Thriller set in Yemen (and an interview with Karen Sullivan, the publisher)

• Book: The Abrupt Physics of Dying
• Location: Yemen
• Author: Paul E Hardisty

Review Author: tripfiction

The Abrupt Physics of Dying by Paul E Hardisty, a thriller set in Yemen. This is the first book to be published by Orenda Books and at the end of our review we bring you an interview with the founder of Orenda Books, Karen Sullivan.

Petro-Tex is a giant oil company that has an oil processing facility in Yemen. Is it coincidence that the local people in Al Urush and especially the children, are suffering from a desperate illness?

Claymore Straker is trying to move on from his violent history. He is an engineer employed by Petro-Tex and early in the book is hijacked at gunpoint, together with his driver Abdulkader. His captors want him to get to the bottom of the illness – they release him and keep his driver hostage. As he carries out his researches he meets Rania, who is a troubled journalist and she joins in him his quest to discover the truth.

This is a gritty, sometimes grim story, that brings the reality of life in an oil rich country to life, it vividly describes the machinations of the powerful interlopers and overlords who hold sway over the poorer members of society, all set against civil strife and terrorism. And Claymore is one man who is prepared to take on the whole situation, at considerable cost to himself. It is a powerful story, that has ‘big screen’ written all over it.

It is set against the harsh terrain that is Yemen “the flat stone strewn uplands, the hogback mesas, the thermal blur of the edge of the world…” This book is a sensory and gripping read. Enjoy.

Over on our blog, read the interview with Karen Sullivan, the publisher

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