Just Finished Reading: The God of Chaos by Tom Bradby

The year is 1942 and Cairo is about to fall to the advance of Rommell’s panzers. As the British army gets ready to fight a decisive battle of World War Two ex-New York cop Joe Quinn finds himself involved in a labyrinthine murder case where nothing and no one is as they appear. Any idea of certainty falls away in the face of enemies in the desert and of traitors on the Home Front. Who you trust can quite easily determine if you live or die in city where everything is up for grabs as the panic sets in.

I only picked this up recently on spec in a 3 for 2 sale. I wasn’t disappointed. Whilst a bit of a departure for me I do find myself presently drawn more and more to historical novels. I found God of Chaos a little too long though at just under 500 pages and felt that it could have been at least 100 pages shorter without losing any of the storyline. However, I was very impressed by Bradby’s characterisation and by his sense of time and place. He certainly made me believe I was in Cairo of that era. The plot was fairly convoluted and even after 200 pages I wasn’t quite certain what was going on. This wasn’t a problem though as I was intrigued as to where it was all going to lead. I did manage to work out some of what was happening but missed a few vital clues that on reflection I should’ve picked up on.

This is Bradby’s 5th book and I’m going to get his earlier works probably in the New Year. He writes a clear well presented mystery and manages to keep enough back to make you want to turn that next page. Recommended for mystery, espionage or historical fiction buffs.