There are two main characters that the text oscillates between. John Anselm is a former war correspondent who is suffering from his near death experience as a tortured hostage in Beirut. Suffering post-war stress and probably alcoholism, he lives in Hamburg, working for a struggling surveillance firm and trying to come to terms with his tormented past.
In another part of the world, Con Neimand, an ex-soldier and mercenary, stumbles across evidence of a terrible secret whilst on a security detail in Johannesburg. This knowledge puts his life at risk and he is on the run from an unknown enemy.
The two worlds are brought together by the hidden secret as the plot weaves towards it's dangerous and deadly conclusion.
An interesting enough plotline, but I found the changing between characters and settings made it quite complicated and required some thinking and all my concentration. I found that I enjoyed the Con Neimand segments as these were action-packed and seem to carry the story forward. Alternatively the John Anselm segments I found to be slow and laborious. As he wallowed in self-pity, I found the story seemed to flounder. In fact, I was quite glad once the plot tied together, became less fragmented and the book became more even paced.
Overall a complicated and busy international thriller along the lines of LeCarre or Deighton. A thinking person's thriller. Not suitable unless you can give it your full attention, and I recommend reading it in a couple of sittings so as not to lose track of the plot or characters.
RATING: 3/5
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