I have always lived Sam Bourne’s work. He writes like the live child of Michael Crichton and Aaron Sorkin.
I devoured this as quickly as any of his other books, even if the writing wasn't as clear or punchy as previous publications.

Last year I found myself drawn to a book called To Kill the President. It was my introduction to Maggie Costello – flame haired, American Irish force to be reckoned with. It’s a book I still recommend to fans of political thrillers.

Now Costello returns in To Kill The Truth. It is a story which struck fear into my heart as libraries and books are being destroyed as someone tries to remove historical records, seemingly to allow sufficient doubt over recorded historical events. Could slavery or the holocaust be denied if the historical records were removed and modern voices sought to re-establish “facts” or offer different interpretations on past events?

In a courthouse a case is playing out which has potential to ignite racial tensions across the world – the question at the heart of the trial is “did slavery happen?” With the jury’s decision looming Maggie Costello is trying to establish if there could be any connection with the court case and the destruction of the libraries and museums which house the history of the world.

To Kill The Truth is a fast paced political thriller which and I really enjoyed it. The power players of Washington are trying to pull the strings and control any damage limitation. Journalists are digging for connections, academics are dying and Maggie is caught in the midst of it all. She will become a target for forces unknown – her reputation and her credibility will be stripped from her and she must show resilience to make her voice heard.

Sam Bourne taps into the issues of the day and spins an exciting story which, at times, felt alarmingly uncomfortable to contemplate as just fiction. Well worth seeking this book out – it is currently available in all good bookshops.

I read The Last Testament the first Maggie Costello book several years ago. However, I've not read the previous two books after The Last Testament. Also, I hardly remember the story in the first book. Nevertheless, I found this book to be easy and engaging to read. The concept of destroying museums and libraries to destroy proof of atrocities is both frightening and thought-provoking. The idea of starting over with a clean slate sounds good. However, I can't say I found the part of the book when libraries etc. burned down to be especially nice to read. More like heartbreaking and devastating.

I found To Kill the Truth to be an excellent thriller and I want to read the previous two books that I've not read. This book was well-written and I found Maggie Costello to be just the kind of heroine I like to read about, tough and independent.

Another fast paced thriller from Sam Bourne. What sets it apart from thousands of other thrillers is the theme that - like his earlier To Kill the President - taps into current concerns in an interesting way. The notion of a twisted ideology which promotes the destruction of all historical records is very pertinent at a time when fake news is a major concern and Bourne rather cleverly articulates the arguments which motivate the evil protagonists of the story, in a way that makes the reader think about the issue rather more deeply than would be prompted by a standard crime thriller.

The characters are not memorable, apart from Maggie Costello who has a touch of V.I Warshawksi about her. The plot depends on complex technology and the details seem credible to a non-expert. A very good way of passing a couple of hours on a wet winter afternoon.

Thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for the ARC.

To Kill the Truth, the forth espionage thriller in the Maggie Costello series, is, unfortunately, a bit of a dud compared to the gripping third instalment, To Kill the President. I am aware that in general when you read an all-action, high-octane novel such as this you usually get the intense thrills, but the plot-driven nature of it means character development is put on the back-burner. The pace is as frenetic as ever, the premise intriguing and thought-provoking, if lacking in believability, and it is well written. This is a fun beach type of read, but I expected more from it given Bourne is a celebrated journalist, and I know he is capable of producing a well constructed, compelling thriller.

I hope the next instalment returns to the style we are used to from Mr Bourne but keeps to the topical, political storylines.

Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

Can you really destroy history?

Someone is destroying museums and libraries around the world, hoping to destroy and re-write history.

Maggie Costello is charged with finding out who would do such a thing, she is hindered by political and civil unrest but she can not let these things stop her from finding the truth and stop these heinous crimes.

These people are trying to deny slavery and the Holocaust ever happened, but you cannot wipe people’s minds and experiences.

The story is very well written but the plot is totally unbelievable, it stretches the realms of believability to the breaking point and is almost laughable.

