A book I reviewed a while back (last year) is being released in paperback! That book is The Expats by Chris Pavone and I’ve hopped on the TLC Book Tour to help endorse this little espionage gem. It’s a fun spy thriller that takes place in Luxembourg and other fantastic European cities. The armchair travel was a definite high point!
I don’t want to describe the plot too much in fear of spoiling the finer aspects. Kate Moore is a wife and mom with a secret past that’s about to come to light when her husband arrives home one afternoon with job relocation news. The small family is picking up their less-than-perfect D.C. existence to move to Luxembourg and join the elite expat society. All the new money promises to make their dreams come true until Kate begins to suspect something fishy in her husband’s new job and that their new friends aren’t exactly what they seem. And that’s all you should know!
I definitely enjoyed The Expats. I loved that the main character in this espionage thriller was female and a mom. Reminded me a good bit of Alias at times – kind of like, Sydney Bristow, the later years! Definitely a page turner, but not in an over-the-top way. The action is actually held to a minimum with Pavone choosing instead to turn his pages with slowly building paranoia and the promise of answers just a few pages further. I liked the subtlety of the plot and the web of questions and lies deftly built and sustained from beginning to end. Just when you think you’ve figured out everything, a new web is un-spun that surprises even our narrator!
I give major props to Pavone for keeping me entertained from page one. I finished the book within 2 days which is fairly quick for me! His writing style is extremely readable and he alternates between telling the story in past tense with little snip-bits of present day drama you know the past is leading up to. The end is jammed packed with information – I had to read certain parts twice just to keep up which might not be such a great thing, but didn’t detour me too much. Also, the ending might not be plausible in real life, but was a ton of fun in the world the book created! Sometimes, you need a little escape and The Expats was perfect for that!
Note: Book received from publisher (thanks Crown Publishing/Random House!)
Guess what! Fill out the entry form here and be eligible to win a copy of The Expats! Contest open to US and Canada residents only – ends Jan. 31st.
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This review is brought to you by the good ppl at TLC Book Tours and the views expressed above are my own honest opinion. To follow the rest of the tour hop over here! (Giveaway now closed!!)
About the Author:
Chris Pavone, a book editor for nearly two decades, recently returned to New York City after a sojourn to Luxembourg. The Expats is his first novel.
Visit the author’s website at www.chrispavone.com.
The Blog of Litwits 
This does sound like a lot of fun, and the fact that it pulled you out of a significant reading slump really has me eying it with new intensity. This was a great review, and I can’t wait to see what I think of it!
It was definitely good, escapist fun which you need everyone once in a while!
ooooooo, this is the book I got in the December giveaway and now I’m even more excited to get to it!!! Thanks!
No problem! I hope you are able to suspend belief a bit and just enjoy it for what it is. It was an Edgar Award nominee, after all.
I read The Expats very quickly as well 🙂 I’m so glad to hear I’m not the only one who had to re-read parts to keep the tangled web somewhat “untangled”…like you said, especially at the end. Now you’ve got me curious about Alias….I don’t think I ever watched that show when it was on
Alias is one of my all-time favs! It had me hooked from the very first episode. So many fantastic actors – Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Victor Garber. Definitely give it a chance!
Glad you enjoyed this one! Thanks for being on the tour.
Thanks for having me!
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