June 28th, 2021 by Jane Turner
This review of The Secret War by Louise Burfitt-Dons comes via a Blog Tour organised by Random Things. I received a free copy of the paperback. The Secret War was published by New Century on 21 June 2021, with the paperback launching on 12 July 2021.
An underground laboratory. A claustrophobic liner. A trail of dead mistresses.
Karen Andersen, private investigator, stumbles across intelligence in a Liverpool University that an ultra-right faction of the CCP plan to release the hyper contagious virus on an unsuspecting New York City.
Heading out of Southampton on a luxury cruise she has just seven days to disrupt the strategy. In the turmoil on board, Karen struggles to unravel the complexities.
I really didn’t like the edit in this one. To me it jumped around; paragraphs (and possibly chapters!) in the wrong order, there were words missing, and some sentences just didn’t make sense. I don’t want to put examples up, but I found The Secret War dropped my reader’s flow at least once per chapter. My editor hat was firmly on when I was supposed to be reading for pleasure. I found myself rewording as I went. All of which spoilt my enjoyment of the story.
I would have given up – but the story hooked me. Big time.
Set in 2020, UK’s COVID lockdown has just begun when PI Karen Andersen gets word her boyfriend Haruto has to go to Liverpool and check on a long-lost elderly relative. But what he finds is bloodstains, treason and a bioterror plot.
This leads Karen and Haruto through the joys of propaganda, fake news, and onto a luxury cruise to New York. On the boat, their worlds both fall apart and come together, while struggling to maintain friendships, investigate curious familiar faces, and find nefarious contacts.
Yes, there are issues, but the story held me. I needed to find out what happened, and that in itself the sign of a good story. I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but multiple storylines for multiple characters wrapped up nicely.
If you’re into your spy thrillers, you could do worse than check out Ms Burfitt-Dons and The Secret War.
Louise Burfitt-Dons is a crime novelist and screenwriter who has worked with producers in the UK and the US. Recent films include Mother of All Secrets (2018), The Ex Next Door (2019, Lifetime) and Christmas in the Highlands Aka Christmas at the Castle (2020) She stood for parliament in the 2015 General Election. In 2001 Louise set up the anti-bullying charity Act Against Bullying.
The Missing Activist featuring a London Private Investigator was her first book in the Karen Andersen Thriller series. She lives in Chiswick, West London with her husband Donald.
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