Entertaining spy thriller with just the right amount of plot and action. ( )

Originality is key. In this regard, Where Dead Men Meet by Mark Mills is so predictable that you already know the outcome from the first page. Kidnapped at a young age and taken to another country, Luke Hamilton grows up believing that his family is dead. After Sister Agnes, a key character in Luke’s life, turns up dead, Luke quickly finds himself caught up in a situation that spins out of control. His very existence is unfinished business to the Karaman brothers, a pair of crime lords whose reach is impossibly long. Brushing close with death, Luke Hamilton soon flees across several countries. Along the way, he meets Pippi. Can he trust her?

Well, the answer there is clear as day, but I’ll leave it at that. There’s nothing original about the plot in this book. Absolutely nothing, which makes it a rather dull read for me. Luke Hamilton is a misfit. An orphan of a wealthy family, too. What should be a major plot twist in Where Dead Men Meet becomes obvious before its actual reveal, too. This is a serious no-go for me. If I’ve read it once, I don’t want to read it again. If I’ve watched it once, I don’t typically want to read it again either.

The characters are alright. Luke Hamilton seems a bit soft, Pippi is roguish, and the others, which are largely minor in comparison, are fairly standard in their actions. I never felt any connection to any of them. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you know that my emotional connection to a character is a must.

Despite these major flaws, Mark Mills can write. Though I don’t care much for Where Dead Men Meet‘s plot, Mills’s style of writing is nice. I haven’t had the opportunity to read more of his work, but, provided it is more original in its concept, I’d definitely give it a try. This book is probably better suited to readers that prefer more cinematic thrillers.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy via NetGalley for unbiased review. ( )

This was fun in a Hitchcockian innocent guy on the run from wicked Nazi's and Croatian strongmen kind of way. ( )

This is a terrific action adventure story set in western Europe circa 1937.
Luke Hamilton is enjoying his life in Paris as an intelligence officer at the British Embassy after a tour of duty as a pilot in India. His routine is disrupted by two things. First is the murder of a nun who found him as an infant on her doorstep and settled him with the couple who raised him. Then, there’s an attempt on his life, which escalates into a full blown chase through Europe. Nobody is as they appear to be and it’s difficult for Luke to know who his friends are, and some of his enemies become friends. It’s a story that will appeal to readers of Robert Goddard (like me).
Highly recommended.
I received an advance reading copy of the book through Netgalley in exchange for an objective and review. ( )

Luke Hamilton is an air force pilot temporarily attached to the British Embassy in Paris on the eve of the War. He receives news that the nun who cared for him as an orphan before his adoption has been brutally murdered and plans to return to England for the funeral. Before he can do so an attempt is made on his life and so he flees to Switzerland aided by Borodin, a man hired to kill him but who changes his mind at the last minute. Luke becomes involved with a group smuggling scientists out of Nazi Germany and from there flees to Venice where the truth about his background becomes clear.

Written as a precise, the plot for this novel sounds preposterous with a series of coincidences and chance meetings that are at best implausible. however in the hands of Mills the reader is just carried along on a wave of excitement and a desire to read further - this is book that needs to be devoured. Under all the flash there is an interesting story which looks at various aspects of politics in the 1930s - the Spanish Civil War, the rise of Nazism and anti-semitic acts, the troubles in the Balkans, changes to Italy with Mussolini and the behaviour of the British in Afghanistan - and whilst they are woven into the narrative, there is a sense of enlightening the reader as well. This is the first book by Mark Mills that I have read and I was drawn to it by the reviews I read elsewhere, I don't normally pick up this genre but I'm glad I did with this one - it's a thrilling tale told engagingly. ( )