📖 Book Review ~ Palisade by Lou Gilmond

Armillary Books
21 November 2024

#2 Kanha and Colbey trilogy

Thanks to Midas Campaigns for my copy of this book

 

When opposition Chief Whip Esme Kanha is handed a secret dossier containing evidence of government corruption, she suspects its original owner, a top journalist, was murdered for gathering it. Despite the danger, she feels she must investigate. Meanwhile, lowly backbencher Harry Colbey is working his own leads. A known campaigner against big tech, he is often sent data from anonymous sources and this time round he has something truly alarming.

But both Colbey and Kanha must tread carefully in a world dominated by AI, where 'what can see watches, what can hear listens, and what can be followed is tracked'.

As Kanha and Colbey again join forces, they are locked into a deadly race against political corruption, no matter what the cost. But when an old enemy returns, it may already be too late…

📖 My Review..

I started Palisade pretty much as soon as I finished reading the first book in this trilogy and was pleased to discover that this second book picked up very soon after the events of Dirty Geese. MP Harry Colbey, now relegated to the opposition back benches, once again, joins forces with opposition Chief Whip Esme Kanha to whittle out those government ministers who are just as corrupt and even with a new coalition government in power the corruption hasn’t stopped. With secret documents being passed around Colbey and Kanha have another difficult task ahead in order to keep one step ahead of those who would do anything for power. 

The sinister surveillance of artificial intelligence dominates and is so scarily realistic that you can sense the watchful drones hovering overhead and of the more clandestine listening devices which overhear every conversation and observe every move, so that no one is safe from being listened to, watched or followed. It is indeed a terrifying world which this clever writer has recreated so intelligently that you very soon get drawn into the sinister activities of shadowy figures who are so deep into a world of artificial intelligence that there is no possibility of escape.

Written with scrupulous precision, Palisade is an excellent continuation of this scarily realistic series which looks at government corruption at the highest level and of the unstoppable rise of artificial intelligence. I’m looking forward to be part of the blog tour in July and of sharing my review of Divinity Games, the third and final book in this clever trilogy.

About the Author

Lou Gilmond is the author of three political thrillers - Dirty Geese, published 6th July 2023, Palisade published 21st November 2024 and Divinity Games to be published 17th July 2025. Under her given name of Louise Boland, Lou is also the founder of small but well respected publishing house, Fairlight Books,which focusing on nurturing and promoting new and emerging literary talent. She is also the author Bookshop Tours of Britain, a slow travel guide journeying across Britain, bookshop by bookshop - Lou is a keen champion of bookshops.

June is the National Crime Reading Month