Arctic Sun by Jack Grimwood. I should have absolutely loved this book but I’ll spoil it for you and say I found it just a bit mid. Tom Fox has a kid who he wants to be nice to but can’t seem to find it in his heart to talk directly to the child and there is some spooky Russian nuclear shenanigans going on. It felt quite slow to start and then a left field sub plot in Ireland started and I was not that interested. I just want more tramping around the cold of Russia please. It wasn’t a bad book it just felt disjointed and took too long to actually come together. My take away from this is try not to die.

Wow I’ve lived this trilogy, I feel like it’s educational as well as being such an enthralling read. Looking forward to more.. thanks

A great spy thriller that gives you more than just action because it also delves into the psyche of the hunters. You feel empathy for the main characters, either good or bad because they are not one-dimensional.

"All devils are fallen angels.
Even in hell some try to do what's right..."


It is a story with two timelines the one set in 1971 in Ireland and the second set in 1987. Both are linked to Major Tom Fox but are unrelated.
The chapters are clearly marked so it's very easy to follow both timelines.

I loved Charlie's character! He's such a unique boy and I would love to see more of him.
It is a brilliantly crafted story that I can highly recommend!!
Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Random House and Michael Joseph for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Jack Grimwood's latest in his espionage Major Tom Fox series is a tense and intricate thriller, brilliantly plotted and well written, that had me gripped from beginning to end, primarily located in London, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Hampshire. Tom is an anxious place, his wife Lady Caro is dying, and he is worried about his extraordinary 8 year old son, Charlie, determined to focus on looking after Charlie and leaving the service. Charlie converses with his dead daughter, Becca, likes to break things apart and put them back together again, cannot tell a lie, and listens at doors, aware that grown ups reveal more when he wasn't around. Tom's fears are compounded by his powerful in-laws intending to take Charlie away from him on Caro's death, so when his father-in-law, Lord Eddington, in government, tells him he will ensure Charlie will be his if he takes on a mission, that could mean missing Caro's funeral, he feels he has no choice.

Fox is all too aware of Eddington's games as he tries to balance the ties of flesh and blood with being used as a chess piece, although he is aided by the thought that Charlie wants him to go and help the wolf lady. She is the pacifist and research zoologist, Dr Amelia Blackburn, studying wolves, present at an apocalyptic event on the Kola Peninsula in the Soviet Arctic . Fox finds himself negotiating the precarious and forbidding frozen lakes and icy landscapes, uncovering murders and secrets, and a world at risk of a grave disaster. He does all that he can to protect Amelia, battling formidable challenges on adrenaline, training, instinct and fear. Old friends and foes make appearances, including his blood brother, Colonel Dennisov, and others. In a narrative that goes back and forth in time, we are give details of Northern Irish operations Fox was involved in 1971 that bring terrors now when Dancer turns up in Hampshire, looking for revenge.

Grimwood paints a vibrant picture of the historical periods, of politicians and leaders who are less than truthful, hiding behind public deniability of what is actually going on behind the scenes. At the end of the novel he describes Arctic Sun as what happens when dysfunctional countries and dysfunctional families meet. You cannot argue with this, for example, when you look at the undercurrents and political behaviour of nation states, and the glimpses we have of Fox's family, and that of Dennisov's, with his father, and his sister, General Sophia Petrovna. I was particularly charmed by the adorable Charlie, unfazed by all that happens, his confidence and simplicity in his approach to the complexities of the world is beautiful to observe. This is for those who enjoy smart and intelligent espionage books with fascinating and complex characters. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This novel is far from my usual reads of historical fiction. However, I picked it as I have visited both Norway and Finland where much of the action takes place. Having not read previous novels in the series, I felt disadvantaged in knowing the background of the hero, Tom Fox. I recommend that other readers might wish to try the earlier books in the set first. This is a pretty complex thriller taking place in at least two historical periods. I certainly enjoyed the later best, especially the parts involving Tom's son, Charlie and the Cat!

Good yarn encompassing.the troubles in NI with the early years of Gorbachev’s Russia. An apparent nuclear explosion in the far north and Tom Fox is sent to investigate. His history in Northern Ireland is used in regular chapters which could be confusing but actually works. An eco scientist with a previous relationship with Tom is in the area with an assistant who finds and hides a device that could be a new bomb and the race to discover it results in lots of bloody scenes in Russia while back in the UK Tom’s son Charlie after the death of his mother is involved in arguments with his grandmother while Tom’s spymaster Eddington who is his father in law tries to assume control. It’s all wonderfully confusing at times and there’s even a part for a cat called Cat!

Based in the 1970s and 1980 end of the Cold War, and events in Northern Ireland.

Cloak and Dagger book, that takes you with Tom on his journey away from a difficult time in his personal life after the death of his late wife. Introducing the cat into his son's life made this story more realistic.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this novel.