I am sorry to be so cruel but fiction has to have some root in real life and this just doesn’t. The way the artefacts are destroyed is nigh on impossible as well as the cost of such an exercise.

If the plot was completely changed and a little more thought was given to it, this author would have a chance to become a fine writer but as it stands, I could not recommend this book.

Please read the book and make your own decision but be warned and have a lot of salt with you, not just a pinch.

Chester.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

This was good, but not so good as To Kill The President, mainly due to the fact that the crimes committed were a little too far fetched, as opposed to hypothetically realistically feasible, as before. Still, a scary reflection of the current 'fake news' society in which we dwell.

This is the first Sam Bourne book i’ve read, and it didnt quite live up to expectations. In his ‘day job’ i find Jonathan freedland a complex journalist and expected more of a literary thriller. This felt a bit more ‘by the numbers’ in delivery than I expected, although the central concept felt unnervingly realistic in our post truth, post facts world. Having said all that, it was engaging and i was genuinely surprised by one of the reveals. I think if I’d come expecting a decent paced beach read i’d rate it higher, but this didnt quite fulfill the promise for me. I know others will love it!

Maggie Costello is fearless!
When historians are being murder and libraries full of priceless historical documents and archives are being destroyed, it is a race against time to find who and how the crimes are being committed and stop them before the history of mankind is wiped out.

The ideas behind this book are fascinating and topical. You can see the influence of post-truth, fake-news ideas and current politics and there were a few places in the story where the pace is slowed by long exploratory monologues by characters.

In general, the pace remains and readers will get everything they expect from a Sam Bourne thriller and be left with some interesting ideas about the value or burden of history to ponder.

Thank you Sam Bourne, Quercus Bools and Netgalley for this advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I love Maggie Costello and this is another page turner. A little far fetched in places but you don't read books like this for stark reality, this book deals in 'what might happen' and does so with great pace and style. Well researched, very readable.

A frenetically paced thriller which, sadly, falls prey to political ranting in places. The story centres on a breathtaking plot to destroy the world's most important libraries - those containing vital historic documents such as original literary works and religious texts along with others such as the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence.
Meanwhile, at a Virginia courthouse, a university professor is suing a writer who called him a slavery denier. Outside, Black Lives Matter protestors clash with right wingers and violence seems set to escalate.
A historian studying aspects of slavery is murdered at his desk and there are reports of other academics and Holocaust survivors dying in mysterious circumstances. Former White House adviser, Maggie Costello, is asked by the Governor of Virginia to investigate the historian's death, but she soon uncovers a conspiracy which threatens to destroy the history of the world.
High tech computers are being used to set libraries on fire and destroy digital copies of the vital historical documents they contain.
As Maggie battles to discover the truth, she is subject to online attacks which lead to her be sidelined from the FBI investigation into the destruction of buildings such as The Bodleian Library and Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
Then, she discovers a link between the professor currently fighting the libel case in Virginia and some of his students from the 1980's, one of whom is a disgraced political adviser to the current President of the United States. In a lengthy rant, the latter explains to Maggie why a large number of Americans and, indeed, people throughout the World wouldn't care if these repositories of human knowledge were to vanish.
Aided by a handful of friends, Maggie struggles to stop the seemingly relentless computer generated attacks, but time is running out.
This story stretches the bounds of credulity throughout, but as a pacy thriller with some interesting information about major libraries and their contents and how computers can be used to do almost anything, it's worth a read. The author Sam Bourne gives both sides a chance to put their arguments, though it's clear which side he's on.

Writing under his real name of Jonathan Freedland the author wrote a wonderfully moving and evocative family memoir called Jacob's gift which lived with me for any months. Under his pen name Sam Bourne he was written a series of thrillers that I am sure have sold thousands more than Jacob's gift and they are well thought through and tense but not of the same literary merit.

I enjoyed this one, the first that I have read but the premise was highly unlikely and the characterisations weak.

I sped through it quickly and it was a decent and unchallenging read that will be popular on the beach next Summer.

Good at what it is but not really for me.