If you like political thrillers, you should buy this. If you love British politics as well, it's a must buy.
Ms. Greenway's experience and expertise produce a confidant stride and confidential feel for this deliciously British tale of back-stabbing and scheming among ranking members of the opposition Conservative Party during the lead-up to a vote on devolved government for Cornwall. The vote, of course, hardly matters in principle to any more than a few of the players.
A bitterly ambitious Deputy Leader uses it to organize a coup against the Cameron-esque Conservative Party Leader, a melancholy and lonely figure soldiering on from an almost fatalistic sense of destiny in saving the Tories from themselves. He can be thankful the Labour government's man on point is a hapless fool, but to his chagrin, his enemies within his own party are not such idiots. And to his continuing regret, his past has left them with ample ammunition, given covert alliances with certain newspapers.
The book laudably deals most particularly with the personal toll on everyone involved, ranging from the photogenic PM-in-waiting to his close friend -- an unrequited love -- fellow Tory MP Anthea Culverhouse, and including a brace of others finding themselves in the line of fire. Greenway excels at adding dimension to her characters with delightful surprises. A favorite scene occurs when an MP previously noted only for seeming perpetually lost in thought is threatened in the most vile way by a political thug and turns the table on him with a startling display of courage.
Culverhouse emerges the book's hero as the smart, tough but tender and long-suffering rising star among her colleagues given the thankless -- and ultimately dangerous -- job of spending most of her political capital on a near-impossible quest to save both her party leader's job and his reputation by winning the key vote against a stacked deck. Greenway makes Ms. Culverhouse's battle deeply personal and no one with any humanity will find that character's increasing desperation and determined integrity anything but compelling.
All key characters are vivid and the action unpredictable, yet believable. I appreciated the roster of players at the beginning, something I often find annoying, because in this case it helped sort things out in the early pages. However, as the focus became more structured, individual features and foibles took over, holding my attention well down to the final paragraph.
By way of full disclosure, I relished a book with Tories as people rather than cartoonish fools, being a small-c "conservative" myself, as Kieron O'Hara would put it. I've been fascinated by British politics since specializing in them at a think tank many years ago. Many fellow Americans may struggle initially with Ms. Greenway's novel given itIf you like political thrillers, you should consider buying this. If you love British politics as well, it's a must buy.
Ms. Greenway's experience and expertise produce a confidant stride and confidential feel to this deliciously British tale of back-stabbing and scheming among ranking members of the opposition Conservative Party during the lead-up to a vote on devolved government for Cornwall. The vote, of course, hardly matters in principle to any but a few of the players.
A bitterly ambitious Deputy Leader uses it to organize a coup against the Cameron-esque Leader, a melancholy and lonely figure soldiering on from an almost fatalistic sense of destiny. He can be thankful the Labour government's whip on point is a hapless fool, but to his chagrin, his enemies within his own party are not such idiots. And to his continuing regret, his past has left them with ample ammunition, given covert alliances with certain newspapers.
The book laudably deals most particularly with the personal toll on everyone involved, ranging from the photogenic PM-in-waiting to his close friend -- an unrequited love -- fellow Tory MP Anthea Culverhouse, and including a brace of others who find themselves in the line of fire. Greenway excels at adding dimension to her characters with delightful surprises. A favorite scene occurs when an MP previously noted only for seeming perpetually lost in thought is threatened in the most vile way by a political thug and turns the table on him with a startling display of courage.
The characters are vivid and the action unpredictable, yet believable. I wound up caring forth even as their individual features and foibles took over, holding my attention well down to the final paragraph.
The book also captures a behind-the-scenes feels for the ongoing search within the contemporary British Conservative Party for a more sure-footed sense of direction. By way of full disclosure, I relished a book with Tories as people rather than cartoonish fools, being a small-c "conservative" myself, as Kieron O'Hara would put it. Nor were the folks on the left portrayed as any less human, albeit largely absent given a plot centered on internal party affairs.
I've been fascinated by British politics since specializing in them at a think tank many years ago. Some fellow Americans may struggle initially with Ms. Greenway's novel given its insider baseball -- er, cricket -- and the fact that Parliament is most definitely not Capitol Hill in its mores, customs and procedures, much less does any American political party conduct business remotely the way British parties do.
Others may be puzzled as well by the frankly cozy relationship between leading newspapers and political parties in Britain, because here in the States, we pretend that sort of thing is alien to our system despite all the evidence to the contrary.
I don't know if a sequel is in the works, but if one is listed, I will be pre-purchasing that the instant it's available.s insider baseball -- er, cricket -- and the fact that Parliament is most definitely not Capitol Hill in its mores, customs and procedures. But I'd urge them to plunge in; the water's fine and the swim well worth it.
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2013
- Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2014
Top reviews from other countries
- Geoffrey WestReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2014
Gripping, informative, lively page turner
- Georgia RoseReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2014
A great cast of believable characters in an original and interesting setting
- StanReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2012
Compares with House of Cards
- SoozBuchReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2013
A glimpse into life in Westminster - bet it's all true!
- dandelionReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2013
Definitely NOT House of Cards
