I have to admit to being a big fan of William Boyd's writing and this fast paced novel adds to his outstanding reputation. This is a thrilling roller coaster of a novel. The characters are well drawn and the action is pacy and totally absorbing. William Boyd has a completely natural style of writing which is always relevant and no words or sentences are wasted. I would recommend this book as a sampler to William Boyd's other works. Enjoy !!!!

This is an entertaining 'thriller' centred on a man who unwittingly finds himself prime suspect in a brutal murder. Much of the interest lies in his descent from respectable academic to unrecognised vagrant living beneath society. Some aspects of the book are poor - the boardroom antics at the pharmaceutical company are laughable and the central romance implausible. But the plot moves along pleasingly enough and the writing is generally of good quality. Probably worth 3.5 stars, but I'm feeling generous so will give it 4.

Adam Kindred, climatologist, jobhunting in London gets accidentally implicated in a murder. Knowing if he gave himself up it would lead to certain imprisonment, he goes underground. But how do you disappear in high-tech London, and ideally clear your name? This is a breathless, intelligent thriller set along the Thames among the poor and disenfranchised. I couldn’t put it down.

This was the first William Boyd i'd picked up and was thrilled by the quality of the writing. It starts with a violent murder. A shocking event that throws an ordinary man into a pool of intrigue as murky as the Thames river that flows so strongly through the story. It's clever, it's fast-paced and so realistic that you fear something like that could really happen to you...

A typical fast paced - "I must keep reading this 'til two in the morning" type novel that keeps you in suspense about the main charactors. Some of it I felt lacked a certain "something" but on the whole worth a read if you enjoy thrillers.