4+

Box 88#3 - Lachlan (Lockie) Kite
Box 88 is a deeply covert U.K./USA espionage group that operates well below the radar.

In 1995, 24-year-old Lockie and his girlfriend Martha Raine are sent to Senegal ostensibly on a backpacking holiday. They are there to track a genocidaire of the Rwandan slaughter of the Tutsi population, the Butcher of Kigali – Augustine Bagaza and bring him to justice. However, the mission goes badly wrong with Lockie caught between a rock and a hard place. In 2022, Lockie’s old friend Eric Appiah,from school days and from Senegal, makes contact with potentially explosive information about the events of 1995, that could threaten Box 88 and those connected with it.

Charles Cumming always delivers a complex, thought-provoking and clever political thriller with conspiracies lurking at their heart. This latest in the Box 88 series feels authentic as much of the plot centres around fact, and is therefore all too believable. The setting in Senegal is vivid, and colourful with some great descriptions of the country which contrasts sharply with Lockie’s sense of foreboding and pessimism. As ever, Lockie encounters many nefarious character, who are well portrayed – it’s all too easy to picture Bagaza and his girlfriend Grace Mavinga, a.k.a. Lady Macbeth. The Rwandan genocide angle of the storytelling is a heartbreaker with unimaginable cruelty, and you are as keen as Lockie for the apprehension of the perpetrators.

As always, I thoroughly enjoy the espionage angle, and there’s tangible tension and suspense with much thinking on feet which makes for exciting reading. The doodah hits the proverbial fan in both timelines with the two connecting well, deepening the problems. It’s a never a dull moment thriller with plenty of action, some violence and tragedy to keep you reading on with your fingers crossed for a good outcome. It builds in tempo, the ending is explosive, and what a cliffhanger to finish on. I guess that’s me reading number four – sign me up now!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, Harper Fiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Another tense page turner from Charles Cummings, which features Kite, who is the lead character. I was unable to put it down for long until I had finished it. I enjoyed it for its page turning qualities and I recommend the book to anyone who likes great thrillers.