House of the Hunted
By
Mark Mills
Overview from Goodreads:
Côte d’Azur, France, 1935: As Europe moves inexorably toward war, Tom Nash feels pleasantly removed, pursuing a quiet writing career on an idyllic stretch of the French Riveria. A former intelligence operative for the British government, Tom now finds refuge among the lively seaside community of expats and artists, hoping to put the worst deeds from his job—and memories of the woman he once loved—far behind him. But Tom’s peaceful existence is shattered when an unknown hit man tries to kill him in his sleep. Tom is sure that somebody knows his secrets, and that this attempt on his life won’t be the last.
Relying on his instincts for self-preservation, Tom suspects everyone of double-dealing, even people he considers his friends: the Russian art dealers from Paris, the exiled German dissidents, even his former boss and closest confidant. And as he plunges further into his haunted past, Tom feels himself turning into the person he used to be—a dangerous man, capable of anything.
My Thoughts:
This is one of
those books I really struggle with. The
beginning was excellent. The ending was
interesting, and certainly seems to leave an option for another book about Tom
Nash. I struggled, because the middle
was what I had a difficult time with.
There were several times I found myself thinking – what does this part have
to do with anything? I just felt there
was too much time spent on character exchanges and scenarios that did not do
much to build tension or suspense toward the ending.
That being said,
I would be interested in trying another book by this author. Some of his writing was beautifully
descriptive. I would not want this book
to be my first and last book by Mr. Mills.
Thank you the
Netgalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read this book for my
unbiased review.
Publish date: April 3, 2012.
My Rating: ***
eek...i hate it when parts of the book feel like they should have found there way to the editor's floor!! Great review!
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