An Honest Man: Law and disorder in 1960s London (Charles Holborne Legal Thrillers Book 2)

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This is an historical fiction that deals in lies and deceits, compulsions, and the overwhelming desires of the heart. I didn't move from my bed, where I lay staring at a crack that ran from the cable of my lamp to the window frame. Ralf and his friends have just finished school – Ralf, with an English mother and German father, has been studying at an international school (hence the A-levels). To begin with Ralf is a rather sheltered and somewhat naive boy, and as the story progresses, and he starts seeing with new eyes his family and friends, he becomes more of an adult. They spend their days swimming, smoking and daydreaming about the future, oblivious to the storm gathering on the other side of the Berlin Wall.

The atmosphere in Berlin during the years of its isolation was marked by a curious blend of an almost suffocatingly supportive environment (from the West German government and the Allies) and lingering real awareness of the Stasi activities of East Germany and West German and allied responses. Israel Pike is a hell of a lead character, the bleak setting on Maine's coast is an incredible setting and there is a cast of great supporting characters. Jenn Salazar of the Maine State Police takes the lead in the investigation on Salvation Point Island, operating with secrets of her own to protect. You will recognize some well worn themes but Koryta makes you root for the characters to overcome all the obstacles placed in front of them. The character of Ralf and his relationships with both his family and friends (particularly Oz) are beautifully drawn.Not quite halfway through, you will begin to worry and desperately hope events will work out for our hero as he accidentally becomes involved in espionage between east and west that threatens him and his family. Ralf’s emerging love affair is a relatively sudden but very passionate one that is quite well described so that the reader might identify with his feelings, needs and new experiences though it all initially occurs within a fairly short time frame and an awareness of possible cracks is subtly indicated.

is only because of the slightly cliche very last few sentences for me - just a personal opinion but otherwise absolutely mesmerised by this one. I loved getting little clues from the dialogue and making those connections for myself without everything being spelled out for me. Honesty between family and friends is the theme and the book is character-focussed rather than exclusively genre suspenseful. But I’d never seen an erect penis that wasn’t my own, I’d never seen a pale pink circumcision scar, I’d never seen, piece by piece, how a man’s body joins up, how the landscape of skin and hair changes in texture and tone, from the folds of the lips to the folds of the testicles, the tufts of black on his toes to the perfect triangle of hair above his buttocks on his otherwise hairless back. This one involves a twelve-year-old boy named Lyman Rankin who lives on Salvation Island with his violent and angry father.If I had a criticism, it would be that sometimes there are flashes into the future, present tense, that were confusing because the book is mostly all told through the protagonist's memories of his teenage years. Ralf's group of friends was also solidly depicted and we get to see how his relationship with each one of his friends differs.

This is a novel that keeps a reader guessing to the end and shows imagination and skill in equal amounts. The book starts with the languorous nonchalance of the hot 1989 Berlin summer it is set in and torpor seems always about to strike but slowly the plot catches pace to an almost satisfying ending. However, that reason may unravel at a frightening speed after Israel is the one to discover and report the death of 7 men on a yacht to the local sheriff who despises him, his father’s brother. You could see through all the trauma, even Israel and Lyman appreciated the beauty of the islands nature. That fact is certainly not lost on his Uncles Sterling, brother to his late father, who wants nothing more than to put Israel back behind bars and out of his sight at any cost necessary.But these stories are filled with so many twists and surprises that they give a fascinating new perspective on this vibrant capital. The relationship between Raif and Oz is depicted with conviction, but the characterisation elsewhere is done with broad brush strokes-- teenagers are too often symbolised by expletives.

At times I felt I could see exactly what Fergusson was doing, but I willingly went with it, and was rewarded . This story was so slow that a few times I considered not finishing, but I hate to do that, so I plodded on. An Honest Man,” is set in Berlin, during the summer of 1989, when friends Ralf, Stefan, Maike and Petra, spend the time hanging out and their involvement in conservation and nature; passing the time before they receive their exam results and move on to university.His wife is dead, his high-flying career has morphed into criminal notoriety, and bankruptcy threatens. Also among the victims was the attorney general who put Israel behind bars, a fact Sterling is sure to use as motive against him. He studied English Literature at Warwick University and Modern Languages at Bristol University and has worked as an editor, translator and publisher in London and Berlin. One thing that stood out to me too was the revelation that people aren’t necessarily who we know them to be. An Honest Man is a extremely well crafted novel by someone with a vast knowledge of his subject and an incredible gift of the storytellers art.