The author's background and the location of the story in Kazakhstan were quite interesting to me and so I selected this book to review from Netgallery with high hopes.

Unfortunately, the story line was too implausible and the characters too much of a caricature. There were several little mistakes which I found distracting; for example, the main character was selected because he spoke Farsi - which isn't spoken in Kazakhstan.

I do not like giving low review scores because I know the effort it takes to write a novel, but I did not even bother to finish this book, so 2 stars - for the authors' effort and for basing the book in this interesting location.

James Ballantyne, former army officer and now a diplomat and a covert spy, travels to Kazakhstan on a diplomatic assignment. He tells his local aide Ocksana Petrova that the new part of the capital feels like Brasilia the designer capital of Brazil. However officials wanting a bribe is still as old as time. His work almost finished he has a chat with an American in his hotel . This however changes things and James has to flee the country.

The novel reads like watching a good action movie. The exotic setting of Kazakhstan and neighbouring countries is interesting.I really liked reading it

It is not a very long novel. And that brings me to the only negative remark: the story ends abruptly and will continue in another novel. I definitely do not like cliffhangers and would recommend to combine those books into one John le Carre tome size one.

Having lived in Kazakhstan, I was really looking forward to reading this novel. However, I was extremely disappointed with the storyline, the description of the country and the dreadful ending (which leads poorly onto the next novel in the story).
The premise that an ex-military, British minor diplomat, would go off the grid to aid a dubious unknown American, is quite preposterous. The back story of an illicit romance with a beautiful Kazak government official is far-fetched and too predictable..
The author pointed out the protagonist was selected for this mission because of his fluency in Farsi and Russian languages. Russian and Kazak are the two main languages in Kazakhstan, Farsi is not spoken. The bland descriptions of the cities could have been of any ex-Soviet Union metropolis and were unrecognisable as any major city in Kazakhstan.
The personalities of the main characters were not really fleshed out enough for them to become believable. Virtually every person depicted in the book, showed mindboggling and implausible naivety.
I will not be reading Paul Purnell’s follow up novel.

This is very fast paced, and reads a bit like an action movie, so it's not about character development. OK writing. If you're looking for a fairly quick read, this may be it.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

The Kazak Contract
by PAUL PURNELL

4 stars

A fast-moving action story.

Apart from the rather abrupt ending which is seeing up a second book in the series, the book flows well.

James Ballantyne travels to Kazakhstan on a minor diplomatic assignment. A simple task, but he falls for the glamorous aide Ocksana Petrova, sent to guide him through the process. Fate leads him to the rescue of a US special agent who is the target of assassination by the Kazak authorities.

Getting out of Kazakhstan alive will draw upon all of James’s military skills, and a lot of luck. With ambush and deception along the way, will he make it to the border and safety? How can he protect his lover? This journey through a wild country stretches every nerve

The main characters are well developed, although the love relationship is a little flimsy, which ties the plot together.

Set in Kazakhstan, which makes a different setting for which allows for a bit more mystery in the story - exotic, unknown locations.

Overall, a good read.

This title has been reviewed by This title was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an open and honest review.

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The language is not very smooth and the plot is naive and based on imaginary problems. There's no suspense; actually no point at all. It's not so easy to write a book as only putting words together.