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

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Oz is trying to find the identity of ‘Axel’, a Stasi spy that has been blackmailing leading political and military figures and who, Oz thinks, is really Ralf’s neighbour Tobias. Ben Fergusson’s AN HONEST MAN is many things: an lgbt coming of age story; a political thriller set against the backdrop of Cold War Berlin in the days before the collapse of the Wall; a historical fiction; a love story. Gaslighted into misperceptions about his own love, Ralfi comes to terms with his sexuality, his history, and the society of Cold War-era Berlin all in the same span of a summer. Once she sees Lyman is no threat, she allows him to care for her and the various bloody wounds on her body.

After discovering seven men murdered aboard their yacht – including two Senate rivals – Israel Pike is regarded as a prime suspect. This is most easily accomplished because he crafts his characters in authentic and complex ways, leading readers to identify with them such that it creates an unbreakable bond. A portrait of close friendships, young love, coming of age, sexuality, growing up in the 80s (plenty of appropriate references), tensions between East and West Berlin, marital affairs, spying, cultural differences. It's hard to say much more without giving aspects of the plot away (the author keeps you guessing until the end), but a story I'll be thinking about long into the future.A love story at its heart, this unsettling and wonderfully atmospheric historical novel, set in West Berlin in 1989 (the year the wall was torn down), sizzle with suspense and intrigue . Perfect for summer vacations where readers need a true escape and want to find themselves furiously turning pages to see who makes it out alive. The power to destroy without realising just how devastating it will be makes this story all the more poignant. This is a slow paced novel, which is far more about the characters, and their relationships, than the plot. This is a novel that keeps a reader guessing to the end and shows imagination and skill in equal amounts.

And the novel has a tragic depth that leaves the reader disturbed and in shock as psychological walls dissolve and the truth slowly unwinds. Unlike some novels that take place in Berlin, An Honest Man is very textured and doesn't take the concept of "wow Berlin much history very interesting" at face value. One day, while hiding in one of the neighboring homes, a strange French women breaks in to find Lyman there.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. Because the descriptions are so profoundly familiar, they really help place us in these characters' reality.

AN HONEST MAN, with its hardscrabble coastal-Maine setting in all is surly beauty, is the best novel set in that area since Stephen Dobyns’ A BOAT OFF THE COAST and Stephen King’s THINNER. Michael Korea has been a must read author for me for quite a while, and this new one is another validation of that rating. there’s something about Koryta’s writing that keeps it entertaining, even though it’s not my cup of tea overall.I love storytelling where the setting is an active character, and the Maine island communities offer an amazing contrast between Rockwellian mythology and primal reality, idyllic versus brutal, and nobody is realizing that sort of thriller on the screen better than Mark Roybal,” Koryta said. As well as a poignant love story, it's also a gripping, original thriller; a final twist I definitely didn't see coming sets a powerful climax in motion . 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. In the summer before starting university he had hoped to grow closer with his friends and girlfriend, but his summer plans hit an abrupt snag when he falls in love with an Oz, a Turkish man of mystery who is helping West Berlin in its counterintelligence efforts against the East. Whether or not Israel’s claims to be an honest man end up being confirmed will be found in the jaw-dropping conclusion to AN HONEST MAN.

And his characters are all too believable, their flaws and attributes neatly defining the human condition. He began working for a private investigator as an intern while in high school, turned it into his day job in the early stages of his writing career, and still maintains an interest in the firm. The book concludes as the Berlin wall falls and, as with so much of the background in this novel, it is conveyed partly by the well-known images but also a clear sense the moment. And as old Cold War tensions begin to tear his life apart, he finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, forced to make impossible choices about his country, his family and his heart. As I say, this was an unexpected wonder of a book, providing so much more than a simple synopsis can provide.One of the deepest feelings we might have while living among other people is trust, that is, the belief that we can rely at least on those who are close to us and feel safe about it. The story is told by Ralf, the German-British narrator and main character, looking back at the summer of 1989 in (West) Berlin when he was 18, expecting his Abitur results to decide which university he should choose to attend Geology; go to England, his maternal family country, or stay in Germany and close to his friends and family. The character of Ralf and his relationships with both his family and friends (particularly Oz) are beautifully drawn. It is obvious that Osmin is a bit older and more experienced than Ralf so it is at least understandable that he becomes incredibly self-focussed and often not that good to be near but that is often the nature of first loves. Fiercely beautiful, this tender, yet powerfully told story of love and discovery cradles the reader in the most pleasurable way.