Cairo, 2010. As the vast city swelters in the summer heatwave, anti-government protesters take to the streets.
When visiting businessman Geoff Ward is kidnapped, his client Khaled and Khaled’s sister, Layla, a prominent activist, set out to find the Englishman. Meanwhile, back in the UK, Geoff’s wife, Angie, frustrated by her feelings of helplessness and the government’s apparent ineffectiveness, contacts an old family friend, Shimon, to ask for help.
Who has taken Geoff and why?
Can his would-be rescuers work together to find him?
And how will Angie and her two teenage children cope with his disappearance?
Anthony Etherington has written several teleplays and screen dramas. One of these, Yellow Dragon and the Red Fox, won Best Screenplay awards at the European Independent Film Festival and the International Film Festival of Wales in 2014. Two of his short scripts – Flotsam
and Gemma’s War – have been filmed and can be viewed on YouTube. His debut novel, Europia, was published in 2022.
Some Other Eden is his second novel.
My thoughts: I found this book very enjoyable, with its fast-paced action and several different strands of plot woven together. When businessman Geoff is abducted in Cairo, Egypt, his wife Angie, back home in England, is understandably terrified. Some Foreign Office agent tells her to let officialdom do it’s thing, but as time moves on, she loses faith in the system and takes matters into her own hands.
Geoff’s client Khaled feels responsible and is eager to help, between him, his sister and his close friend in the police, he thinks he might be able to get some answers. Angie has also asked family friend Shimon to go to Cairo and help, his background means he has useful skills.
Geoff fights to maintain his sanity in the terrible situation he finds himself in. He has no idea why he’s been targeted, he’s not wealthy or important, not connected to the government or anything like that. A copy of Ivanhoe given to him by one of his captors helps him keep going as he waits to see what fate has in store for him.
Weaving these narratives together, we also learn about how Geoff met Shimon and the close bond the two men share. What happens will change their lives, and their families forever. Gripping, intense and full of gasp-out-loud moments.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 
Thank you so much for being a part of the tour x
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