Wednesday 4 June 2014

CRIME THRILLER REVIEW: The Carnivia Trilogy 2: The Abduction - Jonathan Holt

Release Date: 08/05/14
Publisher:  Head of Zeus

SYNOPSIS:

A teenage girl is kidnapped in Venice. The race to save her will uncover a conspiracy powerful men will kill to keep hidden. THE HOSTAGE: The teenage daughter of a US soldier disappeared in Venice last night. Now clues are appearing on anonymous website Carnivia.com - and the police are always one step behind. THE INVESTIGATORS: Kat Tapo of the Venice Carabinieri and US intelligence analyst Holly Boland are working together to find the girl. The deeper they dig, the darker the case becomes. THE WEBMASTER: Daniele Barbo, creator of Carnivia, never allows access to his servers. But then secrets are unearthed from Italy's dark wartime past. Secrets that could put them all in danger...THE ABDUCTION has begun.


REVIEW:

I loved the first book by Jonathan and to be honest I couldn’t wait to see what he’d bring for his second book in this series, after all, the first is the one that sets the scene, the second is the one that’s there to prove that the concept has not only legs but draws the reader in even deeper.

Taking inspiration from some cold war titles, this book has a wonderfully rich tapestry that the author draws upon to help generate not only a believable past but also allows the characters to come to the fore. And whilst the prose is sharp and the pace has both lulls and peaks for me, it was the characters that really stole the show. They were people I wanted to spend time with and for me, even if a plot isn’t as rounded as this offering, is what will keep me stuck to a book long after others will have given up. This is definitely a trend setter and one I’d advise others to start sooner rather than later.

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