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Cold Blood ()



This is the second book in a series, by Ian Fleming's nephew, about half-Russian, half-Scottish naturalist Charlie Doig, set against the backdrop of the Communist takeover of Russia. This entry opens as Lenin returns to Moscow, just after Doig's archenemy Glebov has raped and murdered our hero's wife. Charlie dedicates himself to wreaking vengeance, even though Glebov is the newly-installed third in command of the Bolsheviks.

The book works as a revenge thriller, with everything thrown in from an armored train car full of gold to a dive-bombing Fokker, but even more so as a furious portrait of the horrors that the Revolution brought. And what really elevates the whole exercise the the sardonic narration of Charlie Doig, who maintains his pitch black sense of humor even as he's describing events of terrible evil. This makes him more of a Harry Palmer than a James Bond, even is Sean Connery is the one who's Scottish and has played Russians. One looks forward to the eventual film versions of this series, which evokes Sharpe, Flashman, and Richard Hannay but with a voice all the author's own.


(Reviewed:)

Grade: (A-)


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Thrillers
James Fleming Links:

    -AUTHOR SITE: JamesFleming.com
    -AUTHOR PAGE: James Fleming (Simon and Schuster)
    -GOOGLE BOOK: White Blood by James Fleming
    -REVIEW: of Lady Anne Blunt: A Biography by H. V. F. Winstone (James Fleming, The Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of The Longshoreman: A Life at the Water’s Edge by Richard Shelton (James Fleming, The Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of Parrot by Paul Carter, Bee by Claire Preston, and Falcon by Helen Macdonald (James Fleming, The Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of Ducks, Geese and Swans, edited by Janet Kear (James Fleming, The Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of Findings by Kathleen Jamie (James Fleming, The Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of The Remarkable Baobab by Thomas Pakenham and The Heritage Trees of Britain and Northern Ireland by Ben Stokes and Donald Rodger (James Fleming, The Spectator)
    -ARCHIVES: "james fleming" (Times of London)
    -ARCHIVES: James Fleming (The Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of Cold Blood by James Fleming (Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph)
    -REVIEW: of Cold Blood (A. Jurek, BlogCritics)
    -REVIEW: of Cold Blood (Adam Lively, Times of London)
    -REVIEW: of Cold Blood (Giles Whitell, Times of London)
    -REVIEW: of Cold Blood (Andrew Taylor, Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of Cold Blood (Publishers Weekly)
    -REVIEW: of Cold Blood (The Oldie)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood by James Fleming (William Palmer, Independent)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (Jessica Mann, Daily Telegraph)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (Lewis Jones, Daily Telegraph)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (Sam Thompson, The Guardian)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (CommanderBondNet)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (David Horspool, Times of London)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (Honor Clerk, The Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (Barbara Conaty, Library Journal)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (Kate Ayers, Bookreporter)
    -REVIEW: of Whiite Blood (Rebecca Nesvet, Reviewing the Evidence)
    -REVIEW: of White Blood (Donna Bird, Green Man Review)
    -REVIEW: of Thomas Gage by James Fleming (Lilian Pizzichini, Daily Telegraph)
    -REVIEW: of Thomas Gage (Jem Poster, The Guardian)
    -REVIEW: of Thomas Gage (William Palmer, Independent)
    -REVIEW: of Thomas Gage (John Spurling, Times of London)
    -REVIEW: of Thomas Gage (Eric Anderson, Spectator)
    -REVIEW: of The Temple of Optimism by James Fleming (Lexy Bloom, The Observer)
    -REVIEW: of Temple of Optimism (Roz Kaveney, Independent)
    -REVIEW: of Temple of Optimism (Claire Dederer, NY Times Book Review)

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