Bridging the Gulf by Malcolm Hollingdrake @MHollingdrake @CazVinBooks #Giveaway

Book Description:

From the author of The Harrogate Crime Series. (‘Bridging the Gulf’ was previously published as ‘Engulfed’ as an eBook.) This fast moving, thought-provoking thriller is set partly in the stunning beauty and history of Turkish Cyprus. The novel follows one man’s struggle against faceless bureaucrats bent on negating the existence of Gulf War Syndrome. Roy Hanna is a driven man. On his return from the Gulf War, in which he was injured and his comrades killed, he appears to be a successful salesman with everything he could want. Behind his facade, he believes he is suffering from Gulf War Syndrome and that the Government is carrying out a massive cover-up. The lives of countless sufferers lie in ruins. He is determined that the Government should pay and he embarks on a bombing spree to ensure that it does.

My Thoughts:

The story starts off rather powerfully and definitely made me sit up and take notice of the story that was about to unfold before me.

Roy seems like your everyday type of guy. He has a good relationship with his girlfriend Joan as well as a great working relationship and friendship with Drew. Sadly he appears to be suffering with some form of PTSD which has him on a mission of self destruct as well as getting something back for the people that suffered from a result of the Gulf War.

In a way I felt that Roy was a bit of an anti hero. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly don’t condone what he does but he is at war in his own head and it really does make for a thought provoking read. Things definitely arn’t black and white.

You can tell the author has clearly done his research with information on the Gulf War as well as the after affects. Also the history of Turkish Cyprus is brought to life and very vivid in the readers mind.

Bridging The Gulf isn’t your straight forward thriller. This is a story that has a lot of meaning to it as well as opening your eyes. The nature of the story, there was never going to be a happy ending, although I prayed that in some way there would be. It had me go through an array of emotions and I could relate to the emotions that Joan was going through. A compelling and thought provoking read.

My thanks to Caroline at Bits About Books and the author for an advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

Bridging The Gulf is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link).

You could say that the writing was clearly on the wall for someone born in a library that they might aspire to be an author, but to get to that point Malcolm Hollingdrake has travelled a circuitous route.

Malcolm worked in education for many years, even teaching for a period in Cairo before he started writing, a challenge he had longed to tackle for more years than he cares to remember.

He has written a number of successful short stories, has nine books now available and is presently writing the eighth crime novel set in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Born in Bradford and spending three years at Ripon College, Malcolm has never lost his love for his home county, a passion that is reflected in the settings for all the DCI Bennett novels.

Currently, Malcolm is writing a new series which is set in Merseyside.

Malcolm has enjoyed many hobbies including collecting works by Northern artists; the art auctions offer a degree of excitement when both buying and certainly when selling. It is a hobby he has bestowed upon DCI Cyril Bennett, the main character in his successful Bennett series.

Malcolm Hollingdrake on Social Media
Author Website malcolmhollingdrakeauthor.co.uk
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