Like all of Christine Mangan's novels, The Continental Affair not only keeps you on your toes but also has you rooting for the most unlikely characters.
Like Louise. She is a thief, who has stolen money left in a suitcase which does not belong her to her. However, the money will give her the opportunity to start a new life somewhere new where no one knows her.
Henri knows Louise is a thief, he saw her steal the money and is also the one sent to retrieve it. But the more he follows her, the more he is tempted to know exactly who she is and what she wants. In the process, they will both journey across Europe in a journey neither of them could have foreseen. The descriptions may slow down the plot for some readers, but it completely worth it.

A gorgeously drawn, dark adventure novel that wafts across Europe. Like going on the Grand Tour, but because you’re on the run.

This was so much fun and so perfectly, evocatively atmospheric. I love a caper and I love a train novel, and I love both even more if they’re steeped in lush but dark and mysterious atmosphere, and this book is a terrific example of that.

I was not especially shot with Tangerine but loved Palace of the Drowned, so this book was the tiebreaker that pushed me firmly into the camp of being a huge fan of Christine Mangan’s work. The plot is excellent, the sense of adventure is loads of fun, and the sense of place and atmosphere is off the charts good. I loved this.

Historical Novels Review, August 2023:

Christine Mangan is masterful at creating alluring characters and atmosphere with a hint of the sinister, as done so well in Tangerine. She does not disappoint in her latest, The Continental Affair. Henri and Louise play a cat-and-mouse game traveling by train and bus across Europe from Granada to Paris to Belgrade to Istanbul. Henri lives in Spain with family and is involved in their business of organized crime. He had escaped his life in Armenia when the interrogation tactics required of him as a gendarme were intolerable. Louise is running from her restrictive, suffocating life in London caring for her demanding invalid father. With so little money, survival is a concern, but still, she is compelled to abandon her old life immediately after her father’s death.

Henri’s family sends him to the Alhambra for a money parcel. At the same time, Louise is visiting the historic site because of its association with her dead mother. Henri waits in the shadows, the courier drops the parcel and walks away, but the money scatters. Before Henri can act, Louise, in an impulsive move, snatches up this much-needed windfall. The chase is on – his family’s money must be recovered – but his mission is complicated by his growing fascination for Louise. Opportunities arise for him to retrieve the money, but he waits and follows and the game goes on.

The structure of the novel is complex and requires close reading. Pivoting on a mysterious event in Belgrade, the narrative switches between two legs of the journey – before Belgrade and after. Also, the perspective switches between Henri and Louise as they travel from train stations to busses and taxis, hotels and restaurants, bars and cafes. Plot moves slowly, but Mangan will keep you hooked with the tension and interplay between Henri and Louise. This is a novel worthy of your time.

Janice Ottersberg

Christine Mangan's The Continental Affair is a thrillingly orchestrated and evocatively penned narrative of cat and mouse, set against the captivating backdrop of 1960s Europe.

The protagonists, Henri and Louise, are compelling in their complexity. Both running from troubled pasts, they are equal parts vulnerability and cunning. The plot twists are clever escalating in tension as the reader follows the interweaving trails of Henri and Louise. Mangan masterfully cultivates a palpable sense of suspense throughout the novel, turning a seemingly simple retrieval job into a high-stakes game with unclear rules.

This novel, with its multifaceted characters, breathtaking landscapes, and artful storytelling, is sure to engage and surprise readers to the very end as it did for me. A great book, bravo to the author.

I really enjoyed THE CONTINENTAL AFFAIR and fans of Christine Mangan's other books should be looking forward to this new offering. Like her first two novels, this one has a noir feel and you can imagine it as a black and white film. Atmospheric and compelling, the narrative weaves back and forth in time and between "his and her" perspectives. There's a little bit of a cat and mouse aspect to the story. The plot is easy to follow. Readers should not expect a fast-paced suspense novel; this is more of a slow burn with loads of eerie, almost hypnotic, atmosphere.