Published 6th July 2023 by Armillary Books.
From the cover of the book:
WHAT CAN SEE WATCHES...
WHAT CAN HEAR LISTENS...
- the gripping first instalment of the Kanha and Colbey thriller series.
When Chief Whip Esme Kanha learns of the sudden death of the Minister for Personal Information, she bitterly regrets missing his desperate calls the previous evening. Unconvinced by the verdict of suicide, and suspicious that corrupt colleagues played some part in the man's death, she decides to investigate - but she must tread carefully in a near-future world dominated by technology, where 'what can see watches, what can hear listens, and what can be followed is tracked'.
Meanwhile, Big Tech executive Henri Lauvaux arrives in London. His mission: to ensure the new minister, Harry Colbey, will not prove as problematic as the last. As the West inexorably slides towards an Orwellian 'Big Brother' future, Harry Colbey and Esme Kanha join forces in a deadly cat-and-mouse game against political corruption - at great cost to themselves.
***********
Back bencher Harry Colbey suddenly finds himself appointed to the lofty heights of Minister for Personal Information, after the post's previous incumbent Percy Dvořáček blows his brains out in his Westminster office. The Prime Minister, Ewan MacLellan, is sure that Colbey will be the safe pair of hands they need to get the new Personal Information Bill passed into law, hopefully avoiding the recent near-disaster that Dvořáček attempted before his death.
Chief Whip, Esme Kanha regrets missing Dvořáček's call the previous evening. The strange phone messages he left her hint at something fishy about his apparent suicide, and more to his meddling with the Personal Information Bill than the erratic actions of a broken man. Kanha begins a covert investigation into Dvořáček's death, being as careful as she can to avoid detection in a world where technology watches your every move and listens to your every word. She is horrified to find that the corruption she uncovers goes to the very top of the government.
Meanwhile, Colbey soon finds that his new role is a poisoned chalice. When Big Tech executive Henri Lauvaux arrives in London, Colbey becomes embroiled in a trap that ties him to the shady shenanigans playing out behind a facade of truth and openness. But Colbey is a rare thing in government... an honest man, and he finds an ally in Kanha. Together they team up to do what they can to prevent the slide of the western world into a terrifying Orwellian future.
Dirty Geese is an absolutely gripping near-future, political novel that delves beautifully into the knotty issues of privacy versus security in a world dominated by surveillance. Lou Gilmond does a cracking job of taking you deep into the workings of government, with all the ambition driven power games that go on behind the scenes in Westminster, embroidering them into a thriller that is so realistic you can taste it. Human frailty, secrets, lies, devices and desires combine to drive a story that examines what can happen when corruption within the corridors of power seduces those who should be protecting public interest into dark deeds.
This is a thriller that thrums with tension as our unlikely heroes, the thoroughly decent Harry Colbey and cynical Chief Whip Esme Kanha, come together in a common aim to stop the elegantly depicted villain Henri Lauvaux realising a plot of deliciously Bond-like proportions. There is real danger in their mission, as they must do their utmost to avoid detection in a setting where they are constantly being monitored, and it is not easy to tell who they can trust. The plot twists and turns, and carries you along to the slickest of endings that will have you punching the air with glee. There is a lovely supporting cast for you to love and hate, including the delightful tech whizz Mani, and on the other end of the scale the despicable PM Ewan MacLellan and his henchman Tirrell, as well as a few characters who fill out the story with an intriguing glimpse into the tricky personal lives of MPs and civil servants and their working relationships.
I am seriously impressed by the way Gilmond fashions a fast-paced and compelling thriller that keeps you turning the pages, while also making the complicated issue of privacy versus safety so engaging, and it adds an extra slice of menace to know that the very technological nightmares she uses to great effect in this story are only a step away. If that does not give you the chills and have you side-eyeing your gadgets, then I do not know what will.
This is the best political thriller I have read in ages, and I love how Gilmond baits the hook into the next Kanha and Colbey thriller with the tastiest of tempting morsels. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to book two!
Thank you to Armillary Books for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
About the author:
She loves film, boxsets, spaniels, Lara Croft, rose-covered pergolas, and cycling up mountains.
No comments:
Post a Comment