I loved the sense of confusion. It was utterly believable, given the state of the world. I thought the characters behaved in a very realistic way. Particularly the other hostage, suggesting Anselm find a drug he like and get over it. All too believable. I loved the dialogue, as others have said, O'Malley steals every scene he is in, but also the interior dialogue was particularly powerful and kicked this book into another league. Courage, persistence, trust, morality. All the big themes are here and the women get to kick arse too which is always good.

Not quite as good as the author's previous works but still a fast paced conspiracy type thriller. The plot was a little too complex (especially in audio) but I liked the characters and all the threads came together in the end. The audio was narrated by Nicholas Bell who was perhaps a little too authentic with the South African accents but handled everything else well.

‘There was nothing under truth, beyond truth.’

Three cities. Three characters. A secret.

In Johannesburg, Con Niemand an ex-soldier and mercenary, comes across evidence of a terrible secret while working on a security detail. In Hamburg, John Anselm is trying to escape his memories of foreign war zones while working for a surveillance firm. In London, Caroline Wishart calls herself an exposé journalist, and is looking for her next big story. Their lives will be drawn together. Niemand thinks he has found something worth selling. But it is something others will kill for, something that has the power to destroy reputations and possibly to bring down governments. Wishart needs to try to verify what Niemand wants to sell. And Anselm needs to conquer his demons.

‘Dead. How many people in this unfathomable business were dead.’

This is a complicated story of suspense, and it requires concentration. There is plenty of action but occasionally things slow down just enough for the reader to catch their breath and process the story. There are unexpected twists and turns. Information is dangerous, as are memories. And everyone is being watched. This is not a light read but it is a rewarding one.

If you enjoy complicated plots and complex characters, I can recommend this.

Peter Temple (1946-2018) left behind nine completed novels and I am slowly working my way through reading some (the Jack Irish novels) and rereading the rest.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Interesting. But, hard to follow. Needs a good edit.