Today is my stop on the blog tour for this cheeky yet suspenseful read.
Detangling the plot: The worlds of espionage, arms dealing and TV cookery collide head-on in a fast-paced comedy thriller.
Things are looking up for MI5 officer Anna Preston when she’s handed a surprise chance to kick-start her stalled career.
And failing celebrity agent Dermot Jack thinks his own luck might have turned when he’s hired to represent a Russian pop star by her mysterious oligarch father.
Anna’s barely thought about Dermot since he ended their teenage romance seventeen years ago. But now they're thrown together again as events unfold in a highly unusual and dangerous way. If they’re going to come out of this alive, they’ll both have to put the past behind them and do things they’d never have thought possible.
Hard enough without the attentions of a lecherous celebrity chef, a teenage pop diva, her diminutive bodyguard, or a very impatient loan shark. And it’s not as if Anna's bosses are playing it straight either.
But there’s one thing Anna and Dermot clear on. They’re absolutely not about to fall in love again.
That's never going to happen…
OK?
Bobs and Books honest review:
Well, this has a little bit of everything!
Cheeky, fun, light, yet still manages to achieve that real air of mystery and suspense with plot twists aplenty to keep you on your toes.
I adored the complicated relationship between Anna and Dermot. They have a clearly complicated backstory, and at times it can be difficult to judge if Anna cares more about her work or Dermot.
Packed with melodrama yet keeps going at such a pace, its a pleasure to sit back, roll with it and just wait for the chaos to unfold.
Daring, playful and thoroughly entertaining.
About the author:
Phil lives in west London with his wife two children and some animals, which also like to call the house home.
He is somewhat obsessed and bemused with the public and media’s fixation with celebrities of every stripe. This forms the backdrop of his books, which also tend to feature spies, gangsters, hit men and TV chefs.
His first novel, The Meal of Fortune, was published in 2017, with a second edition following in 2021. The follow up. Tinker Tailor Soldier Chef will be published in 2022.
Phil’s main rule in life is never to let tomato ketchup touch any food that is green. This may not have any deep meaning, nor may it be the soundest of principles to live by – but it’s better than many he’s come across down the years. Best not to go there though.
Out Now.