Like James Bond, Kit Cobb is as quick to shoot as to jump in bed with a beautiful woman. Most of the main characters are passengers on the final voyage of the Lusitania and the description and action are riveting. ( )

I am not a massive fan of spy thrillers and I hadn't haven't read the first Kit Cobb adventure but I throughly enjoyed this book.

Well paced and fast moving with a real sense of place and time that really had me gripped. Femme fatales, deadly killers and a charming protagonist make for an exciting reading experience.

I was delighted to receive a free copy of The Star of Istambul via Realreaders ( )

The Star of Istanbul is Christopher “Kit” Marlowe Cobb’s second adventure from Pulitzer Prize winning author, Robert Olen Butler. We were first introduced to Kit in The Hot Country and we will surely see him again as part of a trilogy of thrillers.

Foreign correspondent “Kit” Cobb has been tasked with following a German intellectual aboard the Lusitania in the middle of WWI. He meets sultry actress Selene Bourgani on board, who appears to be working with the German Intelligence and he becomes intrigued by her. Selene has many secrets and information Cobb needs and she will become indispensable in his task for the US Intelligence service. Following the German U-boat attack on the Lusitania Cobb and Selene will travel to London and Istanbul through war-torn Europe to fulfil their duties. Cobb knows he is taking many risks for his country, including his life, and must remain alert at all times.

The Star of Istanbul is a fast-paced spy thriller full of intrigue, deceit, adventure and suspense. It is a very well-researched work full of believable characters and nail-biting intriguing situations. It follows on The Hot Country and in my opinion this is more fun and entertaining than the first novel so I have high hopes for the third instalment. The twists and intrigues in The Star of Istanbul are very intelligently written and the final twist and revelation of the main “baddie” was surprising to me, although I realised the clues were there all along.

This was a very entertaining thriller and I look forward to the third instalment. ( )

The Star of Istanbul, by Robert Olen Butler

I was sent a copy of this book “Star of Istanbul” by Robert Olen Butler from Real Readers.
World War I is in full swing, and foreign correspondent “Kit” Cobb has been tasked with following a German intellectual and possible secret service agent into perilous waters aboard the Lusitania. But Cobb is soon distracted from his mission by the sultry Selene Bourgani, a world-renowned actress who also appears to be working with German Intelligence.

This is not normally my genre of reading (spy thriller) so I was maybe at first a bit reluctant to get going on this novel. Once I started the novel I was very impressed with the author and his style of writing. I found the book to be fast paced and very well written. The historic facts appear to be well researched and accurate. This is a very well put together tale and the characters are not to complex and you feel that you can understand what is happening to them.

I very much enjoyed the author’s style of writing and will actively seek out other works written by him to read. I recommend this book to fans and newcomers of this genre. ( )

was really pleased to receive this book to review by Real Readers. This is due to be published on the 25th June 2015.

This is the second book I have been asked to review by Robert Olen Butler, I previously reviewed The Hot Country.

I was eager to see if this book was a good, this is the second Christopher Marlow Cobb Thriller and The Star of Istanbul starts a little further on from The Hot Country. Cobb in the first book was a war correspondent and now he is a US State Department Spy. Set during World War 1 Cobb is following a German possibly a secret service spy on the fateful Lusitania.

Cobb on board falls for an American film star Selene Bourgani, as expected things are not what they appear to be. Predictably they survive when the U-Boat strikes and sinks the Lusitania. Cobb rescues Selene Bourgani but manages to lose her in Queenstown once they have been picked up by a trawler.

Cobb is a wanted man by the Germans he has managed to file stories regarding those on board the Lusitania.

It is in Istanbul that he learns how dangerous that his life has become and learns hears that the Germans have Der Wolf searching for him who has a deadly reputation.

This story is gripping, and fast moving. The author has again researched the history well. this is a great absorbing spy thriller which is set to be amongst the top ten this summer. ( )