This book was a fast paced spy thriller. Once again we have the spy and the academic are thrown together trying to stay alive while a vast conspiracy wants them dead. This conspiracy is all to real considering the times in which we live. So, I really wanted to keep reading to see how it would all come out. The only thing keeping this from being 5 stars is that I don't feel like I know the two min characters very well. I can't really picture them. I don't quite have their voices in my head when I read. Fortunately, it seems there is room for another book and I can, maybe, get to know them better in the future.

William Dresden, a disgraced history professor, retreated to his villa in France. A phone call from MI6 agent Adeline Parker changed his life and everything he believed about his family. In an action packed thriller, Dresden and Parker race through Europe to stop a plot by the Strasbourg Executives, a group of extreme nationalists who use terror and manipulate social media to influence public opinion. Adeline reveals the involvement of the Decker family, going back several generations. His father’s own accidental death had been faked so that he could take a leadership position with the Executives. They have now been taken over by a leader who will use whatever violence is necessary to lay blame on the immigrant communities and return the European nations to the idea of racial purity. With the help of unexpected sources and someone working on the inside of the organization, Decker and Parker evade assassins and conceive a plan to expose them.

Adam Sikes’ The Underhanded is fast paced with enough near misses to keep you on the edge of your seat. He also provides historical background to set the scene for events in the present. Decker has witnessed genocide in the past and had settled into the life of an academic. When Parker contacts him there is little trust between the two but their survival depends on her skills and working together. They grow as a team as they struggle against the Executive. Even when the Executive’s board is defeated there are still elements of the organization in existence and Sikes’ ending leaves it open for a possible sequel, which I can not wait to see. This is a must read for fans of Steve Berry or Dan Brown, whose thrillers include elements o history. I would like to thank NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for making this book available for my review.

A History Professor gets disgraced because of a bombing where he was the victim and was posed as the perpetrator. His whole life turns upside down when he discovers about The Executive and his family's role in it. From teacher he becomes a spy and he runs for his life doing things that were unthinkable a few days before it all begin. The Underhanded is a fast-paced well documented story about how things might be handled in the espionage area, and how countries and political figures are involved in deciding people's future. Dense, well-written, and frightening to think this story could be partially true. Entertaining and recommended if you are into spy thrillers and political gambling.
I thank Mr. Sykes, his publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Underhanded by Adam Sikes
This isn’t a spy thriller as much as it is an action-adventure. Professor William Dresden is a discredited historian. How a historian becomes discredited is part of the plot. The Professor discovers that his research has inadvertently cast light on the underpinnings of an international conspiracy. British Intelligence approaches him for help in discovering more about the international conspiracy. Said approach triggers major changes in the Professor’s life.

Sike builds his characters with depth. He uses intelligence briefings to give you the necessary background to understand their behavior. The utilization of current events surrounding the neo-fascist nationalistic and anti-immigration issues provides fuel for the international plot.

Occasionally the complexity of the plot becomes confusing but eventually, all is worked out. The sequel door is open. Interesting note, not once did anyone call Professor William Dresden, Bill.


I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

A new exciting voice in spy thrillers, Adam Sikes’s The Underhanded (2024) is set in current-day Europe against the modern-day rise of national extremism. Princeton History Professor William Dresden is enjoying a break on the Riverina in France, having had his latest research defunded. Whilst he is enjoying a coffee at a street-side café, Adeline Parker joins him to discuss his research. They survive a bomb explosion and have to flee, as a secret organisation known as the Strasburg Executive hunts for them. Adeline is a special operative for MI6 trying to unmask a powerful cartel of rich business people using big data to stir up nationalism and cause civil disturbance. A nicely paced spy tale, with plenty of action and an all-too-real scenario narrative, that has some interesting historical insight. Overall, a believable espionage thriller that is a credible plotted adventure with a four and a half star read rating. With thanks to Oceanview Publishing Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

The Underhanded by Adam Sikes. A History professor gets pulled into an espionage program seeking a cabal of behind the scenes influencers who wield immense power but do so anonymously. Tells a scary tale of the power these so-called influencers have and can wield - especially nowadays through social media. It is frightening to think that most people care so little about who is in power and how they got it.

Now that's what I call conspiracy with plenty of action, twists, and turns. So similar to the current headlines. So it is easy to be pulled in. History teacher pulled into it seems far fetched until you get near the end. Never got what some of the smaller characters had to win. It is an interesting book for someone that likes action packed political stories.

While I enjoyed this read overall, I can't help but think the pudding is over-egged. There are many layers to the grand conspiracy that forms the heart of this story, and many parts of that have an almost super villain feel, that make this seem a little cartoonish. I enjoyed the general premise, a scheme that is using technology, big data, and social media manipulation to drive an agenda and cause chaos. You can imagine that happening because we hear about it now.

