Nemesis by Rory Clements

On March 26, 2019August 15, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Thriller7 Comments

Nemesis Cover.jpg

Publisher: Zaffre (Trade Paperback Format – Australia – 3 March 2019)

Series: Tom Wilde – Book 3

Length: 317 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Historical thriller and murder mystery author Rory Clements returns with the third book in his electrifying and clever Tom Wilde series, Nemesis.

August 1939. War is on the horizon, and while most of the world is preparing for the next great conflict, Cambridge Professor Tom Wilde is enjoying a holiday in France with his partner, Lydia. That is, until a mysterious man alerts him to the fact that one of his former students, an idealistic young man by the name Marcus Marfield, is currently being held in an internment camp on the France-Spain border after his involvement in the Spanish Civil War. When Wilde finds Marfield at the camp he moves quickly to secure his release, and they flee the country just as the Germans begin their invasion of Poland.

Back in England, the country moves to a war footing, as the Allies attempt to persuade America to join them against the Nazis. While many Americans oppose joining the war, the sinking of the passenger ship the SS Athenia may be the spark that brings them into the war. With the Nazis attempting to convince the world that Churchill orchestrated the sinking of the Athenia to galvanise American support against Germany, Wilde and his companions return to Cambridge.

Once back in the city, Wilde begins to notice a change come over Marfield. At first attributing it to his shell shock following his battles in Spain, a series of mysterious deaths around Cambridge all seem to link to the recently returned Marfield. These events are tied to a deadly conspiracy to keep America out of the war for good. A spy ring is active in Cambridge, and Wilde must find a way to uncover it before it is too late. Can Wilde once again avert disaster, and what role does Marfield play in this conspiracy?

After the excellent first two books in his Tom Wilde series, Corpus and Nucleus, Clements continues the adventure of his series’ titular character, Tom Wilde, as he investigates a series of Nazi espionage activities around Cambridge in the lead-up to World War II. I have quite enjoyed this series in the past and was looking forward to continuing the story in Nemesis. The latest book is a thrilling story that takes place just at the outset of the war and utilises the several historical events and figures to turn this into quite an intriguing tale.

Nemesis is a really good historical thriller which combines a great spy story with the historical context of early World War II. The previous books in the Tom Wilde series have all contained compelling and complex mysteries with huge implications for England and the allies, and Nemesis is no different. Clements has crafted together an excellent mystery that has massive, worldwide implications, and I really enjoyed unravelling the mystery, especially as the author presents all sorts of doublecrosses, twists, cover-ups and mysterious deaths to confuse the reader away from the main goal of the antagonists. The antagonists’ master plan is quite out there, and it is one of those plots that would have had massive historical implications. I quite like the role that new character Marcus Marfield played in this plot, as the protagonists and the reader are constantly trying to work out what his secrets are and what kind of person he truly is. Overall, I found the thriller and mystery elements of this book to be quite clever and captivating, and readers will enjoy uncovering the full extent of the antagonist’s overall plot.

One of the most interesting parts of the Tom Wilde series so far was its setting during the chaotic pre-World War II period. In Nemesis, Clements sets his story right at the start of the war and immediately shows all the panic and preparation that followed this declaration of war. Clements did a fantastic job portraying the low-key sense of dread and paranoia that the inhabitants of England would have felt in the build-up to the war in the previous books in the series, and in Nemesis these feelings are realistically amplified now that the war has begun. The author has quite a good grasp on a number of historical events and feelings during this period, and I quite liked seeing the Cambridge viewpoint of the war. The Cambridge setting has always been a fantastic highlight of this series, but it was quite intriguing to see the author incorporate all the various changes to the city that occurred as a result of the war into his novel. Clements dives deep into the Cambridge lifestyle when it comes to the war, whether it involves the removal of the rare books from the colleges, the preservation of the stained glass windows, the roles that the professors were being assigned in the war effort or even the many Communist professors throwing away their party membership cards when it became clear that the Soviets were supporting the Nazis.

Clements also ties his story in quite closely with one of the more interesting early events of World War II: the sinking of the passenger liner the SS Athenia as it sailed across the Atlantic. I was deeply fascinated not only with the depictions of this event, but the discussions and conspiracy theories that resulted from it. This was especially true when it came to the examination about the sinking of the ship being used to bring the United States into the war. The likelihood of America joining in the war became a major part of the story, and it was interesting to see what the European characters thought about America’s reluctance to enter the war, especially as one of the protagonists is an American character, and one of the chief architects of America’s isolationist policy, Joe Kennedy, was the United States Ambassador to England at the time. I thought that the historical elements that Clements explored were a real highlight of this book, and readers will enjoy his literary examination of these events.

While the main focus of the book’s story is a conspiracy and the start of the war, Clements does take his time to continue to develop a number of the characters introduced in the previous books. For example, Wilde continues to deepen his relationship with his romantic partner, Lydia, and I quite liked the role that Lydia played in investigating the case alongside Wilde. There is also a significant focus on Wilde’s American friend Jim Vanderberg and his family, especially as Vanderberg’s family are passengers aboard the Athenia. Phillip Eaton, the British spy who was hit by a car in the last book of the series makes a return in Nemesis, and the reader gets to see his struggles to recover from his horrific injuries while still working as an intelligence officer. A number of intriguing new characters are introduced in this book and it will be interesting to see what role they and the existing characters will play in any future entries in this series.

In the latest book of his enjoyable Tom Wilde series, Nemesis, Rory Clements once again delivers a captivating historical thriller that brings the reader into the early days of World War II. Featuring an incredible overarching mystery and some detailed examinations of intriguing historical events and settings, Nemesis is a deeply interesting book that is well worth checking out. I am very curious to see where Clements takes the series next, and I look forward to seeing what impact Thomas Wilde will have on the rest of World War II.

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Throwback Thursday – The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

On March 14, 2019August 17, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday1 Comment

Publishers: Brilliance Audio (Audiobook Edition – 26 May 2015)

Knopf (12 May 1969)

Series: Standalone/Book 1

Length: 8 hours 15 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

For this week’s Throwback Thursday I take a look at a classic techno-thriller from legendary author Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain.

