In a departure from his normal writing of books in series Peter May gives his readers a monumental stand alone novel dealing with events in Cambodia and Thailand during the period of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. It was a time of massive murder of the people of these countries by a group of homicidal maniacs that had taken power with unlimited self awarded powers. Two people are featured as central characters in order to tell two separate stories of those affected by the horrors of events in Cambodia and Thailand. First is Jack Elliot, a soldier of fortune who has been tasked with bringing out a wife and two children from the domain of the Khmer Rouge by their father that had deserted the family as they were taken away. He now expresses regrets and is willing to pay Jack to mastermind their freedom and bring them to him. The second is 18 year old Lisa Robinson who is actually Jack's daughter and looking for her father. Jack does not know he has a daughter. On the other hand Lisa has caught a glimpse of her father at her mother's funeral. Mr May paints pictures of both individuals to tell the story. First Jack assembling a small crew of himself and two others and their trip into the interior of the area ruled by the Khmer Rouge. The author's graphic description of the horrors inflicted on the people are probably the best I'v read delineating the monumental excesses of a group that were admittedly more maniacal than any other such savages down through history. The reader is there looking on and in all probability will not be able to stop following the descriptions. The period was followed by reporters of all media, but nothing they ever wrote can bring out what Peter May does. Lisa decides to look for her father and learning from a friend of his that he has gone to Cambodia decides to travel there to search for him. Mr May is able to draw in the reader with his description of Lisa's travels, her loss of any innocence she may have come with when faced with the reality of what she encounters. The novel is an excellent one and even if alone as the author's product does inscribe him into a select group of writers.

This was an amazing story and quite different from previous books I have read from Peter May. There are two connected storylines running concurrently. The story takes place in Cambodia and Thailand in the late 1970's during the control of the Khmer Rouge. Jack Elliot, who is ex British army, is now a soldier of fortune and is hired for a very large sum of money to rescue a mother and her two children from Cambodia. This is an extremely dangerous mission as the murderous regime is systematically killing millions of people. As the story alternates, simultaneously in London, 18 year old Lisa Robinson has just buried her mother, who has told Lisa from an early age that her father is dead. Through papers left by her mother, Lisa discovers that he is very much alive, he is Jack Elliot. Lisa is determined to find her father and travels to Thailand to look for him, a journey which changes her life. Mr May had the idea for this novel almost 30 years ago and admits that the story is a departure from his usual crime / thriller genre. In order to write the story he visited Thailand but was unable to enter Cambodia at that time as it was still such a dangerous place. Despite this, the book is well researched through papers and books dealing with the history of this area and through striking up a friendship with a lady who had lived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia for several years. He even wrote this lady into the story as a character which delighted her. I could not put this book down. It is the best novel I have read for some time and I would highly recommend it.

I have read all Peter May’s books & as usual this is very, very good. It is quite long at over 500 pages & has taken me a while to read. It’s set mainly in Thailand & Cambodia( though it starts in Ireland) & there are sections in England. A girl is trying to find the father she thought was long dead, he is a soldier of fortune being paid to find a man’s family in Cambodia. It’s set in late 1978/early1979 during the defeat of the Khmer Rouge by the Vietnamese army. I was in my early 30s when this was happening & I have to admit I don’t remember a lot about it. I found I had to look up the history behind this time in Cambodia & hadn’t realised how awful it was, how many people had died, particularly the well educated- doctors engineers, teachers etc. The girl in the story is about 18 years old & it made me think back to how would I have acted in the situations she found herself- how naive was I at that age, probably very! I thought it was a very good story that made me think, educated me while I was lost in another world. I would recommend this book particularly to anyone who has read other Peter May books.

Having read previous books by Peter May, this wasn’t what I was expecting at all. This is a novel Mr May wrote in the 1980’s which he has revised and is due for republication. The action of this book takes place in the late 1970’s in Thailand and Cambodia, which was then known as Kampuchea under the control of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. I did struggle with reading this one, although I am not sure why, as it is well written, but it may just not be my type of story. However, I am sure there will be many readers who will love this plot and story. John (Jack) Elliott is ex British Army, but had been court marshalled and imprisoned for an incident that happened in Aden. On release he turned to be a ‘soldier of fortune’, a gun for hire. He has built a barrier around himself a wall to protect him from hurt. His wife had divorced him after Aden, and told their daughter that he was dead. Lisa (the daughter) was a young, naive, impressionable girl. Although this changed in the story as she travelled to Thailand in the search of her father, she soon learned how people will use and abuse you. Returning to London she is a different girl than she was when she went to Thailand. Jack Elliott is hired for a lot of money by Ang Young to rescue his family, Serey his wife, Ny his daughter, and Hau his son, from Cambodia. Jack knows this is a dangerous mission for him and his team. Ang Young had managed to escape four years earlier. The story is told through several voices, but with two plots running through. Jack going in to Cambodia to attempt to rescue Ang Young’s family. The second where Lisa loses her mother, to then find out her father is not dead, as she had been led to believe by her mother. Lisa is determined to go and find her father. The two stories are intertwined and keep you on edge, wondering how it is all going to end. I personally didn’t like how the book ended, but again that is me and my opinion. The book has some fairly descriptive scenes of what would have been happening in the region at the time. Which some may find difficult to read. The book is well researched despite Mr May explaining that he was unable to go into Cambodia to do actual research. From reading this you would not get that impression, it is quite atmospheric at times, not just geographically but also from the political situation and the human suffering. It made you think of what was going on in those years. I would like to thank netgalley and Ruverrun publishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

I’d forgotten that Peter May wrote this novel set in Cambodia so I was intrigued to read it. It’s been revised and rewritten since it was first published and is a step away from his Scottish novels, so it was interesting to discover. It’s also very different from his other ones and has an older feel to it, but this is of course due to the twenty years difference in writing between them and the subject matter. Cambodia and the terrors of the Khmer Rouge are well-documented but I’ve never read about them in quite the same way before. If you’ve ever wondered what life in Cambodia at that time must have been like, then this is the book for you. The author explains that he wasn’t allowed to enter the country to research it. However, he didn’t let that stop him. This author has ways of finding things out! The plot is strong to shine a light on the subject matter. Moreover, the time and place really make this a striking read in many ways. It’s very graphic in places and the sense of violence and injustice are of course going to play a major part in this kind of novel. John Elliot as a former officer in the British army. Working now as an assassin for hire. He’s on his most dangerous case yet of helping someone to find someone. There’s lots of adventure and action scenes which were thrilling but for me the power of this book lies in the human angle, the human aspect of living in the times of such political turmoil. Times of danger, death and constant fear of the Khmer Rouge. Reading about it in a history book is hard enough, but in a novel, it’s even more so. In the novel you get a real sense of the daily life in that country. You really get under the skin of what is going on and you get to know the people in the country. Peter May has a unique style and way of mixing cultural and political history with gripping plots and interesting characters and this book proves to be a timely reminder.