Monday, September 25, 2017

Review: The Sweet Oil of Vitriol (Tom Glaze #1)

Author: Daniel Eagleton
Started reading: September 20th 2017
Finished the book: September 25th 2017
Pages: 221
Genres: Mystery, Suspense
Published: February 24th 2017
Source: Got a digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: Not enough ratings
My score:
Synopsis
After a government sanctioned hit goes spectacularly wrong, Mossad agent Thomas is blamed for the mission’s failure by his superiors, ousted before completing his very first job. Desperate to prove himself, Thomas accepts an offer from his former handler, Yakov, to assassinate Jacob Okonjo, the head of the African Union. It seems Jacob is allowing certain parties to control Africa’s lucrative diamond trade, and in doing so has made some powerful enemies. But like that Mossad hit-team caught on camera in Dubi a few years back, how is Thomas supposed to terminate such a prominent figure without being caught on CCTV? The answer: to work undercover as a room-service waiter at a top London hotel, where, in a few months’ time, Jacob Okonjo will be staying. It’s the perfect plan.




My thoughts
This book was unlike anything I've read before. The storyline was different, the main character was different and I had no idea where this book was going. I loved the flow of the book, it grabs you and you just go along with it. I think Daniel Eagleton did great for one of his first books!

Pros
  • Very different: This book is so different from other books, because I still don't know if I like the main character. I love how you can like him, or dislike him, this leaves some room for people to discuss and have different opinions about him. It's not a special-agent book like you've seen before and the story is taking a route which is unpredictable and makes you just go with the flow and read on.
  • Don't know what's going to happen: You think you've figured things out, but nothing in this book is going as planned. I love it. It shows that Thomas is a creative agent and is flexible as well. It's great to read about the solutions he has for problems, big and small.
  • Like the writing style: The writing style is witty, with short sentences in between and I like it. This makes the book a fast read. I love the conversations, really the way a conversation would go, no unnecessary information in between. I do believe that you like this writing style or not, and it can also make you dislike the book, but I'd give it a try if I were you!
Cons
  • No great descriptions: I have no idea what the characters look like, other than old, heavy built, beautiful or with a droopy eye. I'd love to have a bit more of a description so I'd be able to form a picture in my head a bit better. There was a lot of guessing right now, and I felt like the writer could give the characters even more personality by describing their appearance more detailed.
  • What's with the alcohol and cocaine? I did not like the alcohol and drugs abuse in this book. It made me dislike the characters, since everyone in this book is using. I also didn't find the value to all the alcohol and drugs use to the story, so it just annoyed me a bit.
Overall
This series can grow out to a great series. I do believe that a big audience would enjoy this book. Maybe a little bit of polishing here and there. This is not a bad book at all and I would definitely read a second book in this series!

Do you like a witty writing style?