Open Arms by Vince Cable

Political Thrillers are not really my cup of tea if I am being honest but I enjoyed the majority of the book.  There are an awful lot of disparate characters and in the early stages it is a little confusing as to who is who and what they have to do with the story but it soon begins to gel.  I was impressed with how well Vince Cable brought all the various strands and characters together at the end of the book.  About halfway through I did start to lose heart and think that it was just going to be a jumble at then end but it has been brought together very well and ties up, moderately well.

From a personal enjoyment perspective this was only a 3 Star read however I felt compelled to give an extra star for the craftmanship in dealing with this complex tale and bringing it to a logical conclusion.

From the initial description of the book and the front cover you may think that this book centres strongly on the female protagonist of the novel, Kate Thompson.  However, in my opinion, the main thrust of the book deals with the Indian side of the story particularly Deepak Parrikar and his family.  There is also quite a lot of attention given to Steve Grant and Shaida Khan and family at the UK end of the deal.  So much so that it appears that the character of Kate has only been picked on for the attract to try and woo a certain sub-set of readers in.  Whilst she is an integral part of the story she is not the main focus.

Set in the near future of 2019 Open Arms is set in a post-Brexit Britain and deals with the necessity for opening up new export links with emerging nations, particularly India.  In particular it examines the putative deal in defensive weapons technology between Parrikar Aviation and the British based Pulsar.  Along the way the book deals with racial tension between India and Pakistan, the internecine warfare of the British Political System, religious and racial hatred in Britain. 

I have been careful in this review not to discuss any specific plot points as it would be nigh on impossible to do so without introducing spoilers to the mix.

I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

**Review originally published October 1st, 2017**