The Expats (Kate Moore, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 12, 2011 Tony rated it did not like it

Shelves: novels

Presumably the main purpose of a thriller is to provide thrills -- unfortunately, this one does not. I have no earthly idea why John Grisham's blurb compares it to "the early works of Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, and Robert Ludlum" because not only is it not in the same league, it's not in the same sport. Christopher Reich's blurb makes the claim that the book is a "jet-fueled story that rockets from one corner of the globe to another." This is curious characterization of a book where the act Presumably the main purpose of a thriller is to provide thrills -- unfortunately, this one does not. I have no earthly idea why John Grisham's blurb compares it to "the early works of Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, and Robert Ludlum" because not only is it not in the same league, it's not in the same sport. Christopher Reich's blurb makes the claim that the book is a "jet-fueled story that rockets from one corner of the globe to another." This is curious characterization of a book where the action almost entirely takes place in Luxembourg, France, and Switzerland, with the occasional flashback to Washington, D.C. and New York and occasional weekend trip to various other European cities. And it is anything but "jet-fueled," -- quite the opposite: it is slow and plodding to a deadly degree.

The story concerns a middle-class married couple (Kate and Dexter) with two kids who move to Luxembourg as a result of a job opportunity for the husband. This gives Kate the opportunity to quit her work as a CIA agent and settle into a new life as an expat housewife without ever having to reveal her secret professional life to Dexter. Of course, it goes without saying that Dexter harbors a secret or two himself (shades of that tepid Brangelina movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith). Their story flips back and forth between the present, and two years previously. In the present, they are living in France and Kate runs into a friend from Luxembourg who is not really a friend, but some kind of agent sent to track her and Dexter down. The "two years ago" sections are the bulk of the book, and detail the family's move to Europe, and the gradual revelations of truth that eventually tie into the present. It's a clunky narrative method, with the two timelines cut and pasted back and forth in a vain attempt to create some kind of narrative tension.

Unfortunately, most readers will have a reasonably good idea of Dexter's revelation is going to be, so we're left waiting, and waiting, and waiting...for Kate to catch up. Meanwhile, we roll around in Kate's head as she struggles to figure out her new life and her husband's odd job. There are some nice moments when we see Kate struggling with her deception, and trying to convince herself to tell Dexter about herself and what she knows about him. But even that is just a typical portrayal of a marital deception writ large. There are a few scenes here and there that unfold quite nicely, for example, a gathering of ex-pat mothers having coffee and babbling about nothing, or Kate's acquisition of a gun from a Scottish pimp in a brief trip to Amsterdam.

However it's not until the very end of the book that the deceptions start to fall away and the action picks up, and Kate and Dexter confront the other's secret side, and have to work together. Only then can a very elaborate David Mamet-like con artist plot start to unfold. This is all reasonably nifty, but even here, the two timelines create a narrative choppiness that slows the pace down. In the end, the whole enterprise felt rather thin and artificial, which left me thinking that this might be the kind of book that is actually better as a slick Hollywood film. I wouldn't be surprised if we get the chance to find out in about three years.

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May 08, 2020 Pam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, 2020-books-read, tbr-2019, edgar-winner, luxembourg

AUTHOR Pavone, Chris
TITLE The Expats
DATE READ 05/07/20
RATING 4/B
FIRST SENTENCE "Luxembourg?" "Yes." "Luxembourg?" "That's right."
GENRE/ PUB DATE/PUBLISHER / # OF Crime Fiction
SERIES/STAND-ALONE
CHALLENGE Good Reads 2020 Reading Goal 85/120; Around the World in 80 Countries 2019-2021 30/80 for 2019; 10/80 for 2020 40/80 2019-2021(Spain, Denmark, Kuwait, Lesotho, Romania, Switzerland, Columbia, New Guniea, Singapore, Luxembourg) 3 Edgar Winner Books 2/3 Promised Land by Robert B. Parker, The E ...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Jessica rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, spy

When I tag books, I normally add them to a shelf for the setting, and while I am sorely tempted to add a "Luxembourg" tag, I'm sure that this book would be the only one on it, probably forever.

That said, the novelty of the setting is about the only thing here that works for me - this story is so loosely written and the characters are frequently called upon to act in ways that are completely antithetical to the personalities that have been established for them. The premise has a lot of promise, ...more

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Jun 02, 2013 alana rated it liked it · review of another edition

A light reading thriller...not exactly my genre but entertaining due to the expat factor. It could have been spiced up more by making the main character seem like she was descending into madness after giving up her (imagined??) career of espionnage to be a housewife.

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Sep 14, 2013 Lara rated it liked it

This is really good for the first 1/2 or so but it's 150 pages too long and by the time I got to the end, I'd already figured out what had happened, mostly, and I didn't much care anymore. ...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I don't usually like spy novels but this one brought the cloak and dagger stuff down to a level I could understand with a minimum of on stage blood and gore. ...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Sherry added it

not memorable.

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