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Adam Colclough (3 KP) rated Harry's Game in Books

Mar 6, 2018

Harry's Game

Gerald Seymour | 2015 | Thriller

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

A chillingly believable thriller about the 'troubles'. (0 more)

Dangerous Games

London at the height of the IRA’s campaign on the British mainland and a government minister is assassinated, orders are send down from the highest level that retaliatory action must be taken. Gerald Seymour’s ground breaking 1975 novel tells the story of the resulting operation, in which a British agent is sent undercover in Republican Belfast.

For the most part thrillers are the literary equivalent of Danish pastry, enjoyable but not made to last. A few, and ‘Harry’s Game’ is one, are more substantial fare, food for the mind that may give you indigestion.

On one level it is a book in the tradition established by Frederick Forsythe, fiction played out as fact allowing the author to draw on his journalistic background. Seymour goes beyond this by creating characters who aren’t simply stock heroes and villains. Instead they are human beings engaged in a struggle that is squalid and futile rather than heroic and purposeful.

This combines to give a grimly believable picture of daily life in Northern Ireland at a time when a single word or action out of place could have deadly consequences. He also writes well about the machinations behind the scenes on both sides, with the British political and military establishment struggling to fight an undeclared war they don’t understand; and the IRA high command masking the brutality of their actions behind misty eyed romanticism.

Brutal, believable and still relevant more than forty years after it was first published this is a novel that is very much worth reading, even if doing so can be unsettling.

Kudos

MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated You Are Not Alone in Books

Jan 10, 2020 (Updated Jan 10, 2020)

You Are Not Alone

Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen | 2020 | Contemporary, Thriller

7.6

(5 Ratings)

Book Rating

This is the third psychological thriller from Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen, and it's my opinion that it was just not as good as the first two. That's not to say it wasn't good; just not AS good. The big reveal didn't feel all that big, and the ending felt a bit rushed. However, it's a very enjoyable read and 100% worth your time.

Shay Miller witnesses a young woman, about her age, commit suicide by jumping in front of an oncoming subway train. From there she meets sisters Cassandra & Jane Moore, and her life pretty much immediately spirals out of control. Unfortunately there's not much more I can say re: the plot without ruining the reader's experience, so here are some fairly vague observations/opinions:

- If you've read this author duo's previous two titles, then you're familiar with their writing style, and you'll be happy to know that this style continues in You Are Not Alone. I appreciate that they have a particular style that they stick with.

- I felt like it took far too long for Shay to realize what was happening to her. It also took far too long for any motives to be revealed.

- The cast of women is intriguing. Except for Jody. Jody's a bitch.

- Sean, the lone male character, is a complete non-committal, whiny afterthought. It's possible that's how the authors wanted him to come across. Mission accomplished.

You are not alone: Is it a promise, or a threat?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!