In Plume, Jack Bick is a journalist who is barely able to keep his life together. Every act is based around when and where he can get his next drink. Bick gets black-out drunk, which allows him to do things he forgets that push the plot along. It is inexplicable how he is hanging on to his job. Jack has two interviews to turn things around, which is about two more than he can manage. He goes to interview Oliver Pierce, a novelist. A big story accidentally falls into his lap, and the reader is sure he will screw it up. As a metaphor for Bick's disarray, a plume of smoke from an industrial fire seems to follow him around, and infects his being. Because of his drinking, Bick is easy to manipulate, and us drawn into a mystery he doesn't really understand. It is an intriguing journey which also acts as an exploration on how our personal data is repackaged and monetised. Four stars.

A fire somewhere in London attracts the people’s attention. Where is it exactly? What is burning? Is it dangerous? But Jack Bick has other problems. His alcohol consumption is totally out of control which highly impacts his job as a journalist at a lifestyle magazine. This has not gone unnoticed and his superiors virtually hold a pistol to his head: either he runs an interview with a real estate manager or he is out. Jack, instead, is highly fascinated by an author who hasn’t published anything for years. His sixth sense tells him that there is a story, but nobody wants to hear about it. Should he succumb or follow his instincts? Well, it’s not really a question for Bick and so a series of catastrophes starts- I was totally hooked by the flap text which promised a novel about truth – personal truth, objective truth, journalistic truth and modern day London life. Well, yes, this is what it is about, but after a great start with the scene about the plume, the novel completely lost me. It had the impression that the plot did not advance but turn round itself all the time and the protagonist, whose addiction and sloppiness I highly detested, did not help either. There were some great aspects, especially the question about creating reality and turning lies into facts. Also how real estate works in London and how ordinary tenants are treated just as objects you can make money with was certainly interesting. Yet, for me, the protagonist destroyed a lot and I had the impression that just as Jack Bick lost control of his life, the author also lost the red thread of the plot at times which made it hard to keep focused and go on reading for me.

I loved Will Wiles' previous two books, partly because they were quirky and unexpected, sadly I didn't feel this one lived up to them. After a very slow start it had some interesting points to make about honesty, addiction, data and city living but failed to really engage me.

I was drawn to this by the description, but unfortunately it's not for me. Other reviewers found it to be fast-moving and witty. I found it repetitive and lacking in charm. Did not finish, but I got nearly half-way so I think I gave it a good chance.