After a rather slow start I found this story entertaining and relatively well-paced and, although I found most of the twists, turns and red-herrings predictable, there was enough intrigue to keep me engaged with the developing plot. I enjoyed the deepening relationship which developed between Emma and her grandson as they made their road trip across Europe, with her gradually revealing the secrets from her past – a story of love, loss, betrayal, mystery, espionage and revenge. However, when Phil discovers a gun in his grandmother’s luggage, it becomes clear to him (and to the reader!) that their trip is likely to be much more exciting, and dangerous, than a sentimental trip down memory lane!
The switches between the two timelines (which were well-executed and never felt disruptive) allowed for the complexities of Emma’s past to emerge through her first-person narrative in the sections from the past. There are several strands of mystery within the story and the ways in which these are interconnected emerge partly through Emma’s revelations about her past experiences and what drove her to make the decisions she did, and partly because, during this trip, she now discovers that people she’d trusted had betrayed her. However, there are also present-day characters who are not all they claim to be, adding even more complexity to the layers of mystery and intrigue.
The author’s descriptions of pre and post-war Paris and Berlin felt authentic and I appreciated how he used Emma’s recollections of the times she had spent in those cities to reflect on how much Berlin had changed in the intervening Cold War years, whilst Paris remained essentially the same. One of the things I enjoyed about his story-telling was the way in which he interspersed snippets of history and interesting facts into his narrative, thus adding not only extra interest, but contributing to his atmospheric scene-setting. Just one example being when Emma told her grandson that the no-man’s-land created by the Berlin Wall used to be the Potsdamer Platz, once the busiest junction in Europe!
I enjoyed the ways in which author explored various family dynamics – parent/child relationships, bonds between siblings, marital interactions and, through the two main characters, the special bond between grandparent and grandchild – and, through the dual timeline, explored the way these were affected by societal changes and expectations. Other themes which ran through the story included the changing face of politics during the forty decades the story encompasses, the role of a diplomat’s wife in a foreign embassy, espionage and the role of the secret services.
I think the best way to enjoy this story is by being prepared to suspend disbelief at some of the extraordinary coincidences which enable the story to unfold. Also, although this story is described as a thriller, and does indeed contain murders, the protagonists fleeing from the police and needing to cross international borders to do so etc, for me it lacked any real tension. However, it is an enjoyable and, at times, thought-provoking read.
With thanks to Readers First and the publisher for my advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )