Ascension by Oliver Harris is a gripping modern spy thriller to rival the classics - I loved it!!

When a body mysteriously appears in the cargo of a flight from a South Atlantic air force base without any documentation, an operation is launched to find out what happened. Kat Taylor from the intelligence services managed the operation which is hampered when the disappearance of a child is linked to the death of undercover operative Rory Bannatyne. Kat finds herself questioning her own judgement in selecting Elliott Kane for this operation as well as being challenged by senior officers as events unfold.

Ascension is the sophomore instalment in the Elliot Kane series featuring the former MI6 spy. Despite uncovering a deep plot to incite a new world war, Elliot Kane has been on probation with the service since his misadventures in Kazakhstan. Having taken up a job teaching college literature and linguistics, he surprisingly enjoys living a conventional life and wonders if he would even go back to spycraft. Then a colleague from an ages-ago mission reaches out with a request. One of her tech specialists was on a long-term mission, in deep cover, but has suddenly killed himself. The agency is afraid to finish this vital mission without knowing what prompted this seemingly healthy man to take his own life. The carrot in this offer is helping his old friend; the stick is a worse punishment from the Agency if he doesn’t comply. So Elliott poses as an academic researcher and heads to one of the most remote places on the planet, the British Overseas Territory of Ascension Island.

Arriving on a rocky, barely livable island located in the Atlantic Ocean, halfway between Brazil and Angola, Kane is unsure whom to trust and why this lonely outpost is so important to the British military until he uncovers dangerous secrets that lead straight back to London’s highest offices. This is compulsive and engaging spy fiction written with Harris’ trademark elegance and featuring a plot crafted and woven to near perfection. The story twists back and forth with some exciting surprises and misdirection to throw readers off the scent as to where the plot may be heading. Everyone must be viewed with suspicion and it's a great idea to be as cynical as Diogenes if you're involved in the spy game. The description of this remote island simply teeming with ecological delights brings the island vividly to life, and although this is much more of a slow burn thriller, Harris ratchets up the (geopolitical) tension impeccably from the mid-point onwards. Highly recommended.

This is the first spy thriller I have read by this author and it was more than decent and kept me entertained throughout.

It covers a mission to Ascension Island to investigate a mysterious death and provides deep insight into the world of the spy and his/her tradecraft.

Much happens and sometimes I got slightly confused about who was who and for whom they worked but in essence this was an exceptionally well plotted and written thriller that both thrilled and entertained in equal doses. It also gave me a welcome geography lesson regarding Ascension Island!

Maybe 3 ½ stars. Drawn by the title as I have spent time in Ascension myself. Fortunately, my trips to the island were not marred by the menace that hangs over it in this book. Being able to envisage virtually all the locations featured added to the reading experience. I have even stayed at the now-closed Obsidian Hotel. This book does not encourage the tourist trade. Enjoyed the mix of crime and espionage. What is annoying is the frequent American spellings. I am pretty sure Oliver Harris is from UK so not sure whether it just needs the correct spellcheck applied or its a feature of e-books. Most distracting! I have founds this to be a fault of other books recently read too despite the author being British not American. Will look out for some of Harris' other books. Thanks to Netgalley.

I was rather disappointed in Ascension. I thought its predecessor, A Shadow Intelligence, was very good; this wasn’t in the same class, I’m afraid.

After his traumatic time in Kazakhstan, Elliot Kane has left the Intelligence Services and is quietly lecturing on obscure subjects in Oxford. He is, naturally, dragged back to investigate the suspicious suicide of someone he had worked with previously. This was on Ascension Island, a small, bleak island in the South Atlantic which has great significance for international communications and hence for intelligence agencies. A frankly rather mundane plot develops in which Kane, very clumsily for an experienced undercover agent, looks into dodgy goings-on on the island.

It’s fine in its way, but unlike A Shadow Intelligence, this seemed like a pretty run-of-the-mill whodunnit with some espionage stuff thrown in. Oliver Harris doesn’t quite manage to develop a sense of place as he did so well before, nor does he give such a good picture of the messy, murky world of geopolitics. They’re there, but far less convincing this time, as Kane blunders about drawing attention to himself and it ends with a race-against-time climax which left me pretty cold.

This is a perfectly decent beach read, but I was expecting far more from Harris and I can only give this a rather lukewarm recommendation.

(My thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC via NetGalley.)

Elliot Kane #2

4.5

Elliot is on ‘probation’ following issues with his last operation in Kazakhstan and is teaching at Oxford University. Kathryn Taylor, a colleague from the previous mission brings him out of ‘retirement ‘ to investigate the death of Rory Bannatyne who has been secretly working on a project in the strategically important Ascension Island. Kane poses as an historical researcher, Dr Edward Pearce and makes the long journey to the remote island.

I really enjoyed this ‘Spooks’ style thriller which has so many tentacles spreading into the fascinating, secretive world of espionage. This is a cleverly constructed thriller building the layers a bit at a time so the reader can follow and make sense of the complexity. The author writes in such a confident fashion so as to make the events seem all too believable taking the investigation across several global agencies, some friendly and some not. We delve into areas that seem futuristic now but are plausible in decades to come. The pace is fast, it’s very well written and the mystery at the heart of Ascension is really good featuring characters that are well fleshed out. I especially enjoy the setting on Ascension Island which I’ve heard of but knew very little about beyond location. There are some very good descriptions of the island' island life, it’s flora and fauna which are fascinating and it adds a lunar like atmosphere to the storytelling. I think the setting is an inspired choice, adding the element of authenticity to the plotting.

Overall, this is a really good thriller, I enjoy how it ends too and I’m eagerly anticipating what the future holds for Kane and Taylor. I recommend this to fans of the thriller genre.

I have a thing for remote islands, there is something wonderfully fascinating about them. This book is set on an island called Ascension, a legacy of the days of the British Empire and it is located in the middle of nowhere in the South Atlantic.

The story follows Elliot Kane, a former undercover operative who is trying to leave his spying days behind him and Kathryn Taylor, head of MI6's South Atlantic division. They worked together many years ago with a man called Rory Bannatyne and he has just turned up dead.

His death has been ruled a suicide but as he was deep uncover on the aforementioned Ascension Island, Kathryn wants Elliot to go there and find out if this was the case or if there was foul play involved. The island may be in the middle of nowhere but it is a hub of technology with both the RAF, USAF and BBC holding court at various parts of the island.

Rory is also under suspicion due to the disappearance of a local girl who vanished at the same time as his supposed suicide. Did he kill her or was his cover blown by an unknown enemy?

I really enjoyed this book, it was the perfect thriller with plenty of twists and turns. You don't know who is up to no good and who is innocent. My main reason for reading this book was the setting and I loved the remoteness that was conjured up by the author. All these people sent to this remote rock to carry out their jobs surrounded by extraordinary flora and fauna not to mentioned miles and miles of ocean.

If you are looking for a good easy but thrilling read, this will be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.