I wanted to like "Redlining," but as an avid F1 fan, the unrealistic portrayal of the racing scenes was a major letdown. The book promises high-speed thrills and mafia intrigue, but the execution falls flat.

The plot revolves around the Russian mafia attempting to infiltrate a global racing empire, with a hitman hired to eliminate the threat. While the premise is intriguing, the racing sequences lack authenticity, making it hard to stay engaged. Additionally, the over-the-top action and implausible scenarios detract from the story's potential.

The characters, especially the female driver, had potential, but the unrealistic racing elements overshadowed their development. As much as I appreciate the effort, this book didn't quite hit the mark for me. 2 stars.

I enjoyed reading this book since I just started getting into Formula 1 . The racing aspect takes up most of the book.


Thank you to David Setchfiled and NetGallery for the ARC to review.

Want to start with thanking David Setchfiled and NetGallery for the ARC to review.

If the movies Driven, Eyes Wide Shut and John Wick had a baby..this book would be it. And that's not a good thing. This book is just soooo over the top that's it's not really even enjoyable. I almost dnf'd at 30% and then 50% but then forced myself to finish it.

It starts early when a team is discovered to be cheating last season by adding a second fuel tank. Racing is all about weight, adding a 2nd fuel tank will allow you to run a extra lap or two but it's gonna slow you down at the beginning when both tanks are full. Unless it was empty to start and you were able to only fill it for the last stop, it'd probably hurt more than help.

The sex scenes are alittle over the top with big words that just don't fit the narrative of the story.. "moistened core"? "growing tumescence in his groin"? "remonstrating with her abuser"?

As a racing fan....the racing takes up a large part of the book. Which word normally be good. However the racing is so unrealistic. Not to give anything away but if any racing organization in the world had that many deaths in a season of 11 races, they'd never finish half the season before they were forced to shut down. Not to mention the tracks, one features a "muddy area of woodland" with no guardrails or anything separating the cars from the woods. While that may be the case in rally racing, no top open wheel series in the world would run that course without safety precautions put up. And the reason nothing was there was becasue "the organizers were already way behind schedule". That's when the race gets cancelled.

Drivers don't get to "clear" themselves to race. There's a medical team that decides that, it's not up to the driver and/or team. The author really likes the word "penultimate" as it's used seven different times throughout the book.

The book switches between us talk and metic. One minute it's "feet" the next it's "metres". It's "mph" but then it's "celsius". It's very confusing to read. The hitman part of the book is like 10 pages, the rest is racing.

Overall this isn't a book I'd recommend especially if you are a racing fan.