6th May 2023

I really did not know what I was getting into when I picked up this novel after having read the author, Kim Sherwood, ‘s previous novel (Double or Nothing).

It’s a historical novel with a lot of history, ostensibly about smugglers who operate along the Devon coast, but really about a gender non-conforming child who is brought up by the smugglers.

I found it took a lot longer than usual to get my head into the narrative. The voice used for most of the story is intentionally styled after writing of the time, and so not in the form I’m used to. There are also chapters written in totally different voices and fonts, and one of these fonts I found challenging to focus on.

Very much not my usual type of novel, but once I got past halfway I was finally properly into it, and was able to flow much more though the second half.

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1st October 2022

Kim Sherwood brings us the latest modern day take on the world of James Bond, with a bunch of interesting twists on the formula.

The novel focusses on three junior 00 agents, along with a cast of familiar side characters with a contemporary feel recasting their roles to make sense in the 21st Century.

The plot similarly feels very much of its time - reflecting the current fears of the world, in much the same way the original novels played off the fears of the west in their era.

I found it hard in the first half of the novel to get the focus to read much in one sitting. It took a while to get into the heads of the characters and remember which one was which. But it turned out that what I needed was a good old fashioned train journey to get my head into the right place and I absorbed the second half in one day of travel.

I really appreciated all the little touches that Sherwood litters through the book, referencing back to the Fleming canon and ignoring that it should be now have been over 60 years since those events. I also loved the Star Trek reference.

So, now my head’s had a chance to get into it, I’m definitely looking forward to the two more 00 novels she’s got coming in the future.

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