The Noble Path
The explosive standalone crime thriller from the author of The Lewis Trilogy
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4.2 • 37 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY, THE ENZO FILES AND THE CHINA THRILLERS
AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021
'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland
'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of Books
The Noble Path is Peter May's explosive standalone thriller set in Cambodia and Thailand amid the bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge
THE EVIL WRATH
Cambodia, 1978. Amid the Khmer Rouge's crazed genocide, soldier-of-fortune Jack Elliott is given the impossible task of rescuing a family from the regime.
THE PAINFUL TRUTH
Eighteen-year-old orphan and budding journalist Lisa Robinson has received the impossible news that her father is, in fact, alive. His name - Jack Elliott.
THE NOBLE PATH
As Jack tracks the hostages and Lisa traces her heritage, each is intent on reuniting a family. Yet to succeed, so must run a dangerous gauntlet of bullets and betrayal.
LOVED THE NOBLE PATH? Read Peter May's prescient standalone thriller, THE MAN WITH NO FACE
LOVE PETER MAY? Order his new thriller, THE NIGHT GATE
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British journalist May tells a brutal story with an unflinching eye. Former army officer Jack Elliott has hacked out a life as a soldier of fortune since he was court-martialed for a WW II massacre. Offered a huge sum of money in 1978 to rescue the family of a Cambodian refugee from the Khmer Rouge, he accepts, although it seems a certain suicide mission. Accompanying him into Cambodia are a former Australian comrade dying of cancer and a bitter American Vietnam veteran who had withdrawn into a Bangkok hovel but now wants to bring his wife and young son out of Cambodia to America. The Vietnamese army attacks Cambodia just as Elliot and his cohorts cross the border, considerably affecting their chances of success. Told against the sordid background of a nation destroyed by war, this initially straightforward adventure story becomes somewhat improbable when Elliot's naive young daughter flies to Bangkok to find her father, whom she had long believed to be dead. She becomes the unwitting hostage of an evil man who has double-crossed Elliot and fears his return. In fact, since she is white, pretty and a virgin, she is potentially ``the most sought-after property in Bangkok.'' May depicts the dehumanizing consequences of political greed and warfare with accuracy and authority, though the hint of redemption at the end seems sentimental.
Customer Reviews
A good read
Having read previous books by Peter May, this wasn’t what I was expecting at all. This is a novel Mr May wrote in the 1980’s which he has revised and is due for republication. The action of this book takes place in the late 1970’s in Thailand and Cambodia, which was then known as Kampuchea under the control of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. I did struggle with reading this one, although I am not sure why, as it is well written, but it may just not be my type of story. However, I am sure there will be many readers who will love this plot and story.
John (Jack) Elliott is ex British Army, but had been court marshalled and imprisoned for an incident that happened in Aden. On release he turned to be a ‘soldier of fortune’, a gun for hire. He has built a barrier around himself a wall to protect him from hurt. His wife had divorced him after Aden, and told their daughter that he was dead. Lisa (the daughter) was a young, naive, impressionable girl. Although this changed in the story as she travelled to Thailand in the search of her father, she soon learned how people will use and abuse you. Returning to London she is a different girl than she was when she went to Thailand.
Jack Elliott is hired for a lot of money by Ang Young to rescue his family, Serey his wife, Ny his daughter, and Hau his son, from Cambodia. Jack knows this is a dangerous mission for him and his team. Ang Young had managed to escape four years earlier.
The story is told through several voices, but with two plots running through. Jack going in to Cambodia to attempt to rescue Ang Young’s family. The second where Lisa loses her mother, to then find out her father is not dead, as she had been led to believe by her mother. Lisa is determined to go and find her father. The two stories are intertwined and keep you on edge, wondering how it is all going to end. I personally didn’t like how the book ended, but again that is me and my opinion. The book has some fairly descriptive scenes of what would have been happening in the region at the time. Which some may find difficult to read.
The book is well researched despite Mr May explaining that he was unable to go into Cambodia to do actual research. From reading this you would not get that impression, it is quite atmospheric at times, not just geographically but also from the political situation and the human suffering. It made you think of what was going on in those years.
I would like to thank #netgalley and #Riverrunpublishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.