About the book

Could you betray your government to save your country?

Sam Barker works in IT at the Home Office. All he wants is to get his work done and enjoy a quiet existence. But when he’s caught up in a terrorist attack on the London Underground, his life is turned upside down.

As he lies recovering in his hospital bed, a shadowy figure visits him and tells Sam not only is he a key witness to the attack, but he has unique access to information which could blow open a huge conspiracy and bring down the British government.

Will Sam risk everything he knows and loves to save his country?

My thoughts

Tackling some highly emotive topics – terrorism, political corruption, Islamophobia, and sex trafficking to name a few – this book doesn’t shy away from controversy. It will make you think, and you’ll find yourself making your own judgements, and thinking about your own moral and political stance on these very current issues.
I was surprised by how current a lot of the topics were, with mentions of Boris Johnson, the attack on Lee Rigby, the Manchester Arena Bombing. It made the goings-on in this book feel very real.

Due to the many British references throughout the book, I would say it’d be better understood by a British reader, but that’s not to say someone from outside of the country wouldn’t enjoy it too.

I felt this book had a lot of potential, and there was a sub-plot within the story which I really wish had taken precedence, and had been taken further. Michael Sullivan’s deep, dark secret is something I was excited to read about when it was initially mentioned, but unfortunately there was no mention of it again. I spent a lot of my time reading the book expecting it to go back to that sub-plot, and was disappointed that it didn’t, as that would have really pulled me in.

On the other hand, I did enjoy what was in the book, and feel that the author had a good basis for a story. I just felt that it was missing something, and wasn’t taken to its full potential.

I do, however, appreciate that in the author acknowledgements, it was explained that the decision was made not take that plot further, as it too closely mimicked some real-life events which have recently taken place, and it’s had huge media attention. So, I understand the hesitance to write something so close to the truth in a piece of fiction, but just think that perhaps the deep, dark secret shouldn’t have been mentioned at all in the detail it was, if it wasn’t going to be mentioned again.

This did show me that there were definitely some really strong ideas though, it’s just that they were so good, it left me disappointed, as I got my hopes up wanting to know more about them.

The big climax to the story was exciting, and I felt nervous reading it, as I looked forward to seeing what was going to happen

Overall, I think this a good book with a lot of potential, which would be enjoyed by those with an interest in politics, and the controversies that can often surround it.

Let me know your thoughts!

If you’ve read Absolution, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

If you haven’t yet read it but would like to, you can get a copy here!

Thank you to Adam Croft for providing me with an Advance Reader Copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.