The Andromeda Strain was released nearly 50 years ago, in May 1969, and represented a bold new direction from Crichton, who had previously done several pulpy crime novels, such as Odds On and Scratch One, under the name John Lange, as well as the medical crime thriller A Case of Need, which he wrote under the name Jeffrey Hudson. The Andromeda Strain was considered to be part of the new techno-thriller genre and is still considered to be a major example of this genre.

I have only read three of Crichton’s books before, including Jurassic Park (for obvious reasons), The Lost World and Pirate Latitudes. While I have always intended to go back and read some more of Crichton’s works, I have never had the time to do so. However, with the recent announcement that The Andromeda Evolution is being released in November to correspond with the 50-year anniversary of The Andromeda Strain, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to check out one of Crichton’s earlier books. For that reason, I listened to the audiobook version of The Andromeda Strain narrated by David Morse.

When a military satellite comes down in the small town of Piedmont, Arizona, nearly all the residents in the town die. They are victims of a mysterious new pathogen that either instantly clotted all the blood in their body or drove them to suicide. The military quickly activate the Wildfire protocol, and a small government team of scientists and doctors take command of Piedmont and the satellite.

Believing that the satellite contains an extraterrestrial organism, the team bring it and the two survivors of Piedmont, an old man and a baby, to a secret and secure underground Wildfire laboratory for study. Deep in the laboratory, the team attempt to identify and categorise the organism which has been given the codename Andromeda. However, Andromeda is evolving a way no member of the Wildfire team believed possible, and not even the laboratory’s nuclear bomb safeguards may be enough to keep it contained.

After listening to The Andromeda Strain over a couple of days, I found it to be an extremely thrilling and complex novel that I really got into and which I am eager to review. However, after 50 years and thousands of reviews I am not too sure how much I can really say about this book that has not already been said. That being said, when looking at this book from a 2019 perspective, I feel that The Andromeda Strain is still an extremely strong techno-thriller, with some expert storytelling and an in-depth scientific base that is still relevant in this modern era.

In this book, Crichton utilised a very dry, detailed and scientific approach to his writing, slowly covering every aspect of the events unfolding before each of the protagonists, while also providing the reader with backstory on the characters and briefings on the various relevant scientific and political components of the book. Despite this somewhat less exciting writing style, Crichton is still able to create quite a thrilling atmosphere throughout the book as the story gets closer to the inevitable disaster part of the plot. Crichton really adds to the suspense by mentioning the various mistakes that the protagonist are making and hinting at all the problems going on around them that will eventually lead to the release of the Andromeda microbe.

I did feel that the book ended rather suddenly, and I was surprised that the investigation part of the story was still going with only a short amount of the book left to go. I found it interesting that the part of the story that dealt with the release of Andromeda and the subsequent race to stop the nuclear explosion about to wipe out the lab was introduced so late in the book and solved so very quickly. I was expecting a large portion of the story to focus on the main characters getting past all of the impressive contamination protocols in order to stop the nuclear explosion. Instead, this was all solved within about 10 minutes of audiobook narration, or probably five to 10 pages of a normal book. While I was surprised about this, I suppose it does make sense in the context of the rest of the story, where the characters and briefing material did mention several times that there was a three-minute delay between the bomb arming and the explosion. This was all extremely thrilling, and I felt that the book is still capable of keeping authors on the edge of their seats.

One of the things that really surprised me about the book was the advanced level of technology that was featured within a story written and set in 1969. Perhaps this is simply ignorance as a result of being a child of the 90s, but I feel it is more likely the result of Crichton having a great understanding of technology and potential future advances that might be utilised within a high-level government laboratory. Certainly, the scientific features of this book are extremely impressive, and I felt that they were still extremely relevant and understandable in a 2019 context. For example, all the extreme quarantine methods surrounding the Wildfire laboratory sound like perfectly reasonable steps that modern laboratories could use to keep pathogens contained. All the discussions about viruses and micro-organisms were also incredibly detailed, and I felt that much of the information discussed around those is still relevant today, and modern audiences will still be able to understand and consider it quite easily.

I did find the concept of the Odd-Man Hypothesis to be extremely interesting. In essence, the Odd-Man Hypothesis states that out of all the humans in the world, unmarried men are the most likely to make the best and most dispassionate decision in the face of an emergency. This becomes a key part of the story, as one of the characters is designated as the Odd-Man and is the only person with the ability to shut off the laboratory’s nuclear self-destruct device. Now this is one theory that does not translate to more modern times, although, in fairness, most of The Andromeda Strain’s characters did not take it that seriously either. That being said, it was an extremely intriguing element to read about, and I enjoyed the discussion around its viability and use within the context of the story.

As I mentioned above, I chose to listen to The Andromeda Strain in its audiobook format. There are actually a number of different audiobook versions of The Andromeda Strain out there, each with different narrators, such as an earlier version narrated by Chris Noth. I ended up listening to the most recent audiobook version of this book, although I imagine a new version is sure to follow soon, especially with a sequel about to come out. The version I listened to was narrated by actor David Morse and was released in 2015. This version is 8 hours and 15 minutes long, and I found myself powering through it very quickly.

I think that the audiobook was a really great way to listen to The Andromeda Strain, as it allows the reader to absorb the huge amount of scientific detail and discussion a lot easier. I felt that David Morse was an excellent narrator for this book, and that his basic narration voice perfectly fit the books tone and style. Morse also comes up with some great voices for this book, and I was particularly impressed by his weary old man voice. As a result, I would highly recommend the audiobook version of The Andromeda Strain, as it is definitely an outstanding way to the listen to this fantastic story.

Overall, I loved this dive back into the past and I had a lot of fun listening to this classic techno-thriller. Crichton is an amazing author, especially when it comes to a more science-based story, and I am incredibly impressed that his story still holds up 50 years after it was first published. I am extremely curious to see where the upcoming sequel, The Andromeda Evolution, takes the story, and how well new author Daniel H. Wilson replicates Crichton’s style. This book has also encouraged me to check out some more of Crichton’s works, and I am looking forward to reading some more of this author’s excellent techno-thrillers, as well as some of his intriguing historical fiction pieces.

