This was a fabulous story that quickly brought me in and kept my interest throughout. This is the second book in The Keszthelyi Chronicles and was written by Zichao Deng.
In all honesty I had no idea this was a series until I finished reading the book. Never was it an issue that I had not read the first book, so i tip my hat to the author for writing a book in a series that is able to standalone.
I really enjoyed the main characters Nicolas Keszthelyi and his counterpart Estrade. I think Estrade was truly my favorite character as I liked the no nonsense way he went about his business (especially his plan for the company).
The story is primarily set in Kabul Afghanistan. I have never been to Afghanistan but the author does a wonderful job describing the landscapes and the people. I could get a wonderful picture in my head.
I will say I was a little hesitant about this book due to several of the names or titles in Chinese, but the author provided a wonderful blurb describing how to properly pronounce them, and it put my mind at ease. I would also like to point out that I have never played mahjong before, and the author made this a non-issue by giving the audience a quick run-down on the basic rules so we as readers were not left saying “huh?”.
I will say while I think the character Bibi brought plenty of comic relief to the story, her language and manner of speaking began to wear on me by the end of the book. I also felt like the ending was a little abrupt, and I felt like I wanted a little more closure; then again this is a series.
For those who love stories of adventure in far off lands, this is the book for you. I truly enjoyed the story and have given it 4 out of 5 stars . Personally, I plan on going back and reading the first, and I look forward to future installments in this series.
I was provided a copy of the book for free in exchange for a review
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