A late-night gambling session ends in a bet for Richard Gaunt: can he walk to Oxford by lunchtime the next day? Gaunt sets off, and as morning breaks and the dreaming spires near, his evening's winnings look set to double. But when men in a Jeep reverse into him, scooping him off the roadside, Gaunt enters a yet stranger world.
Taken to a country house, he is kept hostage by a man with impeccable manners, Mr Khan. Traumatised by a tour of duty in Iraq, Gaunt's life has collapsed around him. His behaviour drove away his childhood sweetheart and put even debt-collecting jobs beyond his reach. So when the mysterious captor offers Gaunt 10,000 pounds to marry Adeena - a beautiful girl kept in the house against her will - he decides to accept. After initial suspicion, Adeena realises that Gaunt is her only chance, and the pair forge a plan of escape.
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"Paul Torday excels at getting inside the head of weak men. This protagonist is weak because he was emotionally crippled by serving in Iraq and Afganistan. He can certainly 'take care of himself' as the saying goes, but he cannot manage his life for toffee. As usual, there is a real off-the-wall aspect to this Torday offering, and I loved it." — Ian (4 out of 5 stars)
"Paul Torday excels at getting inside the head of weak men. This protagonist is weak because he was emotionally crippled by serving in Iraq and Afganistan. He can certainly 'take care of himself' as the saying goes, but he cannot manage his life for toffee. As usual, there is a real off-the-wall aspect to this Torday offering, and I loved it."
" I really like Paul Torday. And this seems to be a novel very much in his style. A bit confronting in parts he opens a door into the world of. 21st century soldier and the War on Terror. As ever, he blurs a good story with twists and turns where you travel with the slightly bewildered protagonist. A page turner to be sure. "
" The concept is easy, the writer uses very simply complexity. The style is consistent with his other novels, but his looking into the mind of terrorist is chilling. "
" It took me a while to figure out what was going on and get a good sense of Richard's back story. Once things started to fall into place, I enjoyed the read but it sort of seemed a little too late. An okay read if you are in the mood. "
" Wasn't as good as The Girl on the Landing but was a quick read. "
" Maybe more like 2.5 stars. A quick and easy read, but it was let down by an unbelievable plot. The ending did manage to fill in some gaps and make the events of the story more plausible, but the character of Adeena needed to be more three dimensional to be convincing. "
" up to 1/3 of the book, should put it down, but can't ... "
" Started well, but rather disappointingly ran out of puff. "
" I have given this four stars because I listened to the story read by Jonathan Keble who was an excellent narrator. A rather bizarre story and character,but It conveyed the Afghan and Iraq wars well and what being the army can do to you. "
" A very different read from Salmon Fishing but enjoyable nonetheless. Good twists, frustrating hero (especially at the end!), tension, nice jumps between past and present. "
" Good to see Paul is back on form after the previous book which wasn't up to much "
" This was disappointing after Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The fantastical element was missing. It was more of a mystery thriller and, as such, lacking the element which distinguished S F in the Y from other books. "
" Not my favourite Paul Torday. I enjoyed the beginning best. "
" I have read almost all of Paul Torday's books and have connected to the characters and their various plights and activities. It is a while since I read this one, and can honestly say that I remember very little about the plot. I found it weak in comparison to many of his other novels. "
" Was thoroughly enjoying this up to about 80% of the way through. Then it became completely unbelievable. Love Torday's writing but this was a worrying dip... "
" Very thin. More like a TV one hour drama/thriller than a book. I'm not impressed. "
" Only a hundred or so pages in and still don't really have a rapport with the characters but considering its only about 250p all up this doesn't bode well. I have read all the other Tordays and lovedthem tho so there's still hope, "
Jonathan Keeble, winner of four AudioFile Earphones Awards, combines his audio work with a busy theater and television career. He has been featured in over six hundred radio plays for the BBC, appearing in everything from Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes to Doctor Who and The Archers, in which he played the evil Owen. As an Earphones Award–winning narrator, he is in high demand for his voice work. He has recorded over two hundred audiobooks.
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