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Waiting on Wednesday – The Andromeda Evolution by Michael Crichton and Daniel H. Wilson

On March 13, 2019March 13, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday3 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.

The Andromeda Evolution Cover

In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I take a look at The Andromeda Evolution, the recently announced sequel to Michael Crichton’s game-changing novel, The Andromeda Strain.

Michael Crichton is one of the most iconic authors of the last 50 years, having written a series of varied and highly regarded novels, many of which were turned into movies. It goes without saying that you have heard of his most famous novel, Jurassic Park, which was adapted into the movie of the same name. Between his debut in 1966 and his death in 2008, Crichton released 28 full-length fiction books, including Congo, Sphere, The Lost World, Rising Sun, Binary and Eaters of the Dead (also known as The 13^th Warrior). These books were mostly released under his own name, but several novels were released under the pseudonym John Lange.

One of Crichton’s most famous books was his 1969 release, The Andromeda Strain, his first foray into the science fiction genre. It followed a group of scientists as they attempted to contain and study an extraterrestrial microbe, known as Andromeda, within a high-tech government laboratory. While not his first book, this was the novel that helped launch his career, and was highly regarded by reviewers at the time of its release. It is also considered to be one of the first books of the techno-thriller genre, and its success no doubt encouraged Crichton to write more science fiction works, such as Jurassic Park.

It was announced only a couple of weeks ago that a sequel to The Andromeda Strain will be released later this year to mark the 50^th anniversary of its release. The Andromeda Evolution will be released worldwide on 12 November 2019 and has been written by bestselling science fiction author Daniel Wilson.

No real plot details for this book have been released yet, and it will be interesting to see where the story goes. The Andromeda Strain ended with Andromeda evolving and being released into the upper atmosphere, where it was severely impacting the space programs of the United States and the Soviet Union. From what very little is known, it appears that in the new book the microbe will somehow evolve again to become a much more serious threat. I am deeply intrigued to see how this new book will continue the story told in The Andromeda Strain, especially as the author could take the story in so many different directions. I am very curious about what causes the disease to evolve again, and what new impacts this will have on Earth. I imagine that this book will be set in more modern times, which also offers up a range of possibilities. In particular, this might create an alternate timeline for Earth, as the lack of a space race might have severely altered history.

I am quite excited for the author chosen to continue this story, Daniel Wilson. Wilson is one of the most intriguing authors of science fiction at the moment, having written several bestselling techno-thrillers, including his epic Robopocalypse series. I think that Wilson’s writing style and imagination will mesh quite well Crichton’s original concept, and the resulting collaboration will be something special.

I am a bit uncertain whether The Andromeda Evolution will be based on any notes Crichton left behind, or whether it was only inspired by the original novel. The three previous Michaels Crichton novels that were released after his death (Pirate Latitudes, Micro and Dragon Teeth) were either completed or partially written by Crichton himself. However, as Wilson is credited as the author on the cover, I am thinking that the story is mostly based on his ideas. This new perspective on the story may prove to be extremely interesting, and it could be the first in a new wave of Michael Crichton inspired techno-thrillers.

The Andromeda Evolution should prove to be an extremely interesting release for later in the year, and I am very eager to check it out. Check back here tomorrow for a throwback review for The Andromeda Strain, and I may update this post later when more plot details about The Andromeda Evolution become available.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Kremlin Strike and Red Metal

On March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday3 Comments

In this week’s instalment of Waiting on Wednesday, get ready to fight the Ruskies in the Third World War with two upcoming novels that sound like they will be action-packed thrill rides which I am very much looking forward to. Now, usually military thrillers are not within my usual wheel house, unless there is some historical, fantasy or science fiction element to them. However, in the last year, I have gone out of my way to read a few of these books, such as Red War by Kyle Mills (based on the series by Vince Flynn) and The Moscow Offensive by Dale Brown, both of which had outrageous plots that deeply appealed to me. These books turned out to be really awesome, and I had a real blast reading and reviewing them. I loved the extreme action, the intriguing considerations these authors had put into planning out conflict between modern day countries as well as the interesting use of Russia as America’s main antagonist once again. While they are somewhat over the top, these books were awfully fun, and I am now very keen to check out some more military thrillers as I know I will really enjoy them.

As luck would have it, two extremely entertaining-sounding military thrillers are coming out in the next couple of months, and I am really looking forward to both of them. The first of these books is The Kremlin Strike by Dale Brown. It will be the 23^rd book in the author’s Patrick McLanahan series and is set to be released in May 2019 (although it will probably have a later release date in Australia).

The Kremlin Strike Cover.jpg

In this exciting, visionary, and all-too-plausible next chapter in the legendary Dale Brown’s New York Times bestselling techno-warfare series, Brad McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron must fight the Russians on a dangerous, untested battlefield: outer space.

The previous administration’s ineffective response to the growing Russian threat has left America vulnerable. Setting a bold course for America’s defense, the decisive and strong new president, John Dalton Farrell, intends to challenge Russian aggression head on. Brad and Patrick McLanahan and the formidable Iron Wolf Squadron—including the recently injured Nadia Roz, rested and back to fighting form thanks to a pair of state-of-the-art prosthetic legs—are ready and eager to join the battle.

But even with their combined forces, the Russian menace may prove too great for the Americans to overcome. Done with provocative skirmishes and playing for small stakes, the Russian president has set his sights on the ultimate prize: controlling the entire world. Expanding beyond earth’s bounds, the Russians have built a new high-tech space station and armed it with weaponry capable of destroying US satellites as well as powerful missiles pointed at strategic targets across earth.

Devising a cunning plan of attack, Brad, Nadia, and the Iron Wolf warriors will take to the skies in their advanced space planes to destroy the space station, check the Russians’ plan for dominance, and save the world. But is it already too late?

As I mentioned above, I had a lot of fun reading the previous book in the Patrick McLanahan series, especially as it featured America and Russia going to war with advanced piloted robots. Honestly, I found The Moscow Offensive to be one of the most entertaining books of 2018 and I have high hopes for this next book. I am especially excited as it sounds like The Kremlin Strike will be just as fun, as the author once again takes the battle into space. A war in space has a lot of entertainment potential and I am curious to see how Brown will utilise this unique environment in his story.

