Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanon

3 stars
R-2.5
Copy received for review

Okay, I get that it's a spy novel, but that was a bit too convoluted for me.  And holy moral/ethical ambiguity, Batman.  Sheesh.  (I don't do well with that kind of ambiguity.)

While the main character is sympathetic, I found that I just didn't care as much as I wanted to.  That connection was just never quite there.  You want to like him, but... meh.

It does certainly keep you guessing, I'll give it that.  And it's not a bad story.

Just didn't quite do it for me.

Red Station by Adrian Magson

3.5 stars
R-2

This book fell kind of flat for me.

In a book about spies, no one should be quite what they seem.... and yet in this book it seemed everyone was.

I kept waiting for the twist.... which friend was really a foe?  Or vice versa.  And it just never came.

It was a little like Nancy Drew grew up and joined the CIA.  (Yes, I know Harry Tate is male and British- it's not a perfect comparison.)

Also struggled with all of the British-isms, so to speak.  I can deal with wording that sounds terribly awkward to an American reader and spelling that simply looks atrocious, but all of the governmental alphabet soup needed explanation.  I have a hard enough time keeping up with my own government's mess of letters.

I might read the next one to see if it gets any better, but I'm not sure I'm sold.