The Righteous Men - Sam Bourne

When a New York Times reporter’s wife is kidnapped his first instinct should be to phone the Police and get some professional help. For Will Monroe however, that is not an option as the people holding his wife have warned him if he does inform the police she will die. As Will tries to solve a series of riddles to find her he stumbles upon a much bigger conspiracy, one that is costing lives all across the globe. With the help of his best friend and his ex girlfriend Will races against time to find his wife, fearing if he isn’t quick, it may be too late. This is one of a number of new novels that have been written since Dan Brown hit it big with the Da Vinci ...  Read the complete review

This was the first of Sam Bourne's books, but the last one I read, I always seem to read them the wrong way round. Although with this book it was the right way round, because if I'd read this book before any of the other Sam Bourne books I wouldn't have bothered picking them up, and they were really good reads. == Synopsis == Will Monroe has just begun his career at the New York Times and is hoping to make an impact. He does just that with his first report about a pimp who was murdered, his report focuses on the good deeds the pimp had done rather than his bad points. Being flavour of the month at the Times, he's sent off on ...  Read the complete review

Another wannabee Da Vinci Code which misses the target by a long way I'm afraid.... This book was lying on my desk at work, a colleague picked it up and said "Ah. Dan Brown's written another book at last". An easy mistake to make, with the identical title font and background religious symbols. Even the author's name, Sam Bourne, is short and monosyllabic, easily mistaken for Brown's as happened with my colleague. A cynical marketing ploy that grates with me and no doubt many others. I thought pseudonyms had gone out with Lewis Carroll. Why not put your own name to your own work, Mr Jonathan Freedland ? Name not "catchy" enough? ...  Read the complete review

This wouldn't be my 'normal' choice of reading material and I always judge a book by it's cover, and this looked like a regular crime novel. Unfortunately it does not do it for me. I really like historical fiction (The Book Of Air & Shadows I reviewed recently is a prime example) and with a twist of modern life - is brilliant. The blurb on the back of this book promised me exactly the above. But it was awful. A few people have seen it on my desk in the last couple of weeks as I read it on the train to work. As the title and the cover look quite appealing. I have told them to forget they ever saw the book, but if they did never to read ...  Read the complete review

Sam Bourne is a pseudonym for Jonathan Freedland, a journalist and broadcaster. He has a weekly column in the Guardian, as well as a monthly column in The Jewish Chronicle. He has published a couple of non-fiction books, but "The Righteous Men" is his first novel. It is one of Richard and Judy's Summer Reads. Ever since "The Da Vinci Code" hit the shelves, there has been a flood of religious thrillers on the market. I am a big fan of the thriller genre, and I can honestly say that this is one of the worst I have ever read. Will Monroe is an English reporter, working for "The New York Times". As he follows up on the ...  Read the complete review