Review: [Lure the lie]

[Lure the lie] by Cat Connor (9mm Press, 2021)

Reviewed by Tony Chapelle

In New Zealand indefinitely and finally out from behind a desk and back in the field, Australian intelligence officer Dave Crocker (aka Crockett) is tasked with locating a missing cryptographer, Tania Bateman. His boss decided that Crockett should work with a private investigator Veronica Tracey (Ronnie). Ronnie's specialty is finding people. Crockett's specialty is solving problems.

The mysteries surrounding the missing woman and her whereabouts prior to her disappearance pose quandaries for Crockett, and don't make Ronnie's job any easier. As they attempt to peel back the layers of deception it becomes apparent that the lies are protecting something and they have a decision to make.

At one point towards the end of this novel, one of the main protagonists describes its setting as ‘sleepy Upper Hutt’. And indeed, Upper Hutt can be said to be an essential part of the plot. Its streets, its pubs, its brewery, its restaurants, its retail outlets (particularly a bookshop) and many other actual establishments become minor features and give the story a remarkable authenticity. 

Most of the major protagonists in the novel are, however, anything but ordinary people going about their ordinary lives. This is a story of mystery and intrigue, of international spies, of a behind-the-scenes world of personal danger and even of threats to humanity’s existence. It involves a panoply of characters including foreign mercenaries, an Australian bikie gang, home-bred thugs, a small group of elderly women in a Rest Home (who are given the name ‘The Cronies of Doom’), a greyhound called Romeo and a number of individuals whose motives are muddied, to say the least, and who learn to trust or mistrust each other as the plot moves along.

Technology is another element that plays a huge part in the plot. This reviewer, being something of a technophobe, found much of it surprising, and more than a little scary. But these are the tools of the spies and missing-people hunters that provide the essential story. They are multi-faceted, these central characters. In some cases they are also apt to have more than one name. There are a number of significant players, but Ronnie (Veronica) and Crockett (Crocker) drive the plot along as they search for answers to the disappearance of a woman whose identity and loyalties are not clear. It all (or mostly!) does become clear in the end, but to give more away would spoil the story.

There are also welcome elements of humour throughout the book, and of romance. The dialogue is mostly snappy, though at times it is required perhaps to carry rather too much of the plot. The reader does get to know the key characters well, though, through their interactions. But the reader should also be aware that any assumptions they make as to whether or not a particular character is on the side of the angels may well prove incorrect as the plot unfolds.

It requires close attention to follow the plot’s twists and turns, but such close consideration is worth the effort. Could ‘sleepy Upper Hutt’ really be the nursery for such nefarious goings-on?  If so, then any other corner of the country could be the same. Not only is this a thrilling story of modern-day spies and their methods, it is a reminder that like it or not, New Zealand is part of the international world in which they operate.

This is a refreshingly original novel, and a cracking good read. 

This review was first published in FlaxFlower reviews, which focuses on in-depth reviews of New Zealand books of all kinds, and is reprinted here with the kind permission of Flaxflower founder and editor Bronwyn Elsmore.