Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Expats: a Novel by Chris Pavone.

I downloaded this book from the library and was fascinated while I read it on the plane. Only problem? The constant switching back and forth from time-to-time. This is fine in a hardback book when I can flip back to see what's going on. But while reading on my Kindle, I can't do that. I found myself messing some things up and I just had to keep reading to sort it out in my head.

The author is an editor, so I'm surprised he didn't think about this problem with ePublishing. I'm all for switching time and place, as long as it's consistent and clear.  I also wasn't thrilled with the classic "tell all" scene at the end of the book when the fired-man-turned-monster tells Scooby Doo all his secrets. Yes, I know there isn't Scooby Doo in this book, but you get the idea.

However, let me tell you what I loved about this book--strong female character who is a CIA agent turned mommy. And she struggles with the mothering--she'd rather be standing on a ledge spying on someone. I felt like the male author wrote the woman's POV strongly--something that isn't done often in literature. The setting was amazing--Luxembourg, Paris, everywhere I want to be! The world of Americans living overboard is fascinating--add in the FBI, CIA, and money, and you've got yourself a bestseller!

Wow--I used a lot of dashes in that paragraph....

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