The second book that I am looking forward to in this article is Red Metal by Mark Greaney and Lt. Col Hunter Ripley Rawlings (USMC), set to be released in July 2019.

Red Metal Cover.png

A desperate Kremlin takes advantage of a military crisis in Asia to simultaneously strike into Western Europe and invade east Africa in a bid to occupy three Rare Earth mineral mines that will give Russia unprecedented control for generations over the world’s hi-tech sector.

Pitted against the Russians are a Marine lieutenant colonel pulled out of a cushy job at the Pentagon and thrown into the fray in Africa, a French Special Forces captain and his intelligence operative father, a young Polish female partisan fighter, an A-10 Warthog pilot, and the captain of an American tank platoon who, along with a German sergeant, fight from behind enemy lines in Germany all the way into Russia.

From a daring MiG attack on American satellites, through land and air battles in all theatres, naval battles in the Arabian sea, and small unit fighting down to the hand-to-hand level in the jungle, Russia’s forces battle to either take the mines or detonate a nuclear device to prevent the West from exploiting them.

I only came across Greaney’s thriller work quite recently, when I read and reviewed the latest book in his Gray Man series, Mission Critical. I quite enjoyed his spy thriller work and I am extremely intrigued to see how he will go with this different thriller subgenre, although his experience writing Tom Clancy novels will no doubt prove invaluable. I am also very curious to see how Greaney will go writing with his new co-author, especially as Rawlings brings some significant real-life military knowledge and experience to the table.

From the details above, Red Metal appears to be a standalone novel (although I imagine sequels will follow if this one is successful) that will follow the events of a future World War III in a large-scale story that goes for just over 600 pages. I am really looking forward to reading a novel that completely chronicles a total war occurring around the globe, and I am very eager to see how it will turn out, especially because I am sure all sorts of cool technology or massive battles will come into play. I am very excited about the range of characters described in the plot summary, as it looks like the authors will split the story between the various theatres of war that occur throughout the book. I also like that many of the characters are European in origin; it will be very interesting to see how all these different nations come together and fight this war. The example battles that are listed at the end of the plot synopsis also sound particularly thrilling, and the sheer range of different action sequences that could result out of these have so much potential.

Both of these upcoming military thrillers sound like they will be extremely exciting, and I am already very confident that I will have one hell of a good time reading them. Onwards to war!

Mission Critical by Mark Greaney

On February 24, 2019February 2, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller31 Comments

Mission Critical Cover

Publisher: Sphere (Trade Paperback Edition – 26 February 2019)

Series: Gray Man – Book 8

Length: 513 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Bestselling author Mark Greaney returns with another entertaining and fast-paced instalment in his enjoyable Gray Man spy thriller series.

Court Gentry used to be a ruthless covert assassin known as the Gray Man, a highly skilled killer considered a legend in the clandestine circles. However, times change, and Gentry now finds gainful employment as a CIA hitter, one of three elite agents that make up the Agency’s super-secret Poison Apple program. Going under a new codename, Violator, Gentry is redirected aboard a CIA flight in Europe. Tensions rise when the plane’s other passengers, a team of heavily armed agents, attempt to remove Gentry from the flight in order to protect their prize, a hooded man who may have knowledge that could identify a mole within the CIA.

Allowed to remain on the plane, Gentry finds himself thrust into the middle of a firefight when the plane lands in England. A team of mercenaries ambush the plane, overcoming the CIA and MI6 agents waiting to meet the flight and taking the kidnapped man for themselves. Gentry gives chase to the surviving mercenaries to regain the kidnapped man and soon finds himself investigating the case by himself.

As Gentry attempts to uncover what is going on in England, one of Poison Apple’s other operatives, the former Russian agent Zoya Zakharova, finds herself under attack in her CIA safe house. With Zoya going off the radar, Gentry’s handlers are convinced that a mole within the CIA is tipping of a dangerous opponent. Gentry and his team are soon the only agents who can stop a devastating attack that could bring the West to its knees.

Mark Greaney is a highly regarded spy thriller writer who has some substantial works to his name. He was Tom Clancy’s co-author for legendary espionage author’s final three books, Locked On, Threat Vector and Command Authority. Following Clancy’s death in 2013, Greaney continued to write an additional four novels in Clancy’s Jack Ryan Universe. Aside from the books he wrote with Clancy, Greaney has his own series, the bestselling Gray Man series, which started in 2009 with the author’s debut book, The Gray Man. Mission Critical is the eighth book in the Gray Man series.

This was an incredibly thrilling story which contains hell of a lot of action and espionage. I really liked the sound of Mission Critical’s plot synopsis and was glad that I picked up a copy of this book, as the action and intrigue did not stop the entire time. At over 500 pages long, I was worried that this might drag in some places, but I found myself fairly absorbed by the awesome plot and sufficiently pumped up by the huge number of firefights, close combat sequences and high-speed chases.

I loved the spy thriller storyline that was a prominent part of Mission Critical. Greaney weaves together a number of plotlines to create a fantastic overall spy thriller narrative. Because Mission Critical is told from a number of perspectives, including those of the protagonists and antagonists, the reader gets a great idea of all the action, spycraft and dirty tricks that both sides employ to complete their respective missions. Greaney obviously has a large amount of knowledge about the espionage world, and I loved all his depictions about the inner workings of spy agencies, rogue operatives and the various tricks and techniques that agents employ. I also liked Greaney’s depiction of the inner politics of the CIA and how that might impact on missions and the distribution of resources, as well as a look at the CIA’s relationship with other countries’ intelligence agencies.