Arctic Sun by Jack Grimwood is an exciting cloak and dagger style thriller in the style of the great John Le Carre. Set in the world just before the thawing of the cold war, it's the latest to follow Major Tom Fox. It's an instantly readable novel that show both the world in the 1980's set against the backdrop of his family falling apart.

A nuclear accident in the wilds of Russia provokes an international crisis. Tom's wife lies in hospital dying. Her family, who never took to Tom want control of his son. Against this, his father-in-law, a mandarin in the British Government sends him to Norway to find his ex lover, Amelia, who has been on the scene of the accident.

There's a lot to like about the characters in this novel. As its the first Jack Grimwood story I've read I didn't know of the past of Tom Fox. However, I soon picked up the gist of the backstory, so it made the book more enjoyable. Charlie, Tom's son, is probably the most interesting character. A young boy who sees and communicates with his dead sister, his trusting manner gets him into trouble, leading to problems for his father.

The book gains pace very quickly and you're turning those pages while you devour this enthralling story. You feel the cold when Tom is out in Russia and Norway, you experience the terror of the situations. This is a book that is up there with some of the best by John Le Carre. A taut thriller that deserves a read.

An enjoyable storyline. Very well defined characters and some lifetime observations. There is also a cat involved who is also a finely observed character .
A good read

This review is thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph providing an advance reading copy*.

It’s 1987 and the Soviet Union under Gorbachev is at war with itself. It’s the last blast of the old cold war, Chernobyl is recent news, and people are picking sides in the new world order. SIS agent Tom Fox has a lot on his plate: his wife is dying, his daughter dead, and his in-laws want custody of his 8-year-old son Charlie, an odd little kid who knows too much. Then something happens on the Kola Peninsula, close to the border with Norway, another apparent nuclear disaster, and Major Fox is tasked to find out what.
There are three narratives here, delivered in bite-sized short scenes: what Charlie is getting up to in Hampshire while unsupervised; what Tom Fox is encountering in Norway and Russia as various people try to stop him; and something happening in Northern Ireland at the height of the troubles, sixteen years before. How these events are connected becomes clear as the story progresses.
I didn’t know going in that this was third in a series featuring the agent Major Tom Fox, so there was quite a lot of back story to infer from the details given about earlier books. I was fine with this. It provided an extra puzzle-solving challenge and kept me interested in the various characters here, most of whom featured in those earlier books (I assume).
As an espionage book, this is probably closer to Bond than to Smiley, but there was still a sense of deception and mystery here: particularly in the closing chapters, the basis of everything that has been assumed so far comes under challenge, with apparently insignificant earlier details suddenly important. This is as it should be. A bit too much chasing around on the ice and casual killing for my tastes, but this was still a decent read.

*On that: the ARC was provided as a PDF, which is fine, but always renders somewhat oddly on my Kindle, with inconsistent formatting. Sometimes perfect, and then for a page or so a lot of weird line breaks, and then some odd paragraph breaks in the middle of sentences, and then back to perfect again. It could be distracting, but not too much so.

Another fine chapter in the Tom Fox series.

It's 1987, more than a year after the events of "Nightfall Berlin" and Tom Fox is trying hard to get fired from British Intelligence. His family needs him, and the events of the previous year have left him scarred. However when an apparent nuclear bombing takes place on the Kola Peninsula, high in the Soviet Arctic, he find his boss and father-in-law pressing him to take one last mission. In return, he will support Tom and his family.

Unknown to Tom, research zoologist Amelia Blackburn, whose help was so vital to him previously, stumbles on evidence to suggest the explosion wasn't a bombing, but a deeper conspiracy. When Tom is shown a surveillance photo of Amelia, he has a further reason to take the mission.

And so, the reader is drawn into another tense and exciting story of conspiracy, betrayal, friendship and family. There isn't the same claustrophobia in this book as was in the previous, but the race to uncover the truth, and the way in which Amelia and others from his past intersect with Tom's mission make for a thrilling story. Each book adds another dimension to the flawed hero, who is torn between his family and his job. His love for his wife and son grow stronger, although this book tests this to breaking point. By this point, readers will be fully invested in Tom Fox' fate. It's a complex plot of subterfuge and confusion, and when you add in a second timeline, following Tom's exploits in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, "Arctic Sun" definitely proves to be a page-turner.

This book, like the previous two, reminded me of the excellent Owen Matthews "Black Sun" trilogy, with the same Cold War shenanigans, but this time, I was also reminded of John Connolly's "Charlie Parker" books, and I have no doubt fans old and new will race to read this latest adventure.

Highly recommended.

An very enjoyable book. Tom Fox, working for British intelligence, is sent to Russia to investigate an explosion close to the border with Norway. It appears to be a nuclear bomb but the facts don't add up. Interspersed with with trying to find a remaining bomb and avoiding Russians, are flashback stories of Fox's time in Northern Island. It was almost like reading 2 books, a page of each at a time. I did find this confusing. Despite the dual storyline I really enjoyed the book. I liked the characters of Tom, Amelia and Charlie and wonder if a sequel is a possibility.