The Expansion
by Christoph Martin
Clink Street Publishing
Courtesy of NetGalley

The Expansion by Christoph Martin is set in Panama and deals with the expansion of the canal. The original canal, completed in 1914, could not accommodate the modern large ships. The largest ships that could fit were labeled Pana-Max, for maximum size. After years of planning, Panama decided to go ahead with the expansion by building a new set of larger locks next to the original locks.

I was very interested in getting my hands on this book for one simple reason: I was born in the Panama Canal Zone. I am the descendent of one of the original workers. Although I left shortly after the end of fifth grade, my identity begins and ends as a Zonian. I was very curious to see if Mr. Martin could tell a good story and have an accurate Panama a the landscape on which he told it.

So many of the details are good. The oppressive humidity. The food. The mix of languages and customs. The extreme wealth and extreme poverty contained within Panama City. It was recognizable to me.

The main character of the story, Max Burns, is a British engineer who is hired to plan how the new canal will be built. He is hired by his childhood friend Godfredo Roco and his father Paco. Paco is a big league con man. His plan is to win the bid on the canal, start the work, drain off everything he can, declare bankruptcy and blame Max. He plans on doing it far into the project so Panama has no choice but to bail out the project and finish it. Godfredo is aware of some of his father’s plans but not all.

Added to the mix is Karis Deen. When the book starts, Karis is working for the Smithsonian in Panama as a biologist. She is actually a CIA agent is a deep cover project. As the canal project progresses, the US government keeps a wary eye on China who they fear want their own canal in Nicaragua and will try to sabotage the new Panamanian Canal.

The story is interesting. It is not compelling though. I had a hard time with Godfredo and Paco’s characters. They seemed two dimensional. Max seemed naive. All it all, it wasn’t a bad story until the end. The last chapter had me scratching my head. The book ended very abruptly, I mean VERY abruptly. I turned back and forth several times on my device trying to figure out where the conclusion of the story went. I am not sure if this is to be a series or not. If it is, the ending needs to get fixed or readers will not stick around for the next one.

Not my cup of tea at all! And yet it's well written and finely plotted, it just didn't grab me as I have read from other reviews on this book, clearly I missed the point of the first few chapters! I might give it another go as the writing is well done and on that alone it gets 3⭐️s.

Quite a short novel and definitely in two halves. I was quite caught up in the whole Panama canal expansion project and was quite expecting for it to continue in a corporate corruption genre. However midway through it became a super spy thriller. Whilst either genre would make a great stand alone novel, I think melding the two spoilt it. That's not to say it wasn't a very enjoyable read. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Karis and hopefully Max too.

A High Stakes Political Thriller

When Max Burns leaves his university teaching position to take a job with his future father-in-law, he thinks his future is secure. Suddenly, he’s offered the chance of a life time, designing the expansion of the Panama Canal. Max can’t pass up the opportunity. He leaves England, his new job, and his finacé to go to Panama.

Multiple countries are bidding on the project, UK, US, Germany, and Japan. The teams are surprised that China isn’t bidding. China’s absence leads to speculation that they are planning to disrupt the project. Max puts together a brilliant design working with his old school friend, Godfredo, and his father’s construction company. When the bids are submitted, Max is stunned to learn that they’re the low bidder. He doesn’t believe they can do the project for that amount. What if they win?

Max is a brilliant scientist and a good person. You can’t help, but like him and hope he succeeds against the odds. Godfredo is a likable con artist. He’s completely under his father’s thumb, but he has good instincts and in a crunch doesn’t want to let Max down. Max has a girl friend, Karis Deen, an American working for the Smithsonian in Panama. She is a tough lady, but not as fleshed out as Max and Godfredo.

The book is unique in the thriller genre. There is a murder, but there’s very little violence and the sex takes place off stage. I enjoyed that, but if you’re looking for sex and violence, you’ll be disappointed. The book has a slow start. The author goes deep into backstory for Max and Godfredo, and the political situation. The action doesn’t start until very late in the book. If you don’t mind wading through Max’s early life and the political background, it’s a good read.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

I liked the idea of great intrigue taking place in Panama but found The Expansion lacking. The pace is slow, it feels as if nothing actually happens until halfway through the book. We bounce from one group of characters to another for a quick peek and dialog exchange without feeling invested in any of the events unfolding. Things happen in the background but the tension and urgency just doesn't seem to be there. The characters were shallow and ventured no where beyond being one dimensional. They are practically cardboard cut outs. Sorry, I hate being overly critical but this book just left me cold.

This book appears to be about updates to the Panama Canal and old friends/enemies getting together to make it happen. Doing a Google search however revealed that an update to the canal occurred just a few years ago. The writing is not done in a way to make the topic or the characters stand out. I couldn't get past the 5th or 6th chapter

This is a difficult book to categorise, not a thriller, not a mystery, not a political story, not espionage, not a murder. What is it? It has all of these but all take equal share. I was quickly taken in by the easy reading style of writing and although there is no particular outstanding element is does grab you and is a exceptionally good read. The main character Max Burns childhood and background is dealt with at the beginning, in order you can get on with the main story line of the Panama Canal expansion project. The author expertly compresses several years of bidding and construction and concentrates on Max's interaction with the father and son relationship of the Rocos who are leading the project. This may not be to everyone's taste but I enjoyed it.

This is one of those books that hooks you straight away with an explosion of fast paced details as you get to travel through the beautiful setting of Panama on an adventure full of intrigue, good old fashioned espionage, secrets and of course murder.

