I came hot foot to R.J  Ellory and Proof of Life having just finished  Peter Temple’s: Black Tide – you see, I am re-reading all my heroes – Peter Kerr,  Wingfield, and Reginald Hill  – so funny, (well, Kerr not so much,but  amazing characters, living breathing and extraordinarily good novels) articulate, page turning,

So I picked up Proof of Life, and I read Ellory’s first line, and burst out laughing, relaxing even as I had wondered what on earth I was going to read next. Panic over, here it was.

But then, immediately I whimpered. For no, I had misunderstood the  first line: Airports, like crowded cities, seemed a perfect contradiction to Stroud.

I had thought Stroud, near Gloucester.

But no, it was Stroud, former war correspondent. So was I doomed to disappointment?

I read on, and calmed down, because it is sharp, and edge of seat, excellent characters, living, breathing, flawed (but of course, aren’t we all so we can empathise) and really rather fabulous.  In a nutshell, Proof of Life is a gripping unputdownable globe-trotting espionage thriller.  I have a new hero, an erudite writer, empathetic, knows his stuff, and how to pace and has, glory be, a long long backlist.  Thank you, thank you R.J.Ellory for your books, and Orion for publishing this man, I need not worry about my reading list for quite some while.

So, let me tell you a story… Who was it who said that?

Stroud is a former war photographer who left the frontline before his luck ran out like Vincent Raphael’s,  his closest friend, his mentor, his linchpin if you like. Raphael was killed in an explosion in Jordan, a  hand grenade thrown through his car window. Cans of petrol in the car … Whoosh.

It was only an empty coffin that was buried by his family – there was no body, and no car, all gone in a puff of smoke.

Stroud  took the news of Raphael’s death at face value . Well, one would, wouldn’t one? Really, wouldn’t one? And you’d drench yourself with a devasting grief that brings your world crashing in on you…

So, imagine if, six years later, you are shown a blurred distant photograph purporting to be Raphael, in Istanbul – now. Is it him? Stroud can’t be sure. So is Raphael really dead? If not, who, what  was Raphael, for if he was Stroud’s  friend, his mentor, why  just disappear and leave this gaping hole? No, no,  he must be dead.

If you are Stroud, this former globe trotting, former adrenaline fuelled journalist, maybe you take up the challenge to hunt down the truth.  But as the hunt for the elusive facts continues, does Stroud really want to know the truth?

Loved it. Will read the backlist. Will slaver over Ellory’s immaculate writing, and thank him for taking the panic out of what to read next.

Buy it, love it, savour it.

Proof of Life by R.J. Ellory. Available in hb. £20.99 eBook and audio.

Margaret Graham is the author of many novels under various names