Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

“The Secretary is only inches away. Was she the target? Was she in love with her guest?”

If you love action, political fiction and a badass main character, then you’ll probably enjoy this – it has all three! I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book, though. I was so engrossed in the action, but the political chapters, regular info dumps and large cast of characters left me sometimes confused and a bit bored. It definitely picks up by the end! I’m happy to share my review of Otello’s Oil, and hopefully be able to show it to its ideal reader base!

About the book

The U.S. Secretary of State is in a loveless marriage. She has invited the Oil Minister of Kuwait to dinner in Georgetown followed by opera at the Kennedy Center. In Act III of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello, a shot is fired, but no one hears a thing. The Minister slumps in his seat. Blood oozes from his chest. The Secretary is only inches away. Was she the target? Was she in love with her guest?

Elliot Jones is a Special Agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. He is tasked with leading the investigation. A cross between Sam Spade and Jack Ryan — Jones won medals for shooting at the Summer Olympics.

He soon discovers that the Oil Minister was in the crosshairs of a global battle among the super powers for energy.

The beginning

The last thing I expected from this book after seeing the front cover was an opening chapter set in 2031, but it was a welcome surprise! And the story starts in such an intriguing way. We meet Elliot and his daughter, Rachel, who are heading onto a ferry to enjoy some quality father-daughter time. But it isn’t long before plans change… Elliot is a Special Agent working with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, and his training helps him to spot a shifty looking character with a handgun who leaves a van on the ferry, and then leaves said ferry before it starts its journey. He suspects there is something dangerous on board, and if he was right, he had to work fast to keep passengers on board safe. Elliot’s job was completely fascinating and seriously cool