This is the Authors debut novel, and the first in a series featuring the main lead.

I like political thrillers but, if there a few things that will turn me away from reading one it’s the words MI:6, MI:5 and IRA. Authors such as John Le Carre and Stella Rimington always seem to struggle to make these subjects engaging and accessible to the non-spy community, and their books are as dry as kindling. Not anymore, there is a new Author on the ups, and she’s out to take her place among the greats in this genre.

The characters in this novel are real, not in the manner in which they are living breathing real, but in the fact that they smoke, swear, get drunk, and grieve but not in a condescending manner. They do all these things with the vigour of a real human being. The way this Author develops the back stories of her characters is also dealt with in a kind of real time way; we are allowed to learn more about them as the novel progresses, and the circumstances suit a particular trait to be revealed, just as we would get to know someone new in our everyday lives. The main lead for this, and the upcoming books in the series, is a strong male. Not too strong that the reader can’t identify with him, and not strong in the physical way either, but his strength is more an inner state of mind for this character, and sometimes he takes stock of throughout the book. The character is allowed to show his emotions in such a way that I didn’t feel like the Author was trying to make him more effeminate, but was revealing that even the strongest of people have inner turmoil. His mentor was absolutely spot on, or as I envision these types to be. He was pompous, arrogant and sported a ‘stiff upper lip’ marvellously, while at the same time revealing snippets of his own history that made me want to know more about him, and why he had chosen to project this type of image over any other he could have chosen. If there is a stereotypical Englishman, this character would be the poster child.

Descriptively, this novel is right on the mark; whether the Author is describing the workings, sound and feel of a violin to the nuances of the way a Symphony Orchestra conducts (excuse the pun) itself, the reader is there. I mean right there listening to the music and watching the Orchestra. When we hit the road for the travelling portions, the way the airport, cities, sounds sights and smells are written made me want to pack my back, pick up my camera and head out with the main lead on his travels.

The novel moves along at a steady pace, and doesn’t become bogged down in any particular place, as is the tendency with a lot of novels in this genre; the transitions are smooth and seamless. It is well written and obviously very well researched. There were, however, a couple of places in the novel that made me think ‘now why did you have to go and write that, and just there too?’, but that’s just my personal take on the book.

This is an engaging, high octane, entertaining political thriller that I would recommend to anyone that is new to the genre and those who, like me, are tired of the same old thing being regurgitated by Authors who should know better. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/review-deceptive-cadence-the-vir...




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. ( )

This is the Authors debut novel, and the first in a series featuring the main lead.

I like political thrillers but, if there a few things that will turn me away from reading one it’s the words MI:6, MI:5 and IRA. Authors such as John Le Carre and Stella Rimington always seem to struggle to make these subjects engaging and accessible to the non-spy community, and their books are as dry as kindling. Not anymore, there is a new Author on the ups, and she’s out to take her place among the greats in this genre.

The characters in this novel are real, not in the manner in which they are living breathing real, but in the fact that they smoke, swear, get drunk, and grieve but not in a condescending manner. They do all these things with the vigour of a real human being. The way this Author develops the back stories of her characters is also dealt with in a kind of real time way; we are allowed to learn more about them as the novel progresses, and the circumstances suit a particular trait to be revealed, just as we would get to know someone new in our everyday lives. The main lead for this, and the upcoming books in the series, is a strong male. Not too strong that the reader can’t identify with him, and not strong in the physical way either, but his strength is more an inner state of mind for this character, and sometimes he takes stock of throughout the book. The character is allowed to show his emotions in such a way that I didn’t feel like the Author was trying to make him more effeminate, but was revealing that even the strongest of people have inner turmoil. His mentor was absolutely spot on, or as I envision these types to be. He was pompous, arrogant and sported a ‘stiff upper lip’ marvellously, while at the same time revealing snippets of his own history that made me want to know more about him, and why he had chosen to project this type of image over any other he could have chosen. If there is a stereotypical Englishman, this character would be the poster child.

Descriptively, this novel is right on the mark; whether the Author is describing the workings, sound and feel of a violin to the nuances of the way a Symphony Orchestra conducts (excuse the pun) itself, the reader is there. I mean right there listening to the music and watching the Orchestra. When we hit the road for the travelling portions, the way the airport, cities, sounds sights and smells are written made me want to pack my back, pick up my camera and head out with the main lead on his travels.

The novel moves along at a steady pace, and doesn’t become bogged down in any particular place, as is the tendency with a lot of novels in this genre; the transitions are smooth and seamless. It is well written and obviously very well researched. There were, however, a couple of places in the novel that made me think ‘now why did you have to go and write that, and just there too?’, but that’s just my personal take on the book.

This is an engaging, high octane, entertaining political thriller that I would recommend to anyone that is new to the genre and those who, like me, are tired of the same old thing being regurgitated by Authors who should know better. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/review-deceptive-cadence-the-vir...




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. ( )

Set in 2003-2004, Conor McBride is willing to go to great lengths for his family. He was a concert violinist when he found out just how badly his older brother Thomas screwed him over. He’s since fled the country, leaving Conor to pay the government back the large debt. He also moved back to the family farm in Ireland to help his ailing mom (Brigid McBride) out. Then a mysterious man shows up offering him knowledge of where his brother is in exchange for service. Pretty soon, Conor is wrapped up in a world of deceit, drugs, corruption, and guns. And magnificent Indian food.

