Felix Grey and the Descendant
Felix Grey is the youngest Prime Minister since Pitt in an alternate history set in 1904. Economically Britain is doing well, but rapid industrialisation has caused social problems to come to a head, and Felix also has to deal with the additional tension of increasing foreign competition. Then two peers are kidnapped, and a series of obviously contrived factory “accidents” stir up trouble in the trade union movement. Add in Masonic links, a feisty female professor and the discovery of a secret passage at 10 Downing Street, and we have the makings of a very good mystery.
Unfortunately, the realisation is somewhat lacking. Mr Theodorou is primarily a screenwriter, and it shows. As a script, this would work quite well. As a novel there isn’t enough characterization, and the numerous plot holes destroy suspension of disbelief. There is no good reason why a Prime Minister is the main protagonist – the book has him facing a vote of no confidence and yet spending untold hours on an independent investigation. The evil plot and its thwarting make no sense, and the motivations of the main villain are revealed too late, which means the final reveal loses a lot of its impact. Still the lead-in to the next book in the series is compelling.
