Mer Barr
Story / Plot 4 of 5 - Continuing from where the prior book left off, thankfully. I"m not fond of books in the same universe with a new set of characters. The reason why is revealed fairly early because it allows you to follow a timeline but the who done it is left to the fourth quarter, leaving some sense of satisfaction to the mystery reveal element, if that's what you like. It also wraps up on a reasonable timeframe, has good closure to the storyline, and doesn't shut down the series leaving a bit of anticipation for the next in the series..
Character / People 5 of 5 - As this is #5 in the series there's not much additional depth to the book 1 characters, which is great! These are people I find interesting. It's been awhile since I read the previous book, so not sure if this one does / doesn't introduce new characters.
Setting / World Building 2.5 of 5 - There are two worlds to this series, the geographic world and the spy business world. The geographic is definitely not an emphasis. There is a bit more of this world's spy arena introduced as well as a bit of a character's world.
Language / Style Words 4 of 5 - It's the choice of words chosen to describe the characters and world that give this series the gritty, realistic, ordinary (if rundown) scenery and feel to this world. Much like Le Carré's George Smiley series, not Ian Fleming's James Bond series.
Story / Plot 4 of 5 - Continuing from where the prior book left off, thankfully. I"m not fond of books in the same universe with a new set of characters. The reason why is revealed fairly early because it allows you to follow a timeline but the who done it is left to the fourth quarter, leaving some sense of satisfaction to the mystery reveal element, if that's what you like. It also wraps up on a reasonable timeframe, has good closure to the storyline, and doesn't shut down the series leaving a bit of anticipation for the next in the series..
Character / People 5 of 5 - As this is #5 in the series there's not much additional depth to the book 1 characters, which is great! These are people I find interesting. It's been awhile since I read the previous book, so not sure if this one does / doesn't introduce new characters.
Setting / World Building 2.5 of 5 - There are two worlds to this series, the geographic world and the spy business world. The geographic is definitely not an emphasis. There is a bit more of this world's spy arena introduced as well as a bit of a character's world.
Language / Style Words 4 of 5 - It's the choice of words chosen to describe the characters and world that give this series the gritty, realistic, ordinary (if rundown) scenery and feel to this world. Much like Le Carré's George Smiley series, not Ian Fleming's James Bond series.