Random Things Tours: The Hope Affair by Jim Chambers

 

I am fascinated by political thrillers because they are so real and rarely do not give glimpses into our everyday political realities. As a fact, British politics never deceived a literarily curious soul therefore no wonder that there are so many books inspired by them or set on the dramatic backgroud of London´s intricate intrigues. 

The Hope Affair by Jim Chambers is set between the end of the 1990s, beginning of the 2000s, but the fast-paced action can be realistically take place nowadays as well. Christopher Townsend, Caroline Hope - a civil servant, and the ´Hope´ from the title - and his lost love, Elizabeth, an many more characters, of different shades of morality, are brought together into a world of corruption and loose morality. 

When politics and business meet, there is rarely a good news following, but in The Hope Affair, this encounter is as stinky as it can get. Personal connections, love and especially loyalty, are void words in a world where what it really matters is the highest bid and calculating how much a person value, not in itself, but for further personal purposes.

It is an interesting story, well planned, and told at a fast pace. The dialogues are the salt and pepper of the story, intensifying the alert pace of the narrative.

The characters look and behave very realistically, but my favorite so far is Caroline, that reflects the usual naivety of someone who is definitely confronted with a situation unable to grasp its global intrications and implications at a larger society level. I may not like her type in real life, but in the story, she is one of the best profiled characters, acting as natural as someone like her may act, therefore adding a layer of authenticity to the narrative.

The Hope Affair is a recommended read to any politics lover, that want to take a break from the everyday political reality to refugiate in the world of fiction from where to learn even more about the infinite transfiguration of evil and his servants into everyday life.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own