But even though there are plenty of action scenes and the protagonist is engaging and thoroughly likeable, the book is often bogged down with slow dialogue and over explanation. Other books do this as well, the scenes where a character will explain their entire scheme in minute details, or scenes where characters plot out something in minute detail. Sometimes that is better handled in prose, not dialogue, and I wonder if I would have thought about this different if the book showed more balance in that respect.

I do like the scale of the book. I do like the fast-paced scenes, when they were there. I like the everyday protagonist, this time a professor of history, who is thrown into a world a danger and uncertainty. I thought his reactions to events weren't always consistent to his character, given such a sudden dive into the shady world of espionage and life-threatening danger is a sharp contrast to his academic life. I expected more shock, more fear. He felt very comfortable in certain scenes, too comfortable for who I thought the character to be.

In any case, I do think fans of conspiracy type books, or espionage books, may get a thrill out of this. It's a big plot and written with a lot of humanity. And I really liked the cover. That's what drew me to this in the first place.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing a copy of the book for an honest review. All comments are my own.

Video link will be shared later.

The Underhanded is a story about a secret society in Europe that believes that Europe is being overrun by immigrants from other countries and diluting the importance and the role of the natives of the European continent. It is an interesting theory of a group of well-financed private societies that has been carrying out planned, staged killings of select immigrant communities to preserve white supremacy in Europe.
It is a fast-paced thriller that starts with an incident at Tempelhof Airport where a group of Syrian refugees accommodated temporarily at Berlin Airport are bombed out by a group of fanatics. The story is about the unravelling of the underlying secret sect that includes the father of the protagonist and how they stop and immobilise the sect, at least temporarily.
The story is quite riveting and we are fed with a mixture of fact and fiction to keep the reader engrossed. It is an exciting idea, that a group of rich individuals can assign themselves the role of the torchbearers for white supremacy in Europe and the extent to which they misuse the power and wealth in their midst to maintain the purity of their race—a fascinating and captivating book to read.

For me this was an extremely slow developing story and one that was very convoluted and beyond my reading interest. I'm sure that some will like it but cannot count myself in that number. The story is about a professor named William Dresden who had lots of history that was not pleasant including being ridiculed for some recent research. When an MI6 officer named Adeline Parker pops into the picture thus begins a series of adventures similar to old spy movies of the 1950-60s vintage.

The book seems to be the quintessential English novel and if you like slow developing and almost tedious storytelling, then this one is for you. I did not like it but struggled along learning about this cabal named The Executive, before finally making some inroads into the ultimate point (I think).

Underhanded by Adam Sikes takes the reader into today’s nightmare of unprovoked mass murders, untrustworthy fake news, breaking news media hype, and projects the menace of an evil controller. An intriguing read.

A tale of a secret cabal and a global conspiracy that’s centuries in the making yet with a ripped from the headlines here-and-now feel, The Underhanded is sure to thrill while making you question who’s really wielding power and driving the events that shape our world. Adam Sikes has crafted an intricate, pensive and action-packed story that blurs the lines between fact and fiction.

Professor William Dresden is in France, licking his wounds from being discredited by his peers over a research paper he published. With a past that includes a difficult childhood, having witnessed genocide in Bosnia, and driving away the woman he loved, you’d think he’s all filled up on problems. But enters MI6 officer Adeline Parker, who tells him shocking information about his family and then nearly gets him killed by a bomb meant to silence them both. Now, Dresden and Parker find themselves in the middle of a high-stakes game of life and death against the Strasbourg Executive, a group of neo fascists and extreme nationalists who have designs of reigning terror across Europe to further their hateful agenda. But to survive, Dresden and Parker will have to turn the tables on this dangerous group, go on offense, enlist the help of other shadowy figures, and pray it all comes together to stop all hell from reigning down across the continent. And maybe save their own lives in the process.

The Underhanded is the perfect book for those who love a good conspiracy that’s rooted in historical context and aligns with current events. It goes deep down the rabbit hole of secret cabals influencing events and sacrificing innocent people to further their cause. It also includes family drama that goes well beyond what most people can imagine, deplorable villains who do despicable things and a likeable protagonist whose evolution and development is a sight to behold. And then lastly, it’s filled with pulse-pounding action and gasp-out-loud twists. Everything a discerning thriller fan could want, packaged within an intriguing novel that’s well written with good pacing and entertains while it makes you think about the state of the world and who’s really pulling the strings.

Sorry but it is Just not my cup of tea, i found it rather boring and had problems getting into it so I was unable to finish it.

The premise of this thriller is a European conspiracy theory that drives most of the action. Since this is fiction, and the premise seems plausible for a thriller, I think a reader of this genre will enjoy this book. The lead character is both enjoyable, yet somewhat naive and vulnerable.....a nice combination. The author seems very comfortable writing in this format and it shows. Well-developed characters, believable action, and periodic thrill segments that flow well with the evolving story.