loved this book. easy to read. loved the story line. kept me on the edge of my seat. i could put the book down, i needed to know if he was caught or ran off with the agent or both this is the best book i've read this year.

With echoes of John Lee Carre, Ian Fleming and Graham Greene Boyd has crafted an extremely enjoyable spy novel with a reluctant conscript in the form of travel writer Gabriel Dax being slowly pulled in to the murky world of Cold War espionage. Well written and perfectly paced with just the right amount of twists and turns this is the perfect literary thriller.

I was totally bewitched by Any Human Heart and Gabriel’s Moon is right up there as a complex and compelling story told with elegance. Boyd’s writing is simply superb; he hooks immediately and the narrative builds layer upon layer. There’s a lot of fact woven into the tale. I remember the uprising in the Congo and the death of Lumumba, which is the springboard for this story. It’s rich in detail and gives a fascinating and interesting perspective of events. Gabriel has a back story; a devastating trauma in childhood, a brother who’s a bit of an enigma. He’s a travel writer but seizes an opportunity to interview Lumumba and files a story which is never published. On the back of that, he’s drawn into working for MI6 and his life becomes increasingly complex. His handler, Faith, persuades him to undertake covert assignments which, along with past events, change him and his life. Every character has depth. The locations are so well depicted and there’s a real flavour of the 60’s and the social change that was underway. This book is a triumph in every way and will surely find its way to screen. Boyd’s a genius and this doesn’t disappoint.

We start in the past with a very young Gabriel Dax on the worst night of his young life, when a tragedy, a house fire, took the life of his mother. Back in the present, we catch up with him as a young man who is still haunted by memories of that night. He is now a travel writer specialising in the Cold War countries. He is offered, by a friend, the chance to interview a prominent political figure, Patrice Lumumba, the newly elected PM of Congo, and it is this interview that sets his life off on yet another path. It appears to have brought him to the attention of the security services and they, under the supervision of Faith Green, want him to undertake a small mission, to go and buy a picture from a famous artist. Meanwhile, in his personal life, he is trying to come to terms with his past by way of seeing a therapist... I do have a few of this author's books on my tbr, but I am ashamed that they have never quite made it to the top. After reading, devouring, and absolutely loving this book, I am definitely going to make a concerted effort to bump them up. Gabriel is a wonderful character, very much shaped by his past, and also his relationship with his brother, Sefton, through whom he has already tasted the life of a spy! I took to him from the off, something about him resonated with me and that relationship only grew as the book progressed and I got to know him better. As for the plot - oh my days, what a tangled web that author has indeed woven. I really had to have my wits about me whilst reading and I still didn't cotton on to everything! Brilliant. It's a bit of a slow burn initially bu there are quite a few pieces to put into place before the whole picture starts to emerge. Which means that the pacing adds to the interest and intrigue and it draws you in slowly but surely. And the ending - wow... Brilliant. In fact the only thin bad about it was having to say goodbye to Gabriel. I wonder if (hope that) we will meet again...

“Gabriel’s Moon” is a superb book, definitely one of Boyd’s finest. It's not a thriller, it's not a crime, not romance, not fantasy - although it does have elements of all of them - it's very real literary fiction. And that can often mean difficult and a bit dry to read. But, as often, William managed to make it just as addictive as a fast paced thriller novel. The descriptions are beautiful, the story is a gripping page turner. One not to miss.