This was an absorbing story based around a dilemma. An earth changing discovery is made but who should it be given to. Various people get wind of this discovery but none can find the location. of the evidence. I was totally absorbed with the progress of the story and delighted with the conclusion. Great read!

Whoever would have thought that nuclear fusion research by an Iranian scientist could be the interesting basis of a novel would probably not believe this wonderful story. An ex journalist living in Oxford at his son’s school football match finds himself talking to various other parents all seemingly either better off or connected than himself. . He finds a friendship with the Iranian. who tells him of his dangerous discovery and after he suddenly vanished the discovery of the formula left in the journalist’s flat forms a dark race from various interested parties to find it. Oxford itself provides a wonderful setting as dreaming spires are replaced by intrigue. Wonderful!

This is the first time that I have read a book by Nicholas Shakespeare. I liked the use of a mixture of real and fictional locations in Oxford. This helped to add a sense of geographical significance to the book.

There is a collection of eclectic characters, most of which are very well crafted.

The novel proceeds at a fairly swift pace, with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.

I enjoyed the way the author explores both the positive and negative aspects of the subject of the search for nuclear fusion.

I will probably look out for future titles by Nicholas Shakespeare, on the strength of this story.

I give my thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Vintage for a copy of this book in exchange for this re

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook. This is a well written thriller, but because of its very slow pace, failed to grab me. I lost interest about a third of the way through and found it a battle to reach the end. I'm sure many readers will love the style of this book and I wouldn't disrespect the author by giving it a low score, just because it wasn't to my particular taste.

I was tempted by the Oxford location and the 'blurb' comparisons to Graham Greene and le Carre. Rather disappointed. Uninteresting characters with stereotypes and unoriginal plot which didn't really go anywhere. Never felt I cared about what might happen to any of them. Unsatisfactory ending too. I would have rather re-read le Carre and Greene. Thanks to Netgalley for the early read.

Disappointing. It starts really slow so by the time the story gets going I'd lost interest. It maybe just that I wasn't in the right mood for this type of book. I usually enjoy spy and political intrigue but, unfortunately, this wasn't for me. Reading other reviews I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it.

John Dyer is a former foreign correspondent who returns to Oxford from Brazil with his young son to carry out research about a little-known Brazilian indigenous tribe. He meets and befriends an Iranian nuclear scientist, Rustum Marvar, whose son is at the same prep school as Dyer's (Dyer was also once a pupil there). Marvar and his son then mysteriously go missing.

Dyer becomes a person of interest as he was possibly the last person to see Marvar before he disappeared. The scientist had made a potentially world-changing discovery and he entrusted the secret and details of this to Dyer.

The sandpit of the title is a location that proves central to the plot. It can also be viewed in a metaphorical sense, as a lot of things are buried beneath the surface in this story and not just physically.

I found this an absorbing and well-written story, weaving espionage, counter-intelligence, and internal psychology with international affairs, as Dyer found inventive ways of keeping the various people who wanted Marvar's discovery off the scent.

The people who want the knowledge that Dyer has acquired are playing their own games, desirous of getting to the truth as they perceive it and all convinced in one way or another that Dyer is the key to solving the riddle of what Marvar was working on. In an intricately plotted game of cat and mouse, Dyer's journalistic ability to read people's intentions and body language work in his favour.

I particularly enjoyed the ending, which very neatly tied up many of the loose ends and still managed to leave something hanging in the ether that might form the basis for a further story.

Nicholas Shakespeare isn't an author I had come across before, but I enjoyed his writing style and use of language and will certainly be reading more of his books.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Vintage Publishing, in return for an honest appraisal.

Set in Oxford where John Dyer has returned with his son from Brazil.john wants his son to have a good education while he researches information for his next book. While waiting for school to end John meets another Dad, Rustum Manvar, an Iranian nuclear scientist.
Rustum make a breakthrough and so many people want to know what he knows. Rustum disappears and attention turns to John, putting him in danger.
Great storyline and characters. Fast paced and it’s of twists. Totally enjoyable.

The Sandpit
This book drew me in with a slow fuse . The story was interesting and came together like a jigsaw puzzle . The book was exciting in a gentle way. All the main characters were well drawn and it was easy for me to go along with the thinking of the protagonist .I really liked this book

John Dyer an ex journalist and author moves back to the UK from Brazil following the breakup of his marriage bringing with him his young son who he wants to attend his former prep school in Oxford with an inheritance to cover the fees .He finds himself surrounded by the new wealthy elite but strikes up an aquaintance with an Iranian physicist and father of his friends son when the boys become targets for an older Russian boys bullying.

Despite the fleeting nature of their friendship the Iranian turns to Dyer when he makes a startling discovery working alone in one of the college labs.Overcome with excitement he sends a message to his wife back in Iran ,deliberately vague but still indicating the enormity of his discovery he unwittingly causes suspicions to rise at home and his wife and bay are taken into custody to ensure his loyalty.He subsequently receives an audio message which sounds like his wife being raped and tortured by her guards .This serves to confirm his misgivings about handing over his discovery and the power which it would release to the Ayatollahs,but who else not the Americans who he sees as being just as bad,the British ? they would give it to the Americans .Overwhelmed by the consequences of any decision and convinced he is being watched he disappears with his son leaving a clue for Dyer as to where he has left the details of his discovery.

