Format: Paperback
Published by: Troubador
Published: October 2022
Synopsis:
Charles Yelland was leading the perfect life until a faked photograph appeared in a newspaper on the morning of his oil company’s AGM showing an exploration rig in Antarctica. After this he didn’t think that his world could get any worse … he was seriously wrong.
Within hours Presidents and Prime Ministers were telephoning each other to find out whether oil had actually been discovered and whether the 60 year old Antarctic Treaty with its suspension of territorial claims was now dead.
What would countries and companies do to gain access to an area one and a half times the size of the USA with 11% of the Earth’s land mass and minerals?
My Thoughts: (spoiler free)
Rating *****
This is the first in a series to feature Michaela ‘Mike’ Kingdom, and I have to say the quality of the plotting and writing made for an exciting read which had me in suspense throughout, there is a heady mix of intrigue and mystery running through this book in what is a well considered thriller.
Multilayered plotting which packs a lot into the narrative, a thriller which interweaves global corporate big business with geopolitical ramifications, when politics are at play and the stakes are high
The story flows along at quite a pace as the plot demands a short time frame which makes the action come thick and fast, there are plenty of twists along the way, and there is an undercurrant of tension running throughout the book, there is also a level of suspense which leaves just enough questions as to who you can trust and what the outcome may be, it keeps you guessing
I loved the characterisation within the book, written in such a believable way, ‘Mike’ as an ex spy is different from the norm, recently windowed she has a unique set of skills, strong and independantly minded, you get flashbacks to her past which in someways makes her the person she is now, she has a determination to seek out the truth, however, she is not a lone vigilante type character she has a warmth and human touch to her, she is also not afraid to mix things up
It is also a story with an environmental message, a story that is very relevant to todays world. You can clearly see that it is a story which has been well researched, however, you then have to turn that into a plausible plot and storyline and this for me is one area where the book shines.
It all builds into a dramatic finale, even up to the ending there is an element of doubt as to which way it will go.
A highly entertaining read from a series which promises a lot, this was a read which delivered on every front, I was drawn in from the opening pages and gripped right up to the end.
Definitely an author who is now on my radar as one to watch, and a thriller to highly recommend
About the Author:
After going to art college in the 1970s, David Jarvis set up an international planning practice, which he ran successfully for forty years. His canvases just got bigger and bigger. He has now retired to Wiltshire.
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