Guest Review - The Morgenstern Project by David Khara

The Morgenstern Project 

by David Khara

A guest review from Lady Techie.

It is difficult to express in words how much The Morgenstern Project moved my thoughts and emotions. I received a copy from Eidelwess and really took my time reading it. I tried to digest it slowly because this was Morg's story. It was told simultaneously alternating between Morg's past and Morg's current life as he fights on the current front against the Consortium's machinations and his fight to distance himself from the Bleiberg project. Morg is this larger than life Mossad agent who hunts war criminals, typically those from World War II.

In The Morgenstern Project Morg meets up again with Jackie and Jeremy whom we met in the first book, The Bleiberg Project. They developed a deep bond with Eytan Morgenstern in that story which continues though they have not seen him since the events in that book ended. Jackie and Jeremy are targeted by a faction of the U.S. government who have been made aware of Morg's longevity and they want to study him and are willing to use whatever means they can to capture him, including targeting his friends and whatever family he may have. As the story progresses Eli tells the story of how he met Morg and how their lives had intertwined throughout the many years. We also meet more of Morg's family and as they fight this new front created by The Consortium we step through Morg's childhood and learn about his history.

The Morgenstern Project is the best of the series so far. As far as I can tell the series grows in character development, story development and David Khara, the author, grows in writing, story and character development skills as well. The book is full of excitement, action and the technology and niche of this story regarding Morg's physical abilities. As I read about Morg's past and the current story I was struck with a huge sadness for what he and the people of Poland went through during World War II and for what some of the story depicted during the current day part of the story. The Morgenstern Project draws you into everyone's lives in the story. At one point I was literally moved to tears and that is not something that easily occurs for me when reading a story, but David Khara wrote a very moving story and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

This review first appeared on Lady Techie's blog.

The Lie by CL Taylor

The Lie

By CL Taylor 

This is the follow up to the phenomenally successful and well-received ‘The Accident’, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Here’s the blurb –

I know your name’s not really Jane Hughes . . .

Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She’s happier than she’s ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.

Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women.

Jane has tried to put the past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed Jane and everything she loves . . .

Like ‘The Accident’, ‘The Lie’ works with two narratives in different timescales. In the present day narrative we follow Jane as she realises that something from her past – something very nasty that she’d hoped would stay buried – has caught up with her.

The other thread tells the story of Jane’s past life. A life where she had a totally different identity. A life where she set off for a holiday of a lifetime to Nepal with three friends. A holiday that was to end in fear, disaster and heartbreak.

The two threads work well together. In the present day strand we find out about Jane’s current life working in an animal shelter. Her work provides a perfect setting to the events that unfold and the animals in her care become an important part of the story.

The Nepal strand not only takes us back in time, but also to a completely different and much more exotic location. There are some great details here, which really made the story come to life.

As we move backwards and forwards between the two strands, the tension builds. As we discover more about what happened in the past the danger that Jane is in in the present moves closer and becomes harder to escape.

This is an accomplished psychological thriller and the author does a great job of building a sense of fear, claustrophobia, disorientation and panic as the sinister events unfold. If you enjoyed ‘The Accident’, you’ll love this. And if you haven’t read ‘The Accident’, you should really read that as well.

You can read my review of ‘The Accident’ here.

Thanks very much to the publishers for an electronic review copy of this book via Netgalley.

You can find out more here.