#BlogTour #BookReview 66 Metres by J.F. Kirwan @TAsTPublicity @kirwanjf

 

Description:

The only thing worth killing for is family.
Everyone said she had her father’s eyes.  A killer’s eyes.  Nadia knew that on the bitterly cold streets of Moscow,  she could never escape her past – but in just a few days, she would finally be free.
Bound to work for Kadinsky for five years, she has one last mission to complete.  Yet when she is instructed to capture The Rose,  a military weapon shrouded in secrecy,  Nadia finds herself trapped in a deadly game of global espionage.
And the only man she can trust is the one sent to spy on her…

“A masterfully paced action thriller that takes readers to unexplored depths. The first novel in J. F. Kirwan’s Nadia Laksheva series introduces a heroine that readers are bound to fall hard for.” BestThrillers.com

My Thoughts & Review:

Being a fan of spy thrillers I was keen to read 66 Metres to see if it lived up to the immensely intriguing book description.  The cover states this is “A chilling thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat!” and they’re not wrong!
From the opening pages the reader is faced with an intense storyline and is first introduced to a young Nadia Laksheva who is yet to face up to the harsh realities of her dysfunctional family.  As she ages she learns that her father was not the man she thought he was, not a saint, but a killer.  Her sister is a drug addicted prostitute and her mother is a cold and distant figure who is quick to remind her that her father was a killer.  Combine these things with the harsh freezing temperatures of Russia and you begin to see the insufferably difficult life that Nadia is living.  Seeing a way out, a means of escaping this torturous existence for herself and her sister Katya, Nadia takes the “option” given to her by Russian mob boss Kadinsky.  I say option, because really the only other choice would be a concrete overcoat or perhaps ventilation holes in their heads.

After undergoing rigorous training at the hands of Russian experts, Nadia is ready to take on her 5 years of missions for Kadinsky in return for her and Katya’s freedom.  The final mission means the end is in sight, but Nadia needs to complete it successfully first.

Thankfully I read this book whilst on holiday so I could curl up on a deckchair in the sun and completely shut off from the world around me for a few hours.  This is definitely a book that you want to keep reading, you want to find out what is going to happen next, see what characters will do next and find out whether Nadia comes out of this all unscathed.

Characterisation is brilliant, Nadia develops well throughout the book and her motivations become clearer as the reader gets to know her.  The glimpses of the vulnerable side of her really bring her to life.  Sometimes I wonder if it’s all too easy for authors to keep their trained assassins as cold hearted and strictly functioning “machines”, but here the author has gone under the surface of this character to give readers a real insight to Nadia which I think does make her more likeable.
The switching perspective between characters adds to the intensity and intrigue of this book no end!  Being able to step into the mind of the “baddies” always makes the plot more exciting, but here some of the “baddies” showed remorse for some of their actions, or showed humility which I found caught me off guard and in turn had be liking this book even more.

The descriptive abilities that Kirwan possesses are incredible – I’ve never dived, don’t really think it’s something I would ever do but just reading the underwater scenes had me feeling like I was there, in the wrecks with Nadia and the dive crew, the way it played out on the page was almost hypnotic.  I will admit to initial worries that some of the information about the diving would be too technical for me to grasp but somehow Kirwan has managed to portray the dangers and the ecstasy of diving clearly and concisely so that even a heathen like me can understand it.

A breakneck paced spy thriller that will leave you holding your breath in anticipation of what might happen next!  Now I just need to wait patiently for the next book in the series………

You can buy a copy of 66 Metres via Amazon

My thanks to Noelle and Kate at Thick as Thieves Book Publicity and Promo for the opportunity to read and review this book, and for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.

Follow the blog tour:

Read Full Post »

The Fall of Moscow Station – Book Review

The Fall of Moscow Station

Author: Mark Henshaw

Published: 2 February 2016

Reviewed: 30 March 2016

What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor

Read more at: http://www.london24.com/entertainment/book_review_what_milo_saw_by_virginia_macgregor_1_3750981
Copyright © LONDON24

Copy supplied by Touchstone in return for an honest review

4 out of 5 Stars

 

Description: 

Decorated CIA analyst Mark Henshaw continues the Red Cell series with an “authentic, compelling, and revealing” (Jason Matthews) thriller following CIA analyst Jonathan Burke and agent Kyra Stryker, as they try to save the CIA’s sources in Russia after a major intelligence breach leaves Moscow Station in ruins.

