Arman discovers a body while on a swim. He is convinced the body is connected to his past. It was fairly fast paced and I enjoyed the main characters. The references to war were not my favorite but definitely pertinent to the story.

This book quickly drew me in, and I couldn't put it down. It was somewhat violent, and there was a lot of death, but it fit with the storyline. I kept turning the pages and could not put it down.

I did quite a lot of googling while reading this as the language is very American - what’s a ‘dome light’? What’s a ‘Charger’? A ‘breezeway’? A ‘plate carrier’? ‘M4’ etc. And those were on only one page! And the US slang was even more difficult (and sometimes dodgy to google!) But I suppose it added to the foreignness of it all.
I did enjoy the descriptive passages, about the countryside and surroundings. I felt they gave breathing space between that difficult dialogue and the violence. They also made the book read like a screenplay, I can imagine the movie very well.
I ended up enjoying it very much, and was glued to it by the last part!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for review.

Took a little bit of getting into but overall a reasonable written story line.Not the best murder mystery I've read but if you can get to the main point you will find it interesting

Hi all,

Update to my last post of: I was unable to access & post on NetGalley when I had read this book and 'therefore provided my review back to Rachel Quinn at the publishers.

Unfortunately, I no longer have my review or copy of that email but I have a record that it was sent on 11.08.23 to Rachel at or shortly after 11.15 on that day (Friday)

Fortunately, after a number of searches have located my comments to the publishers which were: Thanks for enabling me to read this Brilliant book. It is the best I have read in a year by a mile. Could not put it down until it was finished and now wondering what will follow this book up? I was hooked on the characters, the story line and the believability of the plot. Please post my comments for best effect to help this author

Eddy Weatherill

Exciting book with may twists and turns, graphic in many places but I liked that as it added to the overall picture and theme of the story. Could imagine this as a fast paced film.

This American conspiracy thriller follows a familiar plotline, centring around a refugee from the Iraq war who becomes the target of an assassination attempt. As the police investigate the murder of someone connected to him, they unravel layers of secrets and cover-ups, aiming to uncover the motivations behind the attack while staying ahead of the would-be assassins.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

What does a dead body, and an Iraqi interpreter living in America have in common. Brilliant thriller, who do you trust, and will people do anything for money.

While I like and respect this author, I found "A Line in the Sand" rather difficult unfortunately.

The plot was initially intriguing but became increasingly complex. The list of characters grew and grew, and I got rather lost in the jargon of the US police/government/military groups, which it seemed to be assumed the reader would be familiar with.

I liked most of the characters, but they kept acting in ways that seemed out of alignment with the things they'd said and done earlier in the novel and which, by the end, stretched the bounds of credibility.

I can see that others would enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

This book had a interesting plot about a person that was found dead on the beach but was the wrong person. Killed.
This is a well written story with a interesting plot thank you netgalley

What an okay novel. This is a thriller that I’d expect to grab off a supermarket book shelf and was just a little generic. I can’t give more praise or feedback as, for me, this was just a little generic. 3-stars.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for ARC.

This thriller has an intriguing premise. Arman Bajalan, once an interpreter for US forces, now casual motel worker, goes for his usual early morning swim and comes across a body. He has witnessed something, but what? It doesn't take long to understand that this is a professional assassination, and the victim was not the only intended target.
Detective Cat Wheel investigates, as does bereaved journalist Sally Ewell. They are both slower to realise the danger and the extent of the lengths the perpetrators will go to.

This is twisty, turny and tantalising. It's grim a lot of the time, with some very graphic violence, none of which is rendered in a gratuitous way to my eyes, but can be tricky.
I'm reluctant to say more about the plot, but I will say the meditations on grief and responsibility are excellent and the characters are largely well fleshed out. I loved it, and went straight to add Powers' debut novel to my TBR pile.

This is a long and complicated read with a potentially confusing range of characters. A body is found drowned to start the whole story. There is mistrust between official investigation agencies and a lot of bodies. I found it a difficult read.

This was a great read, loved it, kept reading it when I could steal a few minutes.
Massive conspiracy, twists and turns that shocked me.
Arman has started a new life in America. Someone doesn't want him to. A lot is resting on Arman and what he saw in the past not being discovered.
Would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you netgally for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This was an interesting read with lots going on. I found myself a little lost in places which affected my enjoyment.

This took me a while to get the characters straight in my head- who knows what and why and how is pretty complex but as the story pans out it becomes faster paced and easier to keep everyone straight!
With a crime no-one seems to want the detective to solve and a body count that is rapidly growing this has all the elements of a great crime thriller with a side order of corruption.

As a British reader, I found this book almost overwhelmingly American, to the point where I couldn’t finish it, as so much of the writing was focused on American abbreviations, words not known to British readers, and military terminology that was, unfortunately, meaningless to this reader. I persevered for over half the book, then realised that continuing was pointless, as the meaning of the plot was passing me by. I’m sorry about this, as I’m sure Kevin Powers is an excellent writer, but if writing for an international readership, more consideration could be given to ensuring that the writing has meaning for all.

An interesting crime thriller that was a little overlong. Though violent in parts, the characters were well written and the story kept me gripped til the end. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I gave it a go but this book just wasn't for me in the end.There was nothing wrong with the writing but the plot and genre turned out to be not my cup of tea - sorry

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is not my usual genre, but I was pleasantly surprised. A very well-written and interesting read. Recommended.