I really liked some of the characters featured within this book. The protagonist, Court Gentry (and I have to point out how much I love that name), is a solid and dependable badass agent to anchor this series. He’s your typical thriller protagonist, with some badass skills and a reputation to match. I loved his anti-authoritarian vibe, and I also quite enjoyed how he actually got his ass handed to him multiple times throughout the book, rather than being unbeatable in every encounter. I was also impressed that Greaney kept showing him being slowed down by his injuries, rather than having him at 100% for every encounter like some other authors do. Zoya is also a good protagonist for this story; let’s face it, a sexy Russian agent never goes amiss in a spy thriller. The author dives into this character’s background quite a bit in Mission Critical, and her connections to the plot and the antagonists were explored in an intriguing manner. The third Poison Apple operative, Zack Hightower, aka Romantic, was used a little less than his comrades, but he was a fun addition to the team, adding some humour to the story, especially when it came to his codename, as well as some complex history and camaraderie with Gentry. The Poison Apple program handler, Suzanne Brewer, also adds some great things to the story. A career-orientated CIA administrator, she has to try and play straight-woman to the three anti-authority, disrespectful operatives that are under her command. The fact that she does not want to be working with these people and is at times actively sabotaging them to try and get a different posting adds some really intriguing elements to the story, and I liked watching her work against her agents for her own selfish ends.

Mission Critical is the eighth book in Greaney’s Gray Man series. While this latest entry does feature a number of characters from the previous books in the series, readers are not required to have read any of the previous books to enjoy this story. I felt that Greaney did an excellent job of explaining any elements from the previous entries in the series that become relevant throughout Mission Critical. Fans of the Gray Man series will probably really enjoy the deeper examination of Zoya’s history and backstory, as well as her inclusion in the other Poison Apple agent’s operations.

Overall, Mission Critical was a deeply entertaining espionage novel that is bound to keep readers absorbed with its excellent action and thriller elements. It is easily enjoyable for both existing fans of the franchise and new readers alike. I had a lot of fun reading this book and I powered through all 500+ pages in fairly short order. I am planning to keep an eye out for Greaney’s next book, Red Metal, a really cool-sounding war thriller that is coming out in July this year.

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Waiting on Wednesday – The Lost Ten by Harry Sidebottom

On February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

The Lost Ten Cover.jpg

This week I will be looking at an exciting new historical fiction novel that is coming out in April 2019, The Lost Ten by Harry Sidebottom. Harry Sidebottom is a well-established historical fiction author whose novels set in the Roman Empire are some of the best in the business. I have long been a huge fan of Sidebottom. I have previously mentioned how his second book, King of Kings, was one of the first books I ever reviewed, and I absolutely loved his most recent release, 2018’s The Last Hour. So I am extremely eager to get my hands on The Lost Ten, which sounds like it will be quite a fantastic read.

Goodreads synopsis:

A desperate rescue attempt deep behind enemy lines . . . this nail-biting adventure has all the hard-edged appeal of the Bravo Two Zero mission.

When Valens, a junior officer in the Roman Army, joins a crack squad of soldiers on a dangerous mission, little does he know what’s in store for him. Tasked with rescuing the young Prince Sasan, who has been imprisoned in the impenetrable Castle of Silence, the troops set out across Mesopotamia and into the mountains south of the Caspian Sea.

Deep in hostile territory, inexperienced Valens finds himself in charge. And as one by one his soldiers die or disappear, he begins to suspect that there is a traitor in their midst, and that the rescue is fast becoming a suicide mission.

Valens must marshal this disparate group of men and earn their respect, before it’s too late…

I love the sound of this plot synopsis, as it implies that Sidebottom will continue his winning formula from The Last Hour, where he combined pulse-pounding thriller elements with his usual detailed and intriguing historical fiction plots. This worked extremely well with The Last Hour, which was essentially 24 in Rome, and I am excited to see how a high-risk special forces mission will play out in this ancient setting.

I very intrigued by the Castle of Silence that is referenced in the synopsis, which brings a very intense and impenetrable stronghold to mind. From the other details contained within plot summary, it sounds like the Romans will have to infiltrate the Parthian Empire. I love the idea of a small force getting into this massive and sprawling empire, and I am very interested to see how the Parthians are able to insert a spy into a crack Roman unit.

Overall, I am extremely excited for this latest book from Harry Sidebottom, who has to be one of my favourite historical fiction authors. The Lost Ten sounds like it will be a thrilling and action-packed novel, and I really cannot wait for Sidebottom to once again blow my mind with his thriller/historical fiction hybrids.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Possession by Michael Rutger

On February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Horror, Thriller, Waiting on WednesdayLeave a comment

The Possession Cover.jpg

In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday I will be look at The Possession by Michael Rutger, the sequel to one of the creepiest books I read last year, The Anomaly. Michael Rutger is an acclaimed author of horror and thrillers, having written a number of great novels over the years under a number of different names. The Anomaly was a particularly amazing book that placed a team of amateur myth hunters inside a genuine and over-the-top ancient mystery and a real-life conspiracy which they were forced to unravel in order to survive. In the second book, the team will face an entirely new challenge.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Still recovering from the shocking revelations they uncovered deep in uncharted territory in the Grand Canyon, American myth and legend investigator Nolan Moore and his team take on a new mission, investigating a rumoured case of witchcraft and possession.

Nolan hopes their new case, in a quaint village in the middle of the woods, will prove much more like those he and his team investigated prior to their trip to Kincaid’s cavern.

But as the residents accounts of strange phenomena add up, Nolan and company begin to suspect something all too real and dangerous may be at play. A force that may not be willing to let them escape the village unscathed.

The new story sounds like a whole lot of fun, as the team once again finds themselves with a genuine anomaly. I really enjoyed the science fiction based horror story that featured in The Anomaly, and I am intrigued by the potential fantasy element to this story, as the synopsis makes it sound like they are encountering either demons or witches. If Rutger continues to follow the pattern established in The Anomaly, this book will feature some historical investigation as Nolan and his production team of side characters attempt to find the source of the mysterious events.

In the first book of this series, Rutger showed off his ability to craft a disturbing and memorable piece of horror, especially through his utilisation of the claustrophobic darkness that surrounded his characters in a cave. It will be interesting to see what in The Possession will inspire Rutger’s horror element, but I am sure it will be amazing. After falling in love with several of the characters from the first book, I am almost a little afraid to check The Possession out, as the chance of all of them surviving seems a little low.

The Possession by Michael Rutger has the potential to be a wildly thrilling piece of horror fiction, and I am very excited to see how the author creates another dark and chilling story. I am very tempted to check out this book’s audiobook format, especially if they get Brandon Williams to narrate it, as he did a superb job with The Anomaly, and his narration really helped to enhance the horror elements, especially the powerful lack of light around the characters. The Possession is very high up on my list of 2019 reads, and I am very much looking forward to listening to another excellent horror read.

Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz

On January 28, 2019February 2, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller26 Comments

out of the dark cover

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Paperback Edition – 5 February 2019)

Series: Orphan X (Book 4)

Length: 435 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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The Orphan X series returns with a bang as thriller extraordinaire Gregg Hurwitz sets his long-running protagonist against his most dangerous opponent yet in this fun and exciting new novel.

Evan Smoak is an orphan in every way that matters. Taken from his foster home as a child and inducted into a top-secret espionage program, Evan was given a new name, Orphan X. The Orphans are the most lethal secret agents the United States ever produced, taking on missions around the world. But after years of killing and being lied to, Evan had enough and left the program. Now using his abilities to stay hidden, Evan has taken on a new identity, The Nowhere Man, a mysterious vigilante who helps people placed in terrible situations. While Evan is satisfied with his new life, there is one threat from his old life that he needs to kill. Unfortunately for Evan, that one man is now the President of the United States of America.

As the head of the Orphan program, Jonathan Bennett used the Orphans to promote his illegal and corrupt agendas around the world. Now that he has achieved his ambition to become President, to cover his tracks he has ordered the death of all the remaining Orphans, as well as the man who was the closest thing Evan had to a father. Now Orphan X is at the top of his hit list, and the only way to protect himself and the other orphans is to do the impossible and kill Bennett first.

Residing in the most impenetrable building in the world and with the full force of the Secret Service protecting him, Bennett looks to be untouchable, especially as he has unleashed the vengeful Orphan A to hunt Evan down. However, Orphan X has a plan and is determined to take everything from the President. Can Evan succeed? Why is Bennett so concerned with covering up the details of Orphan X’s first mission? One thing is for sure: all hell is about to break loose in Washington.

Hurwitz is a veteran author whose work mostly fits into the thriller and mystery genres. He has written a couple of series, including the young adult zombie series, The Rains Brothers, and the thriller-based Tim Rackley series. In addition, Hurwitz has also written a number of interesting sounding standalone books, including his debut novel, The Tower, as well as a number of comics for DC and Marvel, including Penguin: Pain and Prejudice, 19 issues of Batman: The Dark Knight and even a run on Marvel’s excellent 2004 The Punisher series. Aside from the two The Rains Brothers novels, Hurwitz’s main work in the last three years has been his Orphan X series. Out of the Dark is the fourth novel in this series and continues a number of storylines set out in the earlier books.

With the exception of some of his comics, I have not had the pleasure of reading any of Hurwitz’s previous books before, although several do sound very interesting; for example, his 2001 release, Minutes to Burn, has been recommended to me before due to its fun premise. However, upon hearing that the plot of this book was going to set an elite rogue operative against the President of the United States, I knew that I had to check this book out. Luckily my propensity for falling for and checking out books with amazing and out-there plot synopsis paid off once again, as I had a lot of fun reading this action-packed thriller.

After some bad experiences in the past, I am always a little apprehensive about coming into a series several books in, and Out of the Dark was no exception, especially as it was the fourth book in the series. However, Hurwitz does a fantastic job setting out the events leading up to this story, and I did not find myself lost in the slightest as I read this book. Therefore, I have no hesitation in recommending this book to readers who, like me, were intrigued by the intriguing story concept and want to start the series here.

The main story focuses on Orphan X’s and the President’s attempts to take each other out, and it results in a fast-paced and action-packed thrill ride, as the two sides unleash everything to win. This main storyline is split between several characters, including Orphan X, the President, the head of the President’s security detail and Orphan A. Hurwitz spends time exploring each of these characters’ backgrounds, personalities and motivations, allowing for a richer overall story rather than a typical all-action adventure. In addition to this main storyline, there is also a secondary storyline where Evan, as The Nowhere Man, helps out a person being targeted by a drug lord. I was a bit uncertain about the necessity of this second storyline, as I was quite enjoying the focus on assassinating the president. However, I did appreciate how this second storyline was used to convey Evan’s continued search for humanity and redemption after years as an assassin. Fans of the previous books in the Orphan X series will enjoy a number of inclusions thrown into Out of the Dark, including several characters from the previous books, a continuation of some storylines, and an opening scene that shows Evan’s first mission as Orphan X back in the 1990s. All of this comes together into an amazing and captivating story that is not only exciting, but which also has some emotional weight backing it up.

Hurwitz takes his plot focus of an elite agent targeting the President and really runs with it. The protection surrounding the President of the United States of America is legendary, both inside and outside of fiction. Therefore, the idea that one man can take him out is a crazy idea, especially as Hurwitz makes it clear the sheer amount of resources and firepower that the President’s security detail has on his side. Indeed, there are several comparisons made throughout the book, showcasing the Secret Service’s tools and resources, and then counterpointing it to the few resources the protagonist has access to. Despite this, at no point does the reader feel like Orphan X is the underdog, even with Orphan A and his less than savoury cohorts chasing after him. Indeed, as the book progresses, the President and his security get more and more nervous, especially as Evan makes his various moves. The protagonist’s overall plan for getting to the President is pretty clever, and I love how this storyline ended. This was an extremely fun story focus, and I was not disappointed by how Hurwitz showcased it.

It should go without saying that this book is chocked full of action, as there are a number of high-intensity scenes where the protagonist takes it to his opponents. Hurwitz can write a really good action sequence, and there were some really fun details throughout the book. The author really uses these scenes to show off what a badass Orphan X is, including an early scene where the protagonist tells several police officers exactly how he is going to take them out and then proceeds to beat the thus-prepared officers in what has to be the ultimate power play. These action scenes also show off what the Secret Service can do and how impressive their presidential security is. With plenty of explosions, gunfights, full-on assaults of strongholds and violent hand-to-hand combat sequences, there is plenty in this book for those readers who love a bit of action in their fiction.

Overall, Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz is an amazing read that I had an absolute blast with. Orphan X continues to reign supreme as one of modern thriller fiction’s most badass protagonists, as he takes on the whole Secret Service. This is an extremely exciting and clever read that also takes the time to dive into the emotional motivation of its characters. Out of the Dark is an absolutely stunning blast from Hurwitz and I loved this latest addition to the entertaining Orphan X series.