When a body with Russian military tattoos is found floating in a lake outside Berlin, the CIA immediately takes notice. The body is identified as the director of Russia’s Foundation for Advanced Nuclear Research, who is also a CIA asset. And the murder coincides with the defection of one of the CIA’s upper-level officers. 

Alden Maines, is jaded after years in the CIA cleaning up the messes of incompetent political appointees in dangerous foreign posts. When he is passed over for promotion, Maines crosses the Rubicon and decides to cash in as a double agent for Russia.

But while Maines dreams of off-shore bank accounts and a new secret life, Arkady Lavrov of Russia’s intelligence service (GRU) has other plans. He immediately announces Maines’s defection to the world and then pumps him for every last ounce of intel, including the names of every agent in the CIA’s Moscow Station and their assets working in the Kremlin. But why would Lavrov burn an asset whose intel and access could pay dividends for years to come? What is Lavrov up to?

Traveling from Langley, to Berlin, and finally Moscow—working black without backup—analyst Jonathan Burke and agent Kyra Stryker are up against their most formidable enemy yet, and their lives and the fate of America’s most important assets in the New Cold War hang in the balance.

My Thoughts & Review: 

Kyra Stryker takes centre stage in this gripping thriller by Mark Henshaw, her unorthodox methods and risk taking approach get results so it’s a good move to utilise this operative when a CIA agent defects to the Russians.  

Against the backdrop of the cut throat politics of Russian Intelligence and a young and inexperienced President of America, the tightrope Stryker has to walk is fraying dangerously.  

Stryker is a great character, a well formed description easily conjures up an image of a strong and feisty young woman with a punk attitude and ruthless approach to finding answers.  

The good thing about this book is that the cast is limited, each character has been fleshed out so that enough information is there to find out what motivates each one and what their purpose is in this tangled tale.  Despite this, the author has ensured that the reader’s attention is securely captured before introducing the more complex aspects of the plot.  Homework has been done when it comes to the retelling of the tales of the Russian Intelligence bodies and just how convoluted politics can be, and for this I applaud the author, this made for an interesting read and added a layer of authenticity to the book.      

 This is an absolutely brilliant spy thriller, the plot is well formed and gripping, the characters are interesting and well portrayed.  Dialogue in this book is  not only down to earth but also enjoyable to read, it feels very real and flows well.   If I’m honest, I would happily put this on a shelf next to my collections of Len Deighton and John le Carré, it deserves a place next to the greats of the genre of spy thrillers. 

I would have no hesitation to recommend this book to fans of spy thrillers or general thrillers.  

You can buy a copy of The Fall of Moscow Station here. 

Read Full Post »

Mrs. John Doe – Book Review

Mrs. John Doe

Author: Tom Savage

Published: 06 October 2015

Reviewed: 18 February 2016

What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor

Read more at: http://www.london24.com/entertainment/book_review_what_milo_saw_by_virginia_macgregor_1_3750981
Copyright © LONDON24

Copy supplied by Random House Publishing in return for an honest review

5 out of 5 Stars

 

Description: 
Nora Baron’s life is perfect. She lives on Long Island Sound, teaches acting at a local university, and has a loving family. Then one phone call changes everything. She’s informed that her husband, Jeff, has died in a car crash while on a business trip in England. Nora flies to London to identify the body, which the police have listed as a “John Doe.” When she leaves the morgue, a man tries to steal her purse containing Jeff’s personal effects. Clearly, all is not as it seems.
At her hotel, Nora receives a cryptic message that leaves her with more questions than answers. She follows the message’s instructions to France, where a fatal encounter transforms her into a fugitive. Wanted for murder, on the run in a shadowy landscape of lies, secrets, and sudden violence, Mrs. “John Doe” must play the role of a lifetime to stay one step ahead of a ruthless enemy with deadly plans for her—and for the world.

My Thoughts & Review: 
Nora Baron is a complex character who develops well in this book.  On the face of it she has a pretty idyllic life, she‘s an actress who now shares her passion with her students, she has a grown up daughter and is married to a man she loves deeply.  But when she gets a call from England to say that her beloved Jeff has been killed in a car accident her world comes crashing down.  
As Nora struggles to comprehend what is happening things take a sinister turn, first she is the victim of an attempted mugging after collecting her husband’s personal effects, and then she receives a cryptic message that leads her to France, on a journey that changes her life forever.   
As narration is from Nora’s point of view the reader gets a strong understanding of this character, her thought processes are quick and rational, she uses her skills as an actor to study people, and weigh up situations but applying logic to her reasoning seems to come too late for her.  

