The Underhanded

By: Adam Sikes

Narrated by: Erik Gamborg

Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Europe’s last line of defense against neofascism—a history professor?

Professor William Dresden has found solitude in the south of France to grapple with his troubled past—a neglected upbringing, failed romances, the recent demolition of his life’s work in academia, and even witnessing genocide, among other secrets. But he soon learns that he has much larger problems when an adrift MI6 officer, Adeline Parker, calls and insists on a meeting, revealing shocking information about his family.

Then a bomb explodes.

William and Adeline narrowly escape the attempt on their lives and find themselves battling a group of neofascists and extreme nationalists who are inciting violent divisions across Europe. They are pulled into a shadowy war against a cabal called the Strasbourg Executive and pushed to the brink by family betrayals, corrupt institutions, and the Executive’s subversive plots against the fabric of Western society.

To survive, William must make tough decisions and act in ways he could’ve never previously imagined—but even that might not be enough.

©2024 Adam Sikes (P)2024 Adam Sikes

Boring

Was excited to listen to this book but not what I expected.
Listened to four chapters.
Amateur writer.
Story is boring.
Returning.

I liked the premise of the book

I’d read a negative review, but thought I would try it. I got 10 chapters in and have given up. The language is turgid, the pace slow, the plot and narrative predictable. There is one part in the 9th or 10th chapter where he starts describing a beard and I’m left wondering was there no editor? It felt like the author thought it was an homage to Hemingway, but written like a 13-year old. Just not very good.