Our darling Brit is everything you could want in a main character and is backed by some equally wonderful help in his friends and family that add a colorful layer to the author’s character work.

After that opening that rocks your seat be prepared to move into a slower pace since this is the first in a new series; he has to lay the foundation for a long drawn out story. Along the way you are going to meet the characters that will be accompanying you on this multi-book journey as they face a variety of trials and he is taking this time to provide some decent complexity to them so you’ll want to keep with their stories. One of the things I loved in his book was that his female characters weren’t here just to prop up their male counterparts, the author really did a good job in making them compelling, strong women. They definitely didn’t come off as the stereotypical ‘Bond’ girls who often feel more like eye candy than substance.

Hopefully you’ll stick through the slow parts as the pace and tension pick up leading you up to a dramatic ending with a strong cliff hanger.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Karis and Max and I loved Fredo and Sophia. A very interesting thriller and I am desperately wanting to see the Abbey!

Thank for Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review this book..

3.5/5 Stars

I enjoyed this book, although it felt a bit rushed at the end. There were quite a few characters to keep track of, and some could have been developed a little better. I could see it as a fun movie to watch.

This story had so much potential. I was disappointed by the shallow character and plot development. Though the ending was abrupt, I am optimistic that the sequel will dig in deeper.

By now, most of you know that I'm a sucker for a good political thriller. So when I read the description for THE EXPANSION by Christoph Martin, I had to read it! "In politics and big business, truth is a matter of opinion."

We are thrown into the high stakes world of global trade and diplomacy - it's a ruthless one. Max Burns, a geomatic engineer, has been hired for the enormous task of expanding the Panama Canal - a highly competitive position involving other countries - he is thrust into a world of big business construction that throws him out of his element. He soon finds himself being framed for sabotage and murder after an official of the Panama Canal Administration is found dead. He is in the center of an intertwining web of political intrigue, betrayal, and murder that has ties well beyond the shores of Panama.

The only person that he can trust is Karis Deen, a scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Little does he know, Karis holds a dark and dangerous secret that could destroy him - but one that could also change the balance of world power altogether.

Being someone that enjoys anything mildly political when it comes to a thriller, or even other book genres, I loved this story. The intrigue, the deals made under the table, sabotage, and even murder - sounds like politics, right? ;) I think that Martin did an incredible job setting the scene. Now, I've never been to Panama, but I certainly feel like I have now! It was a page turner and I flew through it - definitely the right amount of suspense and mystery to keep you wanting more.

If you aren't a fan of politics in your reading, then I'd say you're probably better passing on this one. However, if you're a fan of a good political thriller, then you should definitely pick this one up!

I give this 4/5 stars!

A big thanks to the author, Christoph Martin, for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

A James Bondish thriller complete with the usual heroes and villains,though they may take a bit of untangling.

The Expansion is a tale of the expansion of the Panama Canal and all the politics and espionage and skullduggery that went into it. It is fast paced and complexly written and will grab the reader's interest from the on set. All in all a very good thriller filled with multi-dimensional characters. Thanks to Net Galley and Clink Street for an ARC for an honest review.

I was glad to read this book through NetGalley and I thought it was going to be set in the time the Panama Canal was built but was wrong. I did like how the story put in the important characters in first rather than have the murder start it off in the start of the book and then point the finger at the unsuspected. I did feel that Max and Carice's relationship was a little pushed but who knows what will happen to them in the sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Panama Canal is undergoing an expansion, which is big business. And with big business comes politics, greed and deception. Max Burns is the geomatic engineer on the winning team, and the likely pawn to be used by all the big players.

The characters are well-developed, although I didn’t see how Max’s extremely wealthy family and his engagement added to the story. I suppose it was to be able to put Max at a boarding school with the wealthy, thereby giving him connections, but the same could have been true if he had been given a scholarship. So much time was spent on his past that I thought it would figure into the book later. The story is paced well, dialog is believable, there just wasn’t enough intrigue. It was predictable. As well, I hoped for more historical background on the building of the canal, beyond a cursory information I might find on Wikipedia. The ending was very abrupt and unsatisfying.

This was a good book, especially for a first-time author. I understand the author is working on a second novel about Russia and the Cold War, and I'll probably read it to see if he progresses from good to great!

A thrilling tale set in exotic locations. This is a fast paced story which would be perfect to be made into a film or tv series. It has all the right elements; intrigue, danger, corruption in high places, beautiful people etc. The twists and turns make it exciting to read and difficult to put down.

Interesting thriller starts in Switzerland,moves through England and ends in Panama with occasional pit stops in the U.S. Based on dodgy dealings in a planned Panama Canal expansion this is a quite complex little yarn that doesn't quite reach for me but nevertheless is a diverting read that has enough to make one see how it turns out. Intrigued to learn it's the first of three so maybe it will improve!

The Expansion was a very interesting and entertaining read and well written. Panama is taking bids for the expansion of the Panama Canal. Different countries are preparing their bids for the expansion. Political corruption and monetary gain help make this book even more intriguing. I am looking forward to reading The Expansion sequel. (ARC)I

Max Burns, a geomatic engineer, has the career chance of a lifetime working on a new project for expanding the Panama Canal. He gives up the promise of a sound job with his then fiancee's father, and drops everything to go.
The description of the work, the history of the beginnings of the Panama Canal are riveting, and one realises how little one knew of this part of history.
There is much intrigue in the story. Karis, who is apparently a scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical research Centre, becomes involved. Is she what she appears to be, or is there something else in her background?
Politics, lies, promises and backstabbing make this book race along.
It's a super story.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.