Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Hi,

My next review is as follows:-

"Launch Code” written by Michael Ridpath and published in Paperback by Corvus; Main edition on 7 Nov. 2019. 400 pages ISBN-13: 978-1786496997

Many years ago, I read several of the financial thrillers that this author made his name with and I was very impressed with the depth of research that he made at that time in order to make his books as authentic as possible. I therefore was very attracted to read this new thriller which describes events that happen on a nuclear submarine in the mid 1980’s and also in the present day.

November 1983, three hundred feet beneath the Atlantic: US submarine Lieutenant Bill Guth and his fellow officers suddenly receive the order they've long-prepared for. To launch their nuclear missiles in a retaliatory strike against the USSR. But in the unexpected chaos that follows, the argument over whether to obey the order leaves one person dead...

Norfolk, England, November 2019: Bill is celebrating Thanksgiving with his four daughters and his English son-in-law when they are interrupted by a historian who turns up unannounced to ask about a near-apocalyptic incident back in 1983. And the death that prevented it. Bill smiles but does not respond – the details are classified top secret– and the historian leaves, unenlightened. That night, the historian is brutally murdered in the local pub.

Bill and his family are all thrown into suspicion. What happened all those years ago? Just how much is Bill to blame for events in the past, and indeed the present? The shades of history reveal themselves, and Bill's family disintegrates as they realise they do not know whom they can trust.

This very exciting and sensationally well plotted creation rushes on to its final dramatic conclusion. I hope to read yet more of his very exciting stories. If you want to start reading an thrilling book that is exceedingly difficult to put down once started then buy this one. Very highly recommended

Launch Code is the latest standalone thriller from Michael Ridpath and it us a very enjoyable and well written book that kept me entertained from the beginning to the end.

Whilst set in the modern day a near fatal incident on a nuclear submarine in 1983 at the height of the "Cold War" is the main driver of the story.

During the submarine incident a close friend of Bill and Lars died but they will not or maybe cannot explain why.

Then a historian who has got hints about the story dies in mysterious circumstances and suspicion falls on Bill, Lars and Bill's family

The author keeps the tension and suspense high as flashbacks to 1983 are well used to unravel the mystery

Michael Ridpath writes a really good page turner and Launch Code is definitely recommended

A compelling read starting in 1983 during the Cold War on a US 'boomer' submarine. The order comes to launch missiles but that has more than a passing similarity to a test of a few weeks before. There's then tension and some between the skipper who is going for the launch and 'Weps' who is less convinced. Tense and atmospheric. Moving to present-day Norfolk (England) Bill Guthrie ('Weps'), his children and their families meeting for the traditional Thanksgiving event. An historian arrives wanting to discuss the events of 1983 which Bill refuses to do. Said historian is then murdered and we have plenty of twists and turns before the story concludes. From the angst of Bill as a young Officer, his friends, the feeling of the time of the Cold War, components strongly for and against military action to the confusion, sadness and strengths of his children coping with this intrusion into what they always thought was a strong united family. The claustrophobia and smell of the sub - oh so real; the idyllic coastal Norfolk setting - oh so true. Great read, complex but rivetting. Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books, Corvus for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fantastic read by an author who I have read before, but I read his first novel, Free To Trade, when I was working in the City and for some reason have missed out on all of the ones in between. I intend to rectify this over the coming months.

The story is told from two timelines. 1983, on a US submarine in the middle of the cold war and what happens when the captain of the vessel receives instructions to fire on three destinations; and 2019, where the family of one of those on board that submarine, Bill Guth, is celebrating Thanksgiving with his family and friends.

A journalist has arrived prior to the celebration to ask questions about the incident aboard the submarine and it is clear that he is not given all of the information. However, he is found dead later that night after attending the Thanksgiving meal and a web of lies, mysteries and family secrets begin to emerge.

There was nothing I didn’t like about this novel and found the characters and their development clever going hand in hand with the plot as it curved through much misleading information from those characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atlantic Books, Corvus and Michael Ridpath for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Excellent Read. Highly recommended.

An excellent story that keeps you hooked from the beginning right through to the end. Many twists and turns that keep you involved. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this genre.

I couldn’t get on with this at all and didn’t finish it. The opening, in the 1980s on a US nuclear submarine, is really tense. After that it skips forward to the present day and a historian who is investigating what happened back in the 80s. This is where it lost me. I just had no idea where the story was going and the random family that were introduced seemed unnecessary and confusing.