Review: A sophisticatedly woven tale
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 7, 2014
Michelle Medhat’s debut novel, the thriller Connected: The Call is a sophisticatedly woven tale of Desperate Governments, Terrorist collectives, Nano-technology and one woman’s connection to it all.The story it is fair to say had me intrigued from the start. The short sharp chapters flick between Whitehall, Washington and Dubai in real time, as the global terrorist threat of the Al Nadir collective threatens to spiral out of control. Best not mention Piccadilly... The terrorist threat is real enough to send a shiver down your spine as you read, and the reactions afforded to the relevant Governments are realistic without being overly stereotypical.  The way the collective grow, by offering the slum inhabitants of the world – some 40 million – a way out is genius.What pulled me in, over everything else though was the attention to detail of the technological aspects. I’m not so naive as to assume that Stealth Suits that render the wearer invisible – for want of a better example think Harry Potter’s Cloak of Invisibility – are in operation, but Medhat certainly made me want to believe it. The Nano-technology was enthralling, the possibilities ‘page-turningly’ brilliant. No spoilers here. The inventiveness in creating a new breed of suicide bomber must have had Medhat researching for days on end.It’s only fair to mention at this point why Connected: The Call fell a shy  star short of the full 5. As much as I loved the chapter style - short and real time - I did find myself back tracking to previous chapters to time check. After reading a chapter it’s not easy to start the next chapter always remembering that the last one started at 5:05am. Other than that I found Ellie a bit hard to take to at first, but she came into her own as the novel progressed.Suffice to say, Connected: The Call is a thoroughly entertaining debut from Michelle Medhat. With news that Connected: The Shift is only a couple of months away, it’s certainly nice to know that the spy story that gripped me more than any other in recent times is soon to have a sequel.**** 4  STARSPaul