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Throwback Thursday – The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry

On January 25, 2019March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday24 Comments

Publishers: St. Martin Griffins

Blackstone Audio

Publication Date – 2 March 2010

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Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

My quest to get through all of the books in Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series continues. In this week’s Throwback Thursday I look at the second epic entry in what is fast becoming one of my favourite series of all time, The Dragon Factory.

It has been only a few months since former police officer Joe Ledger joined the elite and top-secret American intelligence agency, the Department of Military Sciences (DMS). Working with the DMS and its mysterious leader, Mr Church, Ledger has helped save the country and the world from a variety of unique scientific threats. Therefore, Ledger is extremely surprised when one morning a team from the NSA ambushes him and attempts to place him under arrest.

Without any warning, Ledger and the DMS find themselves caught in the crossfire between two rival organisations of rogue geneticists who have already drawn first blood against the DMS. One of these organisations works on perfecting the world’s deadliest diseases, while the other seeks to create an army of genetically enhanced soldiers and terrifying animal hybrids. Both of these factions are well funded, have remained hidden from the world’s intelligence agencies and have access to game-changing technology. However, one has a terrifying vision for the future that they will go to any lengths to achieve.

As Ledger leads his team in an all-out war against these rival groups, they begin to uncover the full extent of these villains and the connection they have with Church and the DMS’s secret past. The Extinction Clock has started to count down, and the entire world will be changed when it hits zero. Forced to battle impossible odds, will Ledger be able to save the world again or will death and tragedy rain down around him?

Those who have been following my reviews in the last few months will remember that I first experienced Jonathan Maberry’s amazing Joe Ledger series when I read last year’s epic release, Deep Silence, which was among my top 10 reads of 2018. Deep Silence was the 10th book in the series, and its clever writing, over-the-top elements and outstanding audiobook adaption made me immediately go back and check out the first book in the series, Patient Zero. I found Patient Zero, with its focus on weaponised zombies, to be just as entertaining as Deep Silence, while also serving as an amazing start to the series. Because of how much I enjoyed Deep Silence and Patient Zero, I decided to check out the other books in the Joe Ledger series as soon as possible. The Dragon Factory is the second book in this series, and it continues the epic adventure started in Patient Zero. Featuring excellent antagonists, fun new elements and a killer storyline, The Dragon Factory is an amazing book which I experienced in its audiobook format.

Having read the first book and the latest book in this series before reading this second instalment gave me an interesting insight when it came to reading The Dragon Factory. While Patient Zero was a great book, I felt that The Dragon Factory is the book in the series where Maberry really hit his stride. I found that this second book contained a much better combination of character focus, humour, intense action and the books fantastic science fiction elements. The overall story of The Dragon Factory was absolutely incredible and extremely compelling, allowing me to rush through this book in no time at all. I loved several of the twists that Maberry inserted into this book, although I did see the book’s big plot development coming from some distance away. However, knowing it was coming did not lessen the impact for me, and it represents some amazing writing from the author. There was a lot less horror elements in The Dragon Factory than the other Joe Ledger books I have read, but it still contains a healthy dose of mad-science elements, and I loved all the scientific discussions included throughout the book.

One of the best things about the Joe Ledger series is the wide range of viewpoints that the author employs to show the protagonist’s actions and to highlight the plots, schemes and planning of the various antagonists. This allows the reader to get a much more widespread view of the various actions being taken by the book’s various characters, and the reader gets to see events that happened weeks before the book’s main storyline at various points throughout the narrative. Maberry uses this to particular effect in The Dragon Factory, and it enhances many of the books various story elements. I also loved how each of the main story chapters had a timer at the top counting down how many hours were left on the Extinction Clock. I thought this was an extremely clever literary device that served at least two purposes in the book. Not only did it add a real sense of dread to the story as the countdown leads closer and closer to a devastating event but it was also useful in highlighting the chronological order in which some of the chapters occurred, which was extremely useful during some of the later action sequences.

One of the most entertaining parts of The Dragon Factory was the amazing new villains that Maberry focused on. In this book the protagonists find themselves up against two sets of geneticists, each with their own specialities and goals. As the story progresses, the reader gets a deep understanding of both groups’ motives, plans, creations and the various moves and counter-moves they make against each other and the DMS. Watching the two different groups attempt to attack or manipulate their rivals is an intriguing part of the plot, and it was fascinating to see the impacts the protagonist’s actions had on their villains schemes and overall plans. Having geneticists as the villains not only allowed Maberry to create a series of memorable and destructive creatures for the protagonists to fight but it also added some very fun edges to the conflicts between the rival villain establishments. While the motivations of one group are quite a basic, the motivations of the other group are very over the top, and the full list of their fictional crimes is quite insane. I honestly laughed out loud when certain details about this group were revealed towards the end of the book, but it was an extremely out-there twist that I loved so much. Maberry does a really good job of fleshing out all the main antagonists, which I think helps create a much richer and more enjoyable story.

Maberry is a bit of an action fanatic, so those readers who are looking for some fictional fights have come to the right book. There is a huge range of different action sequences throughout this book as the DMS and the two rival groups of evil scientists unleash their forces against each other. I am always amazed at the level of detail Maberry is able to convey in his action sequences, as he paints a vivid picture of the combat while also discussing the various tactics and techniques behind them. For example, when the main protagonist engages a skilled opponent in an epic knife fight, not only does the reader get a great description of the battle that’s taking place but they also get an understanding of the various moves being utilised and the advantages and disadvantages of the different knives. I really enjoy the way that the author goes into the psychology of the fight, and it really shows how much research and thought has gone into these sequences. The genetically enhanced super soldiers and weird animal hybrids are pure fun, and provide the reader with some extreme and wildly entertaining pieces of violence. An easy choice for any action junkie, you will not be disappointed with this read.

