Book info

• Title The Associate
• Author Rachel Rhys
• Year 2017
• Genre Mystery

Kyle McAvoy is one of the greatest legal students of his generation. He has a brilliant mind and a glittering future ahead of him. But he has a secret from the past that threatens to destroy his entire livelihood. When this secret catches up with him in the form of a compromising video, Kyle is left with an impossible choice. He can take a job in New York at the largest law firm in the world and share the sordid secrets of its biggest trial to date. Or his past will be exposed to the masses. It's a deadly game of blackmail. And someone is making him play.

Thoughts

It took me a while to get into this but about halfway through, I suddenly realised I didn’t want to stop reading and desperately wanted to know how it was all going to resolve. The time period was so atmospheric, that pre-war period where the threat is imminent, but for all these people, caught up in their own world on the ship, it’s somewhat remote. It’s a time of morals and class and etiquette and so fascinating to watch those pushing up against them.

There were some problems, the pacing was a bit weird. Maria’s story was so drawn out and then done, whilst it was pretty obvious to see what was going on with Edward. And the murder, when it happened, was blink and you’ll miss it, last night, everyone off the boat. Goodbye. Not perfect, but the setting and the imagery really make up for it.

Rating: 4 / 5