard is a natural storyteller, and This is the Night They Come For You is yet another riveting read. The last book The Fine Art of Invisible Detection was superb (and also reviewed in RdrStr)! This is the Night They Come for You is a completely different, and another classic Goddard novel.
OFF GRID – A TRUE STORY (by Magnus Leijon)
Interesting idea and concept! Here is the background: A Psychopathic drama turned into a hybrid Audio Book concept! In 2014, I moved deep within the unspoiled rainforests of Belize with my wife and 2 girls (then 3 & 6 years old), after giving up our solid jobs in Sweden. What we didn’t know was that…
Box 88 (by Charles Cumming)
The Sunday Times featured Box 88 as a free download. So after many positive reviews about the book and author Charles Cumming, I dived in! After the sad demise of John Le Carre, Charles Cumming is recommended as a commendable alternative. That is quite a reputation to aspire to. Does he succeed? BOX 88 Unravelled…
The Law of Innocence (by Michael Connelly)
Who writes the best legal thrillers? John Grisham, Scott Turow, Lee Harper or Michael Connelly? John Grisham has written some classic novels but he is not consistent – especially of late. Opinions will be divided and other authors will be thrown into the mix for sure. Michael Connelly may be more famous for his Bosch…