Book review: Cold

RARELY is a book so engrossing and pacey that it makes me miss my train stop. But such is the case with BBC Newsnight reporter John Sweeney’s first thriller, Cold. 

John Sweeney

Thomas & Mercer, £8.99; ebook, £3.99

Irishman Joe Tiplady has a murky past involving training in North Korea, but now enjoys a quiet life as a special needs teacher in London — and walking his dog Reilly.

When Reilly is dognapped, Joe finds himself drawn into the world of Russian beauty Katya Koremedova, who’s on the run from her psychopathic boyfriend Reikhman.

The action shifts effortlessly across the globe and between Sweeney’s cast of eerily convincing characters — many based on real experiences he had as an investigative reporter for Panorama.

We follow former CIA chief and Mormon Zeke Chandler in Utah, Reikhman on a grisly mission in Southern Russia, and return to Joe hunting for Reilly in London.

His debut novel, Elephant Moon was well received and Cold is the first in a trilogy featuring Joe Tiplady. One to watch.