Tag: Reviews

#WWWWednesday – 14th February 2024

whatcathyreadnext3 Comments

WWWWednesdays

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!

Currently reading

Remember, RememberRemember, Remember by Elle Machray (eARC, HarperNorth via NetGalley)

1770. Delphine lives in the shadows of London: a secret, vibrant world of smugglers, courtesans and small rebellions. Four years ago, she escaped enslavement at great personal cost. Now, she must help her brother Vincent do the same.

While Britain’s highest court fails to administer justice for Vincent, little rebellions are no longer enough. What’s needed is a big, explosive plot – one that will strike at the heart of the transatlantic slave trade. But can one Black woman, one fuse and one match bring down an Empire?

The List of Suspicious ThingsThe List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (ARC, Penguin)

Yorkshire, 1979. Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South. Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv’s mum stopped talking. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don’t. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families – and between each other – than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

In Every Mirror She's BlackIn Every Mirror She’s Black by Lola Akinmade Åkerström (Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Kemi is ready to change her life. She’s sick of being second-guessed in the boardroom; tired of smiling politely while men gaze at her body; bored of dating surveys that tell her Black African women are the least desired in America. Moving across the world, for a new job, certainly things will be different?

Brittany-Rae is tired of serving others. She’s determined not to struggle like her parents did. As a flight attendant, she’s seen the way the super-wealthy float, untouchable and easy, and she envies it. As a model in her twenties, she had a taste of that privilege. Now pushing forty, she knows that to have one kind of freedom, she must sacrifice another.

Muna began her treacherous journey two years ago. Then, she was a family of three. Now her mother and younger brother are buried somewhere at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. She’s been granted asylum, but she can’t shake the feeling that she will never belong. When your only family is a stack of passport photos, it’s hard to grow new roots.

In search of escape, these three women find themselves in Stockholm, a city that prides itself on being egalitarian and open. Instead of a fresh new start, they find silent racism, fetishisation and tokenism – and another society that just wants to put them in a box.

Recently finished

Sufferance by Charles Palliser (Guernica Editions)

The Shadow Network (Devlin & Dempsey #5) by Tony Kent (Elliott & Thompson)

What Cathy Will Read Next

The Other PrincessThe Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce (eARC, Allison & Busby via NetGalley)

A princess enslaved becomes goddaughter to a queen.

By the time she was seven years old, Aina had been born into life as an Egbado princess, witnessed the brutal killing of her entire family, and been enslaved to a rival chieftain. With a death sentence hanging over her head, she would also face being bartered as an exotic trophy, renamed and presented to the distant Queen Victoria as a ‘gift’.

From these traumatic beginnings, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s will to survive led her to negotiate Her Majesty’s court, friends in high places and to flourish in a world far removed from her rural African upbringing. From West Africa to Windsor Castle, The Other Princess is a vivid imagining of the life of Queen Victoria’s Black goddaughter, shining a light on a woman searching for home, love and identity.

Book Review – The Shadow Network by Tony Kent @eandtbooks

whatcathyreadnext

About the Book

Book cover of The Shadow NetWork by Tony Kent published by Elliott & Thompson

How do you take down an enemy when no one believes they exist?

When the lawyers of alleged war criminal Hannibal Strauss are caught up in a terror attack in The Hague, barrister Michael Devlin immediately suspects all is not what it seems. Teaming up once more with Agent Joe Dempsey, they must find who’s behind it all before any more innocent lives are lost.

With their key witness on the run and assassins on their tail, their only lead is a the Monk, a legendary and mysterious foreign agent with a fearsome reputation. But what is his stake in this dangerous game? And just who is part of his shadowy network of spies? Caught in a complicated web of lies, secrets and double agents, there’s no one Dempsey and Devlin can trust but themselves.

Format: Hardcover (464 pages) Publisher: Elliott & Thompson
Publication date: 15th February 2024 Genre: Thriller

Find The Shadow Network on Goodreads

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My Review

I was introduced to the formidable Joe Dempsey and his friend, lawyer Michael Devlin, when I read the previous novel in the series, No Way to Die. Dempsey, the perpetual loner, had the key role in that book, alongside the most trusted member of his hand-picked team, Eden Grace. I was pleased to see Eden return in this book and she proves herself just as accomplished and fearless as before.

The Shadow Network is the epitome of a page-turner: the short chapters give it real pace and the frequent shifts between different points of view make you feel you’re witnessing events in real time. The author is adept at ending a chapter with a killer last line meaning you’ve simply got to read on, and there are plenty of developments that I certainly didn’t see coming.

The storyline is cleverly constructed to reflect contemporary events – although I hope not too closely – incorporating global conspiracies, political extremism and media manipulation. The idea of a cunning, ruthless mind pulling strings to influence world events is pretty scary. (Since I can never pass up an opportunity for a John Buchan reference, there’s a similar concept in his early novel, The Power-House. It features a character who possesses an immense intellect that is unconstrained by common notions of morality, wielding the levers of power for malevolent ends.)

If I had to sum up the storyline of The Shadow Network in a phrase, it would be ‘don’t trust anyone’ – except, of course, Dempsey or Devlin. Another might be ‘never turn your back on someone’.

Tony Kent’s bio claims his previous experience brings ‘a striking authenticity to his thrillers’ and there’s certainly plenty of ‘striking’ in this one, with fist fights galore which make you wonder just how much more a body can take. A lot more is the answer when it comes to Dempsey. And even Devlin has to call on the darker, more violent instincts he’s long fought to suppress. (The source of these will be apparent if you’ve read earlier books in the series.)

The Shadow Network is what I like to call a ‘planes, trains and automobiles’ read. In other words, the ideal book to get you through a long journey. Actually, reading it on a train journey may not be a good idea as you might miss your stop. And thinking about it, listening to it while driving could be problematic since it will definitely make you want to steer clear of underground car parks. As a passenger, fine, although rather than ‘Are we there yet?’ you might find yourself asking ‘Are we there already?’. A beach read then? Definitely, although slap on the factor 50 in case you lose track of time.

My thanks to Emma at Emma Finnigan PR and Elliott & Thompson for my proof copy.

In three words: Action-packed, gripping, fast-paced
Try something similar: Hunter Killer by Brad Taylor

About the Author

Tony Kent is the author of Killer Intent, Marked for Death, Power Play and No Way to Die. As a practising criminal barrister and former boxer, he draws on his experiences to bring a striking authenticity to his thrillers. Ranked as a ‘leader in his field’, Tony has prosecuted and defended in the most serious trials during his twenty years at the Criminal Bar, and appears as a criminal justice expert on a number of TV shows, including Meet, Marry Murder; My Lover, My Killer and Kill Thy Neighbour.

Tony is the founder director of Chiltern Kills, which launched in October 2023. He lives just outside London with his wife, young son and dog.

Connect with Tony
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