Book Review – Kane by Graham Hurley #Kane @seasidepicture @soph_ransompr

whatcathyreadnext1 Comment

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Kane by Graham Hurley. To make it even more special, today is publication day! My thanks to Sophie and Ellie at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy via NetGalley

About the Book

Washington DC, 1941. Quincy Kane, hero of the Boston Police Department and scourge of organised crime, is now a Secret Service agent. His meteoric rise means he’s trusted to guard the most important man in the country: President Roosevelt.

Then Imperial Japan attacks the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.

For Kane, American entry to World War II means the most crucial mission of his career: a complex scheme of bribery and subterfuge that will see him cross the Atlantic. He could change the course of the conflict and save thousands of Allied lives.

First, though, he will have to survive a return to the world of organised crime via the City of Angels itself: Los Angeles, where every gangster has Quincy Kane in their crosshairs.

Format: Hardcover (432 pages) Publisher: Aries Fiction
Publication date: 19th June 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Kane on Goodreads

Purchase Kane from Bookshop.org [Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops]

My Review

I’ve become a great fan of Graham’s books which combine the drama of real historical events – often revolving around key turning points in 20th century history – with the excitement of a thriller. (If you don’t believe me check out my reviews of three of his most recent books: Dead Ground, The Blood of Others and Katastrophe.) Although all the books are part of the ‘Spoils of War’ collection, the great thing is they are non-chronological so can be read in any order or as standalones.

In this case the historical starting point is the Japanese bombing of the US naval base at Pearl Harbour in December 1941, described by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the time as “a date which will live in infamy”, and which triggered the US’s entry into WW2.

Quincy Kane’s position in the Secret Service, charged with protecting the President, places him close to the heart of things. He can see the difficult decisions the President must grapple with as well as Roosevelt’s day-to-day struggles with the physical consequences of the polio he contracted as a young man. The author creates a neat personal connection between the two men and, much later, another character.

Kane also witnesses first-hand the difficult relationship between Roosevelt, who favours order and routine, and the mercurial Winston Churchill who seems to thrive on chaos. However, what Roosevelt and Churchill do agree on is the need to stop French ships falling into German hands. A plan is hatched which requires Kane to revisit the organized crime case he solved years before which made him the toast of the Boston Police Department. The only trouble is the people involved are still serving prison time.

From this point on we’re into full-on thriller territory with Kane reunited with a former colleague with a love of reptiles and the music of Wagner. Soon however Kane comes up against a human reptile with an ego the size of a planet, a penchant for violence and a dangerous fascination with the woman in Kane’s life, LA Times journalist Lou Mahoney. Mahoney is surely every red-blooded heterosexual man’s dream: smart, attractive and skilled in the bedroom. It’s a distraction from the mission Kane has been assigned and things become even more difficult when anti-Japanese sentiment scuppers an essential part of the plan.

It’s fair to say Kane doesn’t get through unscathed. Actually, let’s be honest, he’s pretty battered and bruised by the end of the book and makes some death-defying escapes of which James Bond would be proud. The end of the book finds Kane in a different part of the world, possibly leaving things open for a future reunion.

In three words: Compelling, action-packed, dramatic
Try something similar: Betrayal by David Gilman

About the Author

Graham Hurley is a documentary maker and a novelist. For the last two decades he’s written full-time, penning nearly fifty books. Two made the short list for the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, while Finisterre – the first in the Spoils of War collection – was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award. Graham lives in East Devon with his lovely wife, Lin.

Connect with Graham
Website | Twitter/X

#WWWWednesday – 18th June 2025

whatcathyreadnext3 Comments

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

What I’m Currently Reading

I’m (still) listening to the audiobook of the first of my 20 Books of Summer 2025, I’m reading a book from my NetGalley shelf and a review copy.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday)

Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty and born while her father, George, was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster, telling a woman in an emerald dress and a D cup that he wasn’t married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but there she was, stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster, with sensible and sardonic Patrica, aged five; greedy, cross-patch Gillian, who refused to be ignored; and Ruby…

Ruby tells the story of the family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice and her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty, and memorable events of Ruby’s own life.

One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter (Allison & Busby via NetGalley)

Ferrara, Italy. 1940. Lili Passigli is studying at the University of Ferrara when Mussolini’s Racial Laws deem her of ‘inferior’ Jewish descent, blindsiding her completely. As Hitler’s strength grows across Europe, Lili’s world begins to shrink around her, with the papers awash in Fascist propaganda and the city walls desecrated with anti-semitic slurs. When Germany invades northern Italy, Lili and her best friend Esti find themselves on their own in Nazi-occupied territory.

With the help of the Resistance, Lili and Esti flee with Esti’s two-year-old son Theo, in tow, facing a harrowing journey south toward the Allies and freedom. On this trek through war-torn Italy, they will face untold challenges and devastating decisions.

SPIT by David Brennan (epoque press)

Welcome to the village of Spit, where Danny Mulcahy is losing the run of himself, and where, as he and his friends dream of escaping, an unexpected death sets the rumour mill into motion.

Suffering an unexplained, perpetual banishment the Spook of Spit is watching everyone and everything – nothing goes unnoticed. Bearing witness to the village’s half-truths and suppressed secrets, fragments of its own dark and obscured history are unveiled.

As events spiral out of control, the past, present and future are set to collide. Can there be redemption for past deeds? How do you escape when you are fated to remain? What does it take to break free from the confines of Spit?

What I’ve Just Read

The Surgeon’s House by Jody Cooksley (Allison & Busby)

London, 1883. The brutal murder of Rose Parmiter seems, at first glance, to be a random and senseless act. Rose was the beloved cook at Evergreen House, a place of refuge for women and children, a place from which they can start their lives afresh.

Proprietor Rebecca Harris is profoundly shocked by the death of her dear friend and alarmed at the mysterious events which begin to unfold shortly afterwards. Could the past be casting a shadow on the present? The malign legacy of the Everley family who called Evergreen home, cannot be ignored.

After two further deaths it becomes clear there is an evil presence infecting their sanctuary, and Rebecca must draw out the poison of the past so the Evergreen residents can finally make peace with the darkness in their lives. (Review to follow)

Kane by Graham Hurley (Head of Zeus)

Washington DC, 1941. Quincy Kane, hero of the Boston Police Department and scourge of organised crime, is now a Secret Service agent. His meteoric rise means he’s trusted to guard the most important man in the country: President Roosevelt.

Then Imperial Japan attacks the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.

For Kane, American entry to World War II means the most crucial mission of his career: a complex scheme of bribery and subterfuge that will see him cross the Atlantic. He could change the course of the conflict and save thousands of Allied lives.

First, though, he will have to survive a return to the world of organised crime via the City of Angels itself: Los Angeles, where every gangster has Quincy Kane in their crosshairs. (Review to follow for blog tour)

What I’ll Be Reading Next

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid (Polygon)

A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three companions – a healer, a weaver and a seer. The men hunting her will kill her – because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no lady: she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth.

As the net closes in, we discover a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it is one strong, charismatic woman, who survived loss and jeopardy to outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life.