Joe Ledger continues to serve as a fantastic protagonist for this series, and I love his uber-sarcastic personality. Ledger is the only point-of-view character whose chapters are told from the first person perspective. This is an interesting differentiation which highlights Ledger’s importance to the plot and helps showcase his fighting ability. Ledger, like Maberry, is a martial arts enthusiast, and the author uses his character’s first person perspective to really show off his fight scenes and show the devastating fight moves that he can perform. The first-person perspective also allows Maberry to explore the unique psyche of his protagonist, as Ledger’s mind is broken up into three separate personalities following a traumatic event in his childhood. This has always been an interesting character trait for Maberry’s protagonist, but it was especially intriguing to see how Ledger and his mind react to certain traumatic events that occurred in this other book. Mr Church continues to shine as the best secondary character in this series, and his calm persona, mysterious past and the sheer badassery that comes off him are absolutely amazing.

Without question, the best way to check out The Dragon Factory is in its audiobook format, which goes for a very enjoyable 16 hours. The main reason for this has to be the incredible narration from Ray Porter, who has narrated all the books in the Joe Ledger series. The narration a great way to absorb all the action, plots and science, and Porter does an amazing job of vocalising all of the characters, especially Ledger and Mr Church. I loved the way that Porter was able to capture Ledger’s sarcasm and humorous edge for most of the book, and then turning on a dime to capture the harder and more vicious parts of the character when he gets enraged or upset. The voice work on Mr Church is once again exceptional; every time he voices the character I can almost see the calm and mysterious figure, and I love how Porter makes him sound like a cross between Tom Hanks and JFK. This is some first-rate voice work, and I find it adds an incredible amount to this excellent story.

After absolutely loving Patient Zero and Deep Silence I never once doubted that I would enjoy The Dragon Factory. I was amazed by how much fun I had with this book, which I found to be insanely addictive and near impossible to stop listening to. Featuring all of the elements of this series that I already loved, as well as some outstanding new features, this was an insane read that I cannot recommend enough. Without a doubt this needs to be experienced in its audiobook format, and Porter has to be one of my favourite audiobook narrators at the moment. I am already planning to dive into the third book of this series, so keep an eye out for my review of it in the next month.

My Rating:

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Flight Risk by Michael McGuire

On January 23, 2019August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, ThrillerLeave a comment

flight risk cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication Date – 7 January 2019

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From Australian thriller author Michael McGuire comes a fast-paced story of death and mysterious disappearances in the skies which takes the reader on a high-octane thrill ride.

Every day, thousands of planes fly across our skies, transporting huge numbers of people and goods from one end of the world to the other. Many countries’ economies depend on the successful flights, and people have placed their trust in these machines to carry us. So when a plane mysteriously disappears without a trace off the coast of Australia, it sends shockwaves throughout the entire system.

Ted Anderson is a disgraced former pilot who has found work as an investigator in a top-secret Australian government intelligence agency. Sent by his bosses to find the missing plane, Ted travels to Indonesia to investigate the pilots. But as he uncovers strange clues in one pilot’s apartment, another plane disappears, and then a third. Like the first plane, no trace of these other missing aircrafts or their passengers can be found, and no organisation is claiming responsibility for the disappearances.

As the world descends into chaos and most people refuse to fly any more, a sudden need to escape from a squad of Indonesian police sees Ted forced onto a CIA plane to New York. While waiting for a flight home to Australia in a nearly deserted JFK airport, Ted observes a suspicious pilot about to leave on a trip to the Ukraine. With all his instincts screaming that this pilot’s plane will be the next one to disappear, Ted makes an insane choice and gets on the plane.

This is the second book from McGuire, following his 2017 political thriller debut, Never a True Word. This sounded liked an exciting thriller from a relatively new Australian author, and I was eager to see how McGuire would present an Australian espionage edge to this sort of story.

Following several high-profile disappearances or crashing of airplanes in recent years, the potential dangers of air travel have been made obvious to most people; therefore it was a bold choice by the author to focus a story around this. A lot of the suspense in this novel is based on the realistic dread that the characters within the story must be feeling as they contemplate the disappearances occurring. The sequence where the protagonist finds himself waiting in a plane that is potentially about to disappear is particularly harrowing, and the reader is able to feel the protagonist’s apprehension and worry. The results of these missing planes are also pretty gruesome in places, which adds to this storyline’s intense nature. I felt that McGuire did a fantastic job of crafting a fairly interesting mystery thriller out of this story premise. The eventual reveal of who or what is behind it is pretty intriguing and sets up some potential follow-up novels that will be worth checking out.

One of the main things you can say about this book is that it is extremely fast paced, which allows the reader to read through it rather quickly. There is barely a quiet moment, as the protagonist jumps from one situation to the next, attempting to uncover who or what is behind the disappearing airplanes. I rather liked this fast-paced approach to the story, as it fitted with the intense story content and reflected how quick and intense real-life intelligence agencies would jump into investigating events such as the disappearing planes featured within Flight Risk. This book is not as action-packed as you would expect from a thriller novel, but the author is still able to convey an exciting and compelling tale that keeps the reader on their toes. In addition, there is an extremely electrifying sequence in the air which serves as the book’s set piece. These inclusions mean that Flight Risk is very easy to read, which provides the reader with vast amounts of fun and some significant thrills in the right places.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about Flight Risk was the portrayal of how an Australian intelligence organisation would react to a devastating event such as those examined within this book. It was pretty cool seeing an Australian intelligence agent being at the centre of this world-wide event, and I enjoyed getting a look into his viewpoint about intelligence gathering. I thought it was intriguing to see McGuire’s depiction of the differences between Australia’s intelligence assets and other countries, such as America. For example, the Australian protagonist gets an iPad and some fake IDs as his gear, while his American counterpart gets a whole team and a military jet to investigate the disappearing planes. I enjoyed this realistic and noticeable difference between the American and Australian agents and their resources, and thought it added a unique element to the book. I also thought that the author’s examination of the world-wide implications of multiple disappearing planes was very clever and I liked the author’s look at the economic and social aspects of such an event.

Overall, I found Flight Risk to be an exciting new novel from Australian author Michael McGuire and I enjoyed the fast-paced action, enjoyable thriller elements and an intriguing new examination of Australia’s spy agencies and their place in the world’s intelligence communities. I did find the overall lack of any significant female characters a bit concerning, but I enjoyed the book’s story and thought this was a great piece of Australian thriller fiction.