There are books you have to work at and then there are others like this that jump out from the page and hook you in from the start. I like the international feel, and the names sharpened my curiosity: Paolo, Mark, Salma, Freddie, a varied and well-drawn cast: journalists, students, undercover police, animal rights activists, even terrorists. Name changes also play their part, and keep you guessing. Also a good line in repartee. Perhaps because I am of that generation, for me the story had a seventies/eighties feel to it: sex and drugs (and rock and roll). I couldn't help wondering whether today's students are as free with sexual encounters (more so with drugs perhaps), because Paolo is married to Salma, not someone to be disregarded lightly. I say this without judgement - different times, different ways. I feel a certain nostalgia for those days. Unusually for me, I really wanted to know what happens here. This book would make a terrific film - a fast-moving plot and visually contrasting characters, never banal. This is the first of Kate Vane's books I have read but it certainly won't be my last. ( )

This was tightly planned and executed, making an enthralling read. The characters, plot, pace and writing were good. I noticed only one typo and one lapse. I received this as a LibraryThing Member GiveAway. Thank you. ( )