The comment by author Michael Connelly that Tom Savage is “a master of the high speed thriller” is incredibly apt, this book almost screams out to be read at breakneck speed, there is so much action going on it borders on impossible not to read the next chapter, and the next….The characters are very well portrayed, you desperately want Nora to find out what’s going on, you want to believe there are good guys looking out for the honest citizens and keeping them safe.  
The frantic worry that Nora feels whilst in France is very well written, Savage has written scenes that engage the reader and transport them to the location with Nora.  The physical descriptions in this book were wonderful, in particular those of Paris were sublime, the gardens were so well described I could almost envision them as I read. 

This is definitely an action packed read and one I would thoroughly recommend to any fans of thrillers and espionage books, it’s cleverly written, there are so many twists in this that you can’t see them all coming and to be honest you don’t want to. 


You can buy a copy of Mrs. John Doe here. 

Read Full Post »

The Long Room – Book Review

The Long Room

Author: Francesca Kay

Published: 07 January 2016

Reviewed: 18 February 2016

What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor

Read more at: http://www.london24.com/entertainment/book_review_what_milo_saw_by_virginia_macgregor_1_3750981
Copyright © LONDON24

Copy supplied by Faber & Faber Ltd in return for an honest review

3 out of 5 Stars

 

Description: 
Set in London in the early eighties, award-winning novelist Francesca Kay’s third novel tells the story of a spy who falls for the wrong woman.

What happens to a man who has his ear pressed to the lives of others but not much life of his own? When Stephen Donaldson joins the Institute, he anticipates excitement, romance and new status. Instead he gets the tape-recorded conversations of ancient communists and ineffectual revolutionaries, until the day he is assigned a new case: the ultra-secret PHOENIX. Is PHOENIX really working for a foreign power? Stephen hardly cares; it is the voice of the target’s wife that mesmerises him.

This is December 1981. Bombs are exploding, a cold war is being waged, another war is just over the horizon and the nation is transfixed by weekly instalments of Brideshead Revisited. Dangerously in love, and lonely, Stephen sets himself up for a vertiginous fall that will forever change his life.

My Thoughts & Review: 
Stephen Donaldson is a Listener for the Intelligence Services, it’s not quite the exciting position he’d hoped for when recruited from Oxford, but he’s diligent and hopes for promotion one day.  
A test of his abilities comes in the form of an ultra secret case named Phoenix, it’s a delicate case, to be handled with the utmost secrecy.  
As he listens to tapes of Phoenix’s home life, Stephen becomes infatuated with Helen, he knows where she works, who she sees, the piano music she plays depending on her moods and believes he is in love with her despite having never laid eyes on her.  

As the story progresses Stephen’s obsession with Helen causes him to loosen his grip on reality, his disillusionment intensifies.  If he could just meet her, tell her everything she might just love him back……Running parallel to this are the actions Stephen takes in order to win the love of Helen, he takes risks that are so out of character, he becomes careless with aspects his work and lies to those who trust him.  
A stark contrast to the young man described by his mother in the narrative, who, lamenting her own sorry tale takes pride in her son and what he has accomplished.  

The intensity built by Kay in her writing is fantastic, the reader really does get a feel for the feverish need that Stephen has to hear Helen’s voice on the tapes, the desperation he feels when he has to devote his attention to other cases – 1980s Britain was in the grip of strikes, bomb threats and in a state of high alert which meant that the Intelligence Agencies were generally kept busy.

Whilst the plot may give ideas of a gripping thriller, this book really doesn’t fit into that category.  This is not a fast paced thriller at all, and I think that works for this book, the intense doom you feel approaching as you read this becomes suffocating.  The damp, depressing atmosphere depicted by Kay draws the reader in making this a compelling read.

That being said, I did find the end to be unsatisfying, I finished the book and shook my head at the character of Stephen Donaldson.  He was meant to be a highly intelligent man, but made some incredibly bad (stupid) choices that sealed his fate, his naivety just didn’t sit right with me.  Many people have raved about this book, and I completely agree about the skill of Kay as an author, but this one just wasn’t for me.

You can buy a copy of The Long Room here. 

Read Full Post »