whatcathyreadnext

Time to take stock of the progress (or lack of progress) I’ve made with the reading challenges I’ve signed up for or set myself this year.

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2020

I’ve set my target at 120 books and had read 69 as at the end of June so I’m pretty much on track with this one.

When Are You Reading? 2020

This challenge is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It involves reading a book set in each of twelve time periods. So far, I’ve matched eight of the time periods therefore I’m cautiously optimistic about completing this challenge. You can find links to my reviews here. By the way, Sam also hosts the very popular weekly WWW Wednesday meme.

20 Books of Summer 2020

This annual challenge is hosted by Cathy at 746Books. You simply make a list of 10, 15 or 20 books you intend to read between 1st June and 1st of September and try to read them all. The rules allow for plenty of flexibility but I try to stick to my original list – which is probably why I’ve always previously failed to complete this challenge! Having read eight of the books on my list so far, I’m determined this is the year I succeed. You can find links to my list and my reviews here.

What’s In A Name? 2020

This challenge is hosted by Andrea at Carolina Book Nook and involves reading books with titles that match each of six categories. I’ve only managed two of the six so far as some of the categories are quite tricky. If I’m to complete it, I have a few chunky books to get through. The Mirror & the Light, I’m looking at you…

The Classics Club

Create a list of 50 classic books you would like to read within five years and work your way through them (with the help of the occasional Classics Club Spin where a book from your list is selected for you) to earn yourself a place on the Wall of Honour. My deadline is December 2021 and so far I’ve read 37 from my list. However, it has to be said that some of those are also part of my Buchan of the Month reading project, of which more below.

Buchan of the Month Reading Project

Now in its third year, this is a personal challenge involving reading a different book by John Buchan – fiction or non-fiction – every month. You can see my reading list for the year and find links to my reviews of the six I’ve read so far here.

Are you taking part in any reading challenges? If so, how are you getting on? Do they motivate or frustrate you?

I’m thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour for The Englishman by David Gilman, published today by Head of Zeus. Thanks to Amber at Midas PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy. You can read my review below.

About the Book

A clandestine war on the desert border of Mali and Algeria; murder and kidnap on the suburban streets of West London; a Moscow CID police inspector investigating the assassination of four of her fellow officers by the Russian mafia; a young MI6 officer facing the possibility that a long-running operation has been fatally compromised: connecting them all is the Englishman – Dan Raglan, outsider, exile, one-time member of the French Foreign Legion, fully trained killer.

Raglan’s quest for answers will become a quest for vengeance. It will lead him to the winter-ravaged wasteland of the Sverdlovskaya Oblast and Penal Colony #74, a place that holds Russia’s most brutal murderers. A place of death and retribution.

How will he get in? More importantly, how will he get out?

Format: Hardcover (480 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 9th July 2020 Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Thriller

Find The Englishman (Raglan Book 1) on Goodreads

Purchase links*
Amazon UK | Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

I was first introduced to the books of David Gilman when I read Masters of War the first in the series of the same name set in the 14th century and featuring the adventures of archer Thomas Blackstone. The author took a break from that series to write Night Flight to Paris, set in WW2 occupied France, a book I absolutely loved. In The Englishman, he moves from historical fiction into the world of the contemporary thriller and what an adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride it is.

The book’s protagonist, Dan Raglan – the Englishman of the title – is a bit of a man of mystery. Although taken in by a couple when he was orphaned, his real ‘family’ are his former comrades in the French Foreign Legion. Although a trained killer and a loner by nature, he’s not the cold figure you might expect. The things he’s seen, endured – and done – have left traumatic memories that occasionally rise to the surface; only his incredible willpower keeps the nightmares at bay. Raglan’s own life experiences also mean he has instinctive empathy for those who suffer loss at an early age. Oh, and I’ll confess even this happily married lady got a bit hot under the collar at the thought of Raglan’s lean, muscular physique and other attributes. However, I suspect I would have a formidable rival for his affections.

Moving from a dramatic opening in a remote part of Russia, to Mali in West Africa, to the streets of London and then back to Russia again, The Englishman has everything you would expect – and want – from a contemporary thriller. There are plenty of bone-crunching action scenes, the bad guys are really bad, the plot is satisfyingly intricate and there are twists, turns and surprises aplenty. The author is pretty ruthless when it comes to his characters; don’t expect all of them to make it to the end. In the first part of the book especially, the author makes good use of his own military experience in detailed descriptions of equipment, weaponry and tactics.

If you’re looking for a compelling, well-told story incorporating topical issues such as international terrorism, money laundering, covert military operations and state-sponsored organized crime, then The Englishman is the book for you. All that’s missing for it to be a complete picture of the world we’re living in now is a global pandemic but perhaps Raglan will be called on to grapple with that in a future book.

The Englishman promises to be the start of a terrific new series and I for one can’t wait to see what Raglan gets up to next.

In three words: Gripping, action-packed, pacy

Try something similar: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

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About the Author

David Gilman is an award-winning author and screenwriter. David enjoyed many careers – including firefighter, paratrooper and photographer – before turning to writing full time in 1986. He has written many radio and television scripts including several years of A Touch of Frost. In 2007 his Danger Zone trilogy for YA was sold in 15 countries.

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Author: whatcathyreadnext

My 2020 Reading Challenges: A Mid-Year Progress Update