Nathan Dylan Goodwin. The
Sterling Affair. 2019. Available through nathandylangoodwin.com
or Amazon.
This
latest novel in the Morton Farrier, Forensic Genealogist series, is a
humdinger. Clarissa Duggan hires Morton to discover why a recently
deceased (suicide by defenestration) old stranger was masquerading as
her brother Maurice; her true brother had died at the age of sixteen.
Clarissa wants her inheritance as this man’s “sister” to go to
the rightful heirs. No one could have predicted Morton’s subsequent
wild path ‒ into Cold War espionage. Was “Maurice Duggan”
really Egyptian-born journalist Alexander Emmett? The investigation
takes on another dark twist with Emmett’s wife Ellen Ingram. Morton
leads us into a potpourri of detailed archival research as he
puzzles out identities ‒ the genealogist’s bedrock – while we
also follow the separate stories of Alexander and Ellen.
On
the home front, Morton’s little family is delightful: wife Juliette
and daughter Grace. They provide necessary breaks from the tension
that builds according to the best thriller plotting. But Morton’s
own family history is a labyrinth and now his DNA results are
producing urgent messages from mysterious matches. In all ways, this
is Goodwin’s weightiest novel; it tracks back and forth between
London and Middle East cities. Ellen is searching for the spy
code-named Jericho; Alexander does covert work to undermine President
Nasser, developing a lifelong taste for pink gin. Wild card Flora
Sterling appears now and then to add spice.
Goodwin
is better than ever at handling complex elements and plots.
Congratulations on a growing body of work! Your fans grow by leaps
and bounds too.
Teasers
(The
Present):
▪ Yet
Morton could not reconcile the fact that this imposter had returned
to a small village where his namesake had died just thirty years
before. (73)
▪ Juliette
stood up and paced her hand on his shoulder. “This is strictly from
a non-police perspective now, but do you need
to do anything more? He is dead, after all, so no conviction can be
brought against him.” (120)
▪ What
was he going to say to Grace or Baby Farrier when they asked him
about his grandparents? (246)
▪ Or
was Morton trying too hard to connect two unrelated things?
(249)
Teasers
(The Past):
▪
“I woke up in the morning, came
downstairs and there she was, stone cold with her wrists slit, in my
old grandmother’s chair.” (43)
▪ “This
is the city’s trading post, where information—quid
pro quo―flows
as fast as the Lebanese wine, between diplomats,
ambassadors, journalists and politicians.”
(144)
▪
In the open case was a file,
containing several documents marked SUEZ on the front. (180)
▪
“What do you mean manpower and
resources ...?” Alexander questioned. “You want me to
sabotage the plane?” (235)
▪
“We wouldn’t be where we are,
with Jericho facing a lengthy prison sentence were it not for Miss
Ingram.” He turned in her directions, smiled and nodded his head.
“Well done.” (269)
©
2020 Brenda Dougall Merriman
