Release Date: 24/09/17
Publisher: HQ
SYNOPSIS:
Everyone has one. An ex you still think about. The one who makes you ask ‘what if’?
Fifteen years have passed since Stella and George last saw each other. But something makes Stella click ‘yes’ to the invite to her school reunion.
There’s still a spark between them, and although their relationship ended badly, they begin an affair.
But once someone gets you back, sometimes they’re never going to let you go again…
REVIEW:
A book has to have a good few elements to make it work, firstly it has to have a solid story mixed with a good understanding of pace, it has to have full described characters to you fall in love with and care about and for me, it has to be delivered in such a way that whilst certain elements within may be fantastical, it has to be believable.
A book can to a certain degree get away with two out of the three, but for me, the cardinal sin and one that really makes a book a struggle for me, is when I can't stand the characters. After all, if I can't form a bond with them, why should I care about thier fates or what their own actions have wrought within the tale?
This is the problem with this book for me. Yes it has a good story arc, the pace is delightful and of course the twists and turns make it a car crash read as you wait to see what moves and counter-moves each of the principle players to do get their own way, however because they're so detestable, it was more a case of "Meh, why should I care about these two, they deserve each other."
All round, it is on a technical scale a solid offering, but for me, its more of a middle of the road title that won't stay with me for too long as a lot of what occurs within has been done before. A shame really as I really wanted so much more.
Release Date: 13/05/14
Publisher: Corvus
SYNOPSIS:
"Sophie Kohl is living her worst nightmare. Minutes after she confesses to her husband Emmett, a mid-level diplomat at the American embassy in Hungary, that she had an affair while they were in Cairo, he is shot in the head and killed. Stan Bertolli, a Cairo-based CIA agent, has fielded his share of midnight calls. But his heart skips a beat when he hears the voice of the only woman he ever truly loved, calling to ask why her husband has been assassinated. Jibril Aziz, an American analyst, knows more about Stumbler, a covert operation rejected by the CIA years ago, than anyone. So when it appears someone else has obtained a copy of the blueprints, Jibril knows the danger it represents...As these players converge on the city of Cairo, Olen Steinhauer's masterful manipulations slowly craft a portrait of a marriage, a jigsaw puzzle of loyalty and betrayal, against a dangerous world of political games where allegiances are never clear and outcomes are never guaranteed."
REVIEW:
I normally love a good thriller and whilst I’ve tried Olen’s work before this one felt sub parr as a number of the concepts didn’t ring quite right with a lead character that really didn’t have me wanting to spend time with them. Its an OK book but when you expect something special from a known name, and it just doesn’t deliver then as a reader you feel that you’ve been not only short changed but cheated.
Don’t get me wrong for most readers, if they haven’t read Olen before they will probably enjoy it but for me, sadly this lacked a lot of the skills that have come to the froe for me in previous outings. All round a great disappointment but it was a book I was pleased that I stayed around for the ending purely to discover that it hadn’t improved.
Release Date: 13/02/14
Publisher: Arrow Books
SYNOPSIS:
How far do you go for a friendship? That's the question Daniel Wade is forced to ask when a simple favour has fatal consequences. For the sake of his old schoolmate, Robbie - and more importantly for Robbie's sister, Cate - Dan agrees to go along with a lie. But soon he's sucked into a conspiracy that threatens to consume them all. How hard do you fight for a fortune? For Gordon and Patricia Blake, the dead man held the key to a glorious future. Now that future has been ripped from their grasp, and the Blakes want to know why. Then they want revenge. How can you hope to survive? With a ruthless predator on their trail, Dan realises that evading justice is the least of their worries. All that matters now is staying alive.
REVIEW:
To be honest, whilst I’ve read Tom’s writing before, this one felt more than a little flat to me as the story went from interesting concept and question posed to the ridiculous as things went south pretty quickly. The characters felt little more than 2D with the writing not really taking them anywhere within other than a forced line and for me it was something that told its own tale throughout the book.
Add to this no real depth of excitement for me, sadly plain and overly complex idea’s that could have been explored deeper to help give a more rounded tone and all round left me feeling pretty flat. A great shame as I’d had high hopes for this.
Release Date: 21/02/14
Publisher: Head of Zeus
SYNOPSIS:
Massive, glowering, and ugly as death, former soldier and ex-boxer Joe has always invited violence. But now Hackney's most vicious gangs all want to kill him. Why? As he tries to unravel the knot of events that have made him a target, Joe is drawn back into his past, back to the memory of the only woman he ever loved. Brenda was a prostitute who dreamed of something better. Now she's dead, and her murder, unsolved, haunts Joe every night. Then a twelve year old runaway enters his life. Kid is traumatised, mute, and sees Joe as her saviour. Life has made Joe a machine. Can Kid - as Brenda once did - make him human again? This taut thriller about betrayal, vengeance and redemption will grab you by the throat from the very first line.
REVIEW:
This book takes me back to David Gemmell’s (under the pseudonym of Ross Harding) White Knight Black Swan, as London’s darker side pervades the readers perception as one of its tough guys is targeted by gangs for a reason unknown by him. It’s a book that has a high octane pace alongside some twists that the reader won’t see coming. Back this up with a principle character that has a hard time opening up to a world that has put him down time and again alongside a supporting cast that adds extra flavour and all round you’ll be left demanding more. Great stuff.
Release Date: 26/12/13
Publisher: Head of Zeus
SYNOPSIS:
'Last night, eight-year old Ethan Reed was abducted at gunpoint from his home by an armed intruder. We are urging members of the public to get in touch. A coordinated search of the local area will be carried out.'Four years ago, Detective Inspector Harlan Miller killed someone. Now - divorced, alone, consumed by guilt - the world outside his prison walls holds little for him. Until, mere days after his release, an eight-year-old boy is abducted. Ethan Reed. The son of the man he killed. Frustrated by a police search that finds nothing, driven to desperation by repeated appeals that bring in no new leads, Ethan's mother knocks on the door of the man she has reason to hate most in the world. She has one question to ask - beg - of Harlan Miller. Find her little boy. Do whatever it takes.
REVIEW:
This was a book that I liked the sound of from the blurb and whilst I really got into the concept as the tale wound its way, I had one major problem, the principle character, I really just couldn’t stand him. For me there was no real hook to get the reader to associate with him and when added to a thoroughly dislikeable personality had me wondering if I’d made a huge error.
Don’t get me wrong, the concept was fairly strong, some of the twists were very clever but when I don’t care for a principle character how am I meant to actually care whether they live or die or achieve their objective. All round a book that I’m pleased I read but not only that’s going to make me reach for the authors next book immediately.
