For the ReadICT book challenge this year, there was a category for Book from a Genre you don't read. I'm not really a crime/ mystery reader, but while on vacation the ship's library had a few options so I picked up The Gordian Knot.
The book overall is intriguing, but utterly unbelievable in the end. The story follows Georg Polger, a German living in Southern France who has hit a rough patch in life. His career as a translator has diminished, and the woman he moved with has left him. However, he finds a bit of luck being hired by a new company for a hefty salary, and soon stumbles into love with the company secretary. His fortune only increases as he buys up another translation firm and wins a contract to translate for a big aero-defense project. Georg however discovers this all has been a ruse, as Francoise (the secretary) has been stealing photos of the helicopter plans. His whole bit of luck was simply a way to get the plans to him so they could be stolen. Francoise leaves him, and he is threatened by the police because they are of course in the pocket of the forces conspiring against him. He deduces through more luck that Francoise has left for the US, where she is really from. He somehow manages to find her, and unravel the whole espionage mystery. This, despite facing off against the KGB and other adversaries with decades of experience in the field.
The story is a bit nonsensical, with many of the characters making choices that seem to only be to further the plot, and instances where Georg simply should not be able to move forward but does. Its definitely a light read, but it is not a book I would recommend to folks to read beyond something to simply fill time.
No comments:
Post a Comment