5.0 out of 5 stars

Jewel-encrusted hogs and sex robots

January 7, 2019 Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Swindler & Son starts with a bang in media res and feels exactly like those heart-stopping chase scenes that kick off the beginning of every Jason Bourne film – I read the first 100 pages without coming up for air.

The author hurls the reader headfirst into a dubious group of small-time con artists. At the outset, their goals are humble – witness their efforts to trick an old dame into buying a knock off high-end handbag (if this is made into a movie, as it should be, Michael Caine would surely make at least a cameo).

But Krever soon ratchets up the action into something far more sinister – an international bomb plot. Events are relayed through the story-telling of the protagonist to an unknown interrogator, and this structure allows the author to have fun with the timeline, bouncing back and forth from the past to the present. He’s clearly done his background research, whether he’s writing about fancy car types, spy tradecraft, or geopolitics, and this, along with his confident style and pacing, means that the reader always feels like they’re in safe hands.

This is my first Krever read, and looking forward to more in the future. Exhilarating.