The French Village Diaries: Book review of Double Pursuit by Alison Morton

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Book review of Double Pursuit by Alison Morton

Double Pursuit by Alison Morton

Synopsis

She’s hunting arms smugglers. But who is hunting her?

One dead body, two badly injured operatives and five crates of hijacked rifles.

In Rome, former French special forces intelligence analyst Mélisende des Pittones is frustrated by obnoxious local cops and ruthless thugs. Despite the backing of the powerful European Investigation and Regulation Service, her case is going nowhere. Then an unknown woman tries to blow her head off.

As Mel and fellow investigator Jeff McCracken attempt to get a grip on the criminal network as well as on their own unpredictable relationship, all roads point to the place she dreads – the arid and remote African Sahel – where she was once betrayed and nearly died. Can Mel conquer her fear as she races to smash the network and save her colleague’s life?

Double Pursuit by Alison Morton

My review

Having enjoyed Double Identity, the first book in the Mélisende thriller series, I was looking forward to returning to her action-packed life in Double Pursuit and I wasn’t disappointed.

This book is fast paced from the beginning as Mel and her colleagues continue to investigate the arms smuggling network they attempted to break in book one. In Rome, not only are there dead bodies replacing contacts at each rendez-vous point, but her team are in danger too. In Brussels, she is the one under fire, and as she makes her way to Strasbourg and the south of France, she is being followed. In London, it is only her quick thinking that saves her and Jeff from attack. With her team reduced in numbers and more questions than answers, Mel is in the unusual place of feeling one-step behind a ruthless enemy.

I loved the international chase in this book, and the adrenaline and excitement of not knowing where it would take me, or what would happen next, meant I sometimes forgot to breathe. There was rivalry and hostility, but ultimately cooperation, between many agencies and units, but I was never quite sure who to trust. There is a little bit inside of me who would love to be as fearless, strong and clever as Mel, but I’m not sure I could cope with the adrenaline or danger of her life. For all her strengths and ability to think clearly in a crisis, this book also showed her vulnerability, and the real test came when the enemy targeted her weak spot. I never doubted her, but with a climax so personal, I wasn’t quite sure who would have coolest head at the end of the chase.

This was a great read and sufficiently different to many of my usual books, that it refreshed my mind and awakened my senses.

If you are looking for a bit of action and a series of books that make you think, I’m sure you’ll love Double Identity and Double Pursuit.

Buying links

B&N Nook

Alison Morton

About the Author

Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her nine-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the ancient Roman Empire has survived into the 21^st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but with a sharp line in dialogue.

She blends her deep love of France with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history.

Alison now lives in Poitou in France, the home of the heroine of her latest two contemporary thrillers, Double Identity and Double Pursuit. Oh, and she’s writing the next Roma Nova story.