Tag: Claret Press

Opera by Julie Anderson

Opera by Julie Anderson

Summary:

It had been solely personal. Not anymore.

Determined to lay the ghosts of her past, Cassandra Fortune asks a former head of GCHQ for help, only to receive a message from beyond the grave. A riddle to puzzle out and a murder to solve. She revisits an old betrayal in an ancient land, uncovering subterfuge and treason, but finds that it is linked with her own quest for the truth.

As Christmas approaches, a shadowy presence haunts her footsteps. Is this because of the case, or is it the return of an old enemy? His criminal network shattered, is he seeking revenge?

What is real and what only appears to be? Who can be trusted and who is double-dealing? Cassie must find the truth. And survive.

My Review:

I have followed this brilliant series by Julie Anderson that stars Cassandra Fortune from Plague (2020) and Oracle (2021) and now arrived is the third in the series comes Opera (Claret Press). Now I enjoy going to the Opera when I can, but little did, I know that the third book would involve just that.

If like me, you have followed the series from the start you will know that Cassandra Fortune is our heroine. With questions still lurking at the back of her mind about why she was more or less hung out to dry and had to leave her previous role, Cassandra Fortune now back from Greece must settle her mind and find out what really lay behind her being forced out and to get to the truth there is risk and there is always an adversary to get past and the risks to her wellbeing are real and apparent.


To finally get to the truth, our heroine pays a visit to her old GCHQ boss Angela Kayser, but someone has got there before she has and now Angela is dead, so the scene is well and truly set as Cassie now has a murder to solve. The past must be solved and to find the killer may well answer more questions about her own past.
One of the great aspects of Julie Anderson’s books is her knowledge of the how the Palace of Westminster works and having been there earlier this year, this really made Opera stand out even more, after all the Prime Minister is Cassandra’s boss. As the title of the novel says, Opera plays a part in this book and now as Christmas fast approaches Cassandra must arrange a visit for a Greek delegation to go to the Royal Opera House for a performance of Tosca. There really are some tense situations in this game of cat and mouse where death seems to follow Cassie around. Crime and politics don’t mix, and it is a dirty business. But not only is she now trying to solve a murder and it is clear it is someone she knows but at the same time she must keep some important people safe while in London. That is not easy as someone clearly wants Cassie to come to some harm.


Opera is a fabulous crime and spy thriller that has just about everything in it and you really get into the mindset of Cassandra Fortune by the way Julie Anderson has set up her leading character. Without giving too much away the ending is something wait for that includes a chase deep underground. If it is the end of the series, then what a way to go out on. If you have missed the first two. You are in for a treat.

200 Pages.

My thanks to Claret Press for the review Copy of Opera by Julie Anderson    Published on 5th September 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

Oracle by Julie Anderson

Oracle by Julie Anderson

Summary:

High on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, near the ancient Temple of Apollo, a group of young idealists protest against the despoiling of the planet outside a European governmental conference. Inside, corporate business lobbyists mingle with lawmakers, seeking profit and influence. Then the charismatic leader of the protest goes missing.

Oracle is about justice, from the brutal, archaic form of blood vengeance prevalent in early human societies to modern systems of law and jurisprudence, set in the context of a democracy. This is the law and equality under the law which allows democracy to thrive and underpins the freedoms and safeguards for individuals within it. The story is interlinked with Greece’s past, as the ancient cradle of democracy and source of many of western ideas of government, but also to its more recent and violent past of military strongmen and authoritarianism in the twentieth century.

Oracle also considers, in the form of a crime thriller, the politicisation of the police and the justice system and how that will undermine justice, especially following the banning of Golden Dawn, the now criminal organisation which wrapped itself in the mantle of politics. It touches on the new academic discipline of zemiology, the study of ‘crime’ through the prism of the harm it does to people, especially those without power.

My Review:

Last year I read the brilliant Plague by Julie Anderson and she has followed this up with her latest Oracle which is out now via Claret Press, and I have to say it is just as good as Plague. It is great to catch up again with Cassandra Fortune, she is one strong leading character and now she is back but not in the role you may recall if you have read the first in the series. Cassie has been sent to Greece at the behest of the Prime Minister to a conference. But a murder soon will stalk the conference centre.

Cassie has been given the role of getting a visit to London the of the fellow ministers and it is in the mountains close to the Temple of Apollo that the conference is being held but nearby an environmentalist group are protesting. Cassie is with her interpreter Helena but Cassie’s main reason for being in Greece is suddenly thrown into confusion after the body of a young woman is found, if this is not bad enough a second body is found that of an academic. Now Cassie together with Helena and the security chief Yannis, they must discover what happened to both with the worry that a killer could be stalking the conference.

Cassie still raw after what happened to her previously clearly wants this cleared up and fast but now, she is drawn into the investigation but is there a direct threat to her very own personal security.

When a major conference hits town with many minsters present there is always groups protesting with agendas on many sides and this adds to the confusion as tension rises.

Julie Anderson has written a blinding thriller that is fast paced and set in the beautiful location that she sets out for the reader and the characters really come to life as the scene is set for another brilliant novel involving Cassandra Fortune and look out for the ending. I am already looking forward to book three.

If you have not read Plague before now, go, and treat yourself when you buy a copy of Oracle. You will not be disappointed.

286 Pages.

My thanks to Julie Anderson and Claret Press for the review copy of Oracle.

Oracle by Julie Anderson is published is Claret Press 2021and released on 5th May 2021 and is available to order through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org