Book of the week

To Kill The Truth by Sam Bourne (Quercus, $34.99)

To Kill The Truth is a fast-burning, action-packed thriller – a description one would expect for a big screen blockbuster rather than a novel.

Sam Bourne is a pseudonym of Jonathan Freedland, this is his eighth novel, the fourth in the Maggie Costello series.

When I was a kid, I loved reading Nancy Drew. Costello could become my adult version equivalent – albeit a feisty, shitkicking,

political strategist, and world-class closer.

She reminds me of Angelina Jolie’s character in Salt or Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight. It is easy to imagine a leading actress such as Cate Blanchett or Emily Blunt in this role.

The quick pace of To Kill The Truth is set by the interesting structure of the novel and the use of modern prose – unsurprising, as the author is also a journalist and broadcaster, professions that use simple, everyday English.

This story is split into six consecutive days. The typeface changes to denote the importance of each day. The plot is constantly

moving and the reader accelerates forward through the clever use of chapter headings with time stamps and locations across North America and the world.

Add in the multiple news references to domestic and international events, and one can almost hear the clock ominously ticking every second, every minute, every hour. One feels compelled to read faster in case the book itself catches on fire.

As in the previous book, this one also references a maniacal President and his flipping the bird disregard of facts. ‘‘Truth is powerless against a man with no shame.’’

But now the focus is on what happens when truth no longer holds authority to account.

Truth is in shreds and it’s Costello’s job to fix it. The alt-right, emboldened by its President, has

decided to challenge history in court, to proclaim slavery never existed.

It’s an audacious hypothesis from Sam Bourne and the theory of it is dramatically played out over six, short days. In the meantime, there is a lot of action, murder, fires and she-roism.

This is a fun read. Easy. It is probably suited to a prolific reader, not for the literary minded, though there are some wonderful lines potted throughout the book: ‘‘Those who seek justice insist we must remember. But those who seek peace insist we forget.’’

The strength of To Kill The Truth is in its multiple plot strands. Except for Costello, all of the characters are simply described rather than fully developed.

I found it strange that Costello was embroiled in seemingly agent field work when she is a strategist, but if Jack Ryan can, then why can’t she? I would have fully crushed on Costello if the author was a female. Feminine nuances are missing from the character but she is ably prescribed nonetheless.

I wish someone would turn this series into movies, I’d watch them. But not before reading the other Costello books too.

– Carmen Parahi

When I was a kid, I loved reading Nancy Drew. Costello could become my adult version equivalent.