This was a gripping novel! Conor and his brother Thomas have some serious history between them. Conor feels that his life was ruined when he was saddled with his brother’s enormous debt, having to return from London to the family farm on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland that he never had any interest in. Years have passed and Conor grows comfortable on the farm, even though it’s a far cry from his concert violinist life. Then Frank Murdoch from MI6 shows up offering information on the whereabouts of Thomas but it’s not free. The British Intelligence Service wants something from Conor and that involves 10 hard weeks of spy camp and several long months working in some of the roughest parts of India. I was surprised when Brigid sends Conor off with her blessing, saying that Thomas needs him.

There’s very little about the spy camp. Our hero goes from fiddling cow milker to trained deadly spy in several paragraphs, tho there are a few references to his time there later in the story. Conor brought some of his own skills to table from the beginning, like his intelligence, linguistic skills, and athletic build. With that, he surpassed his instructor’s expectations. Yet he isn’t ready for everything he comes across in the field. There are some tough scenes for this fledgling spy and despite the dirty business he’s in, he never loses his humanity. He’s this wonderful mix of competence, steel nerves, and soft heart.

Most of the book takes place in India, in and around Mumbai. I definitely felt that the author had done her research. She brought the beauty and the grunge. It was a very believable setting complete with child slavery, tasty food, generous hospitality, illegal arms sales, gentle religious rites, and drug use.

There’s several female characters in this spy novel which isn’t the usual for this genre. So that was a breath of fresh air. Yet the ladies were pretty much there to comfort the men. They each have some personality and some role in the story that is more than window dressing and yet none of them ever really touch the central plot. Conor’s world of spies is a man’s world. I would have liked a bit more from the ladies. However, this little weakness of the story didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the novel. Kavita was the most prominent lady in that she provided medical care and comfort of a motherly sort to Conor when he really needed it. I really liked her calm and patience and yet she could also be insistent when needed. Radha is a 13 year old heroin addict and dancer at a pleasure house. Conor’s undercover persona brings him to this seedy side of town where he meets Radha and he wishes he could do something to permanently help her situation. They’re relationship, as fleeting as it is, pulled the emotions out of me.

Let’s chat about Sedgewick, who like Murdoch, presents a well-honed edge to the world at large. Conor in his endearing way manages to catch both men in unguarded moments, revealing something deeper. Sedgewick had a lot more page time and he’s definitely a complicated character. He’s wrestled with his demons but they left scars and he’s just a touch paranoid that those around him don’t trust him…. but he’s in the spy business. I loved this polarity about him. He works in a field that calls for deception yet craves solid relationships. I hope we get to see him again.

The McBrides have a sixth sense of a sort. It’s left pretty nebulous, something that can be chocked up to chance or a mystical element depending on how the reader wants to interpret such things. For me, I could leave it or take it. This element of the story didn’t do much for me other than keeping Brigid engaged in the storyline even when she wasn’t on the page.

The action scenes were great. There was plenty of tension throughout the tale as Conor does his best to navigate this deadly web. With each layer of lies he peeled back, I became a little more paranoid about who he could trust. Eventually, we learn about the main bad guy that everyone wants, Vasily Dragonov. Things don’t go as planned and I felt deeply for Conor by the end of the story. What an emotional ringer the guy has been through! I was engaged throughout the entire tale. Conor McBride is my new favorite spy!

I received a free copy of this book via The Audiobook Worm.

The Narration: Wayne Farrell nailed this performance. Gallic, English, Hindi, and Russian accents pepper this story and Wayne did a great job with all of them. There’s some Hindi and Gallic prayers and swearing as well which he did with gusto. His female voices were all believable and each character was distinct. He was able to portray the variety of emotions of Conor McBride and the other main characters with moving accuracy. ( )

I received a free copy through Goodreads.
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Wow what an adventure! Right from the prologue we are introduced to a man who is deathly ill, flash back to 8 months earlier, we see where it all begins and are left wondering...who was the mysterious man who is deathly ill.

Things take an interesting turn almost right from the start, where an ex-violinist turned farmer is transformed into a talented, although somewhat amateur spy. Of course, this does not mean Conor is at all just like 007 or anything, but his talents are nothing short of amazing, given the tools and people he has to work with.

I love the plot twists here and there, where each story is a front/lie for something much bigger than we are first led to believe. There are also touches of nurturing and goodness in all the sordid stuff in the sordid underworld of illegal trades and trafficking.

I absolutely adore Kavita, from her infinite wisdom, to her mothering nature to her compassion for others, especially given her ties. And it was nice to see the formation of 'brotherhood' (a slight stretch given the characters' past histories) between Thomas, Conor and Curtis.

The ending certainly left me pining for more, especially what happens next. Whatever the future holds for Conor, I hope it involves Frank, Curtis and Kavita! ( )

Conor McBride is recruited and trained by MI6 to go to India to locate his brother, an apparent ne'er do well who has disappeared for many years after stealing from the British government. In India he discovers that all is not as it seems, both with the government story and the legends that surround his brother's tale. The descriptions of urban and rural India are fascinating and give added breadth to this page-turner. ( )