Abouts Books

By David Carter

As a long time John Le Carr้ reader I admire the way he casts around the world's trouble spots with an eye to seeking out new conflicts, disputes and wars that may be viewed through a different angle.

The Mission Song opens with an introduction to the main character, one Bruno Salvador, Salvo to you and me, who, perhaps inevitably, is recruited into the Service, whatever that might be. Bruno's talents are in the interpreting field; he is half African, and more particularly Congolese. He speaks more languages than he cares to remember, and many of those are little more than tribal dialects, a fact that is best kept secret, for now.

The talent is a more than useful when secretly listening in on African warlords and their sponsors and a goodly portion of the book is taken up with listening in to other people's conversations. For some reason, this is something many of us find fascinating, earwigging, and for me this was the best part of the book. I guess I must be just like everyone else in that respect.

Of course, people who secretly listen to others, inevitably end up learning things they would rather not know. In any event, Bruno is being paid a goodly sum to do just this, or why else would he do it, though of course he discovers information he cannot let pass without action, bringing on a conflict in his head as to what he should do for the best.

I enjoyed the book immensely, even if I found it a trifle slow in places. It isn't one of John le Carr้'s very best offerings in my humble opinion, but anything new from this wonderful writer, is to be read, loved and cherished. If you like John Le Carr้'s works, you will love this.

David Carter's new novel "The Fish Catcher" tells the story of a group of children evacuated from London during World War II to escape the blitz bombing. It turns into a murder mystery and has been well reviewed. You can check out the first chapter on David's website at http://www.davidcarter.eu The book is available in hard copy or by instant download, and can be ordered in any bookshop quoting ISBN 978 - 1847539304