Book review of Taking Care of Business by J.D. De Roeck

Taking Care of Business J.D. De Roeck

Taking Care of Business
by J. D. De Roeck

Summary:

When Paul Smith travels to the south of France for a sales conference, events conspire to drag him into a world of kidnappings, blackmail and murder.

Following a violent incident, Paul instinctively offers refuge to a girl he believes to be a vulnerable lost soul in a desperate situation, only to find that all is not as it appears. Unwittingly, he finds himself caught between competing international crime syndicates as they go to war, and two powerful Russian families as they fight for control of a vast Russian conglomerate. 

What begins as a routine business trip to Nice, turns into a journey of self-discovery that takes him to some of the most glamorous locations on the Cote d’Azur. Paul is compelled to confront each new escalating threat in turn, while his neatly ordered world spirals relentlessly out of control.

As events unfold, he is forced to challenge everything he thought he knew about himself, before finally embracing the danger and brutal violence he encounters along the way.

Can Paul get to the truth, and does he have what it takes to keep those he cares about safe, and himself alive?

Information about the Book

Title: Taking Care of Business

Author: J. D. De Roeck

Release Date: 3^rdJuly 2018

Genre: Crime/Thriller

Publisher: Clink Street Publishing

Format: Paperback

Goodreads Link:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40749142-taking-care-of-business

My Review:

As soon as we met Paul I felt sad for him. His job didn’t seem to light his fire, he no longer seemed to be able to light girlfriend Sophie’s fire and when he suddenly finds himself rescuing a Russian escort girl from the corridor of his hotel in Nice, he quickly seems to become obsessed with her. From where I was sitting, things didn’t look good. Paul finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time (or maybe it’s the right place at the right time) and in doing so becomes involved in the murky world of Russian hitmen, billionaires and escort girls. But the Paul at the beginning of the book is not the same Paul as the one at the end.

To begin with we see very little except Paul’s hotel room and the bizarre things that unfold within, coupled with flashbacks of dirty deeds in Russia, and I did wonder if we would ever venture further afield. Then our slightly mismatched trio get on the trail of a plot involving the daughter of a Russian billionaire and there is no stopping them.

I should confess that I don’t normally read thrillers, but a little like Paul, I was seduced by events occurring in Nice. I was quickly reminded that the underground world of Russian business is a hard-hearted place to be, full of people who will stop at nothing to get what they want. This meant there were many times I had to be big, brave and carry on, despite my head shouting at Paul to get the police involved and walk away now. The suspense, the violence and the danger; you probably need a stronger constitution than mine to fully enjoy this book.

J.D. De Roeck

Author Information:
Residing in the East Midlands, J. D. de Roeck is a career hotelier and company director. He loves travel and regularly visits the South of France, Nice, Monaco and Cannes.Taking Care of Businessis his first novel. The inspiration for this novel came from one of his many trips abroad. 

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