Dyer himself then becomes the focus of all the interested parties despite strenuously denying any knowledge he is attacked robbed followed threatened bribed as those wanting power money or both search for the formula.
Well written with well drawn characters and with clearly and well expresses and explained views on the possible reprecussions of any of the contenders getting their hands on the discovery..Dyers integrity and courage is sorely tested..Shades of Le Carres' later works here in an suspensful story that does make you think what such a discovery could mean in the wrong hands and indeed is there such a thing as the right ones

Once the initial plot had been laid out this book had me hanging on every word and on the edge of my seat right until the end. If you're not looking over your own shoulder when you've finished this then you're of a stronger build than I am. Absolutely brilliant. A great spy thriller without the spies.

I found the book to be extremely boring, lots of detail about the character but I just wanted to get to the nub of the story. It dragged on relentlessly and when I was at 75% on Kindle, I lost interest although determined to finish it and find out what happens to the document in Dyer’s possession, I skimmed through to the end and was disappointed that it finished like a damp squib.

I can understand the comparisons with Le Carre and Greene. Not sure this book is quite as good as those writers, I didn't get quite the same sinister sense of atmosphere that's almost background in those writers but is actually very much to the fore. Having said that this book is intelligently written and well crafted. Slow paced but just enough titbits to keep you intrigued.Some bits were overdone, the dinner party for example and the book could have been a little shorter.. I found my attention wavering a little in places which I don't with Le Carre.
I felt I connected well with the characters and the location
Much, much better than some of the crime/thriller novels I've read recently

This is an elegantly written piece of literature. The context, storyline and characters are all convincing. It takes a little time to put the lot together but it soon all gels. John Dyer is a single parent back with his young son in Oxford from Brazil. He is a former journalist. His boy goes to the same posh school he went to and through that he meets influential parents at the football matches as well as some he went to school with. One is Rustin Marvar, a research scientist from Teheran where he knows his wife and daughter are in captivity. Why? He is known to have made a potentially powerful discovery in nuclear fusion and most countries and many businesses want access to it. There are many interesting and perceptive observations such as “...in the cause of religion, the Ayatollahs has created a fascist state”. Marvar confides only in Dyer whom he has met casually at the football matches but whom he trusts. He gives him a post-it note with the clue to his discovery. Dyer finds himself and his son in danger. Meeting an old school friend helps him decide what to do. This book should be on the shelves with the best spy stories. I strongly recommend it.

A literary spy thriller with the protagonist returning from Brazil to Oxford does read good and the idea/premise is for the most part. However, I found this very wordy, overly wordy in fact and there were some strange sounding sentences. The author has a unique style that I think some might take a while to get used to but this is a style that goes from stilted to gripping in equal measure.

I did enjoy travelling to oxford and experiencing the landscape of a literary thriller. The characters were complex and included everyone from russians to iranian scientists. There was a bit too much of everything in there for me and I think it would have read better if the set up had been simpler.

I do sounds as if I've down on this book but I would give the next one a go as I enjoyed the mix of ingredients

Well written and meditative (constant reference to his own personal past keep bubbling up) I found it all a bit unwieldy .. the collection of world beating parents and their sons all in one place .. except I guess these English public schools can contain such a melange. I felt estranged froon the characters.. and the political social intrigues of these parents who bring their political concerns into their private lives ... I was surprised our main protagonist, Dyer, a seasoned journalist, could not only afford to have his son ..who has no real personality .. in this school anyway. Well constructed story of missing father and son and repercussions was intriguing but didn't wholly grab me. Maybe Dyer wasn't as compelling as I needed him to be.

My thanks to Random House and Netgalley for the copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
This is my first Nicholas Shakespeare novel, to date, I have only read his biographies which I have also thoroughly enjoyed. Now 'The Sandpit' has introduced me to another aspect of his writing which will take me on the journey through his previous fiction.
I do not like spoilers in reviews or in-depth descriptions of the plot, but one is inevitably drawn into the world of comparison and here I must agree with others that Mr Shakespeare deserves comparison with Graham Greene and John Le Carre. This is not based solely on his intricate plotting but also with his writing which is up there with Greene in that it draws mental pictures so sharp I find myself still seeing his characters and settings long after closing the book.
The author has used his own life experience as background and thereby lies the factor that made this book so enjoyable to me and has irritated so many others. This is not a slick quick read for the beach but more a considered three-night, feet up, a glass of tipple and a good pipe read. From which you can judge my age and therefore my taste. For the younger and fleet of foot, the style might appear too meandering and sometimes it does intrude. The publisher’s editor should have advised the author to tone down the obscure references to tribal mores.
So how to score this very enjoyable and rewarding read? My personal feelings are five stars, but my judgement had knocked one off because of the obscuration in parts of the story.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters, the locations were very true to life.
I read it over 3 evenings so I would definitely say it is a good read.
The beautifully written prose and the intelligence of this book was wonderful. I shall be re-reading it at a later date, not something I do very often, but I felt that it was good.

John Dyer, is a journalist, recently returned to Oxford from Brazil, after killing a story that could have made his name (these are related to the events portrayed in Shakespeare's book The Dancer Upstairs). He now leads a quiet life researching a new book and looking after his young son – who he has sent to his old school in Oxford. His days revolve around supporting his son's interest in football and interacting with the fellow parents – rich Americans , Russsians, and Iranians. One such is Rustum Marvar, an Iranian scientist, who goes missing along with his son after confiding to Dyer that, through football, he's cracked the mystery of nuclear fusion.
Suddenly, everyone want to be Dyer's best friend, including old school friends .

This is a well-constructed and enjoyable cat and mouse style thriller, but it doesn't linger in the mind once you've closed the book after the final page. Would have been ideal to read on the plane and on the beach.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC of this book.

I have enjoyed previous books by this talented author but this was a thriller that just dod not thrill me too much.

Well written, impeccably researched and with interesting characters, the plot just did not do it for me and I found my attention wandering at times.

A shame but there was still much to enjoy in the author's technique.