Foundry

"It’s strange how the world can turn on dimes this banal. If history had any sense of propriety, exciting things would happen in exciting settings, preferably scored by John Williams."

I got into this eventually, although trying to read whilst a lot of festive things happens around one with a story of such breathtakingly short chapters with so cleverly put-together words is a struggle. I've enjoyed Peper's other works a lot and getting into the mindspace of the lead proved a bit of a jump here, but I'm very glad I did and am ready to pick up more of the books to see where things go, or have been. I caught the nod to Reap3r and found this a clever noir look into Peper's world.

A knockabout spy adventure that takes a few unexpected turns and sticks a landing that had me cheering. Truly a lot of fun - I inhaled it in one sitting. As always, it's deeply researched, but the detail only ever adds to the entertainment. (Without spoiling anything, I'm very familiar with some of the settings and cultural overtones, and they rang completely true.)

There are knowing callbacks to some of Eliot's earlier work, but this stands alone - and could be the start of a new series that I would gladly read the hell out of.