Dave Selfe

This very impressive, roller coaster debut thriller was first published (in UK) in 2017 but I only came across it recently. Our narrator/heroine (though some may say anti-heroine) is 17 year old Gwendolyn - tough and talented but also carrying emotional baggage and scars. She is the (step)daughter of a diplomat-cum-spy (no spoiler there as latter fact is disclosed very early), and plot revolves around her unwavering attempts to find him when he disappears - kidnapped, defected, something else? OK, a lot of the storyline stretches belief in places: could a rather innocent albeit talented teenager really be trained so quickly to be so tough and ruthless? But leave that aside and enjoy the relentless, fast-paced and often very violent action as she races across Europe encountering a whole range of violent and disreputable gangsters. Not everyone however is who they seem, and there are numerous plot twists and red herrings as you would expect with most of the international spy agencies involved. The ending in particular needs to be followed with care, but it is clever with a nicely ambiguous twist. Beyond the obvious spy thriller, this can also be read as an absorbing coming-of-age story and a strong parable about the loss of innocence. How do teenagers become adults and learn about the wickedness and realities of the world? How do we learn about the limits of our own behaviour and how far are we willing to push those boundaries? As a spy thriller it is no Freddie Forsyth in terms of authenticity and detail (but it doesn't set out to do that) but it is certainly a hard hitting action thriller (strong hints i thought of Ripley and Lara Croft throughout Gwendolyn). It's a big book (450pp) but so readable that you won't be overawed by the size. A thoroughly entertaining read.

This must be one of the best debut novels. It is so much more than just a gory, apocalyptic end-of-world novel (though it successfully achieves that too). It is (very) dark and genuinely scary, but in places full of the blackest humour and some actual laugh out loud moments (when our heroine finds one other survivor after the complete annihilation of the population, it really shouldn't be funny, but honestly I laughed out loud). The story follows our female survivor partly in real time and partly in a series of flashbacks to explain her complex back stories, relationships and problematic behaviours. It is all handled very sympathetically and is crucial to understanding her personal challenges and developments. This review won't use spoilers to mar the plot but we follow our survivor through some amazing, and disgusting (be warned) physical challenges, but equally important emotional and psychological challenges as she comes to grips with the possibility that she may be the only personal alive. The end-of- the world sub genre is well established and until recently has often focused on nuclear armageddon (think Morrow's superb This is the Way the World Ends). But here, post Covid, the really scary aspect is that the imagined reality for mankind's potential demise is entirely feasible. So, this is a wonderful mix of horror, science fiction, alternative history, but also a moral fable about personal development and atonement. I didn't get at all one review which said the survivor was not a likeable character. I thought she was strong, emotional and full of humanity. And as for the only other surviving character, Lucky the dog, well you will need a heart of stone not to love him. Do they all pull through? You will need to get to the very clever ending. I read the entire book in 4 days. I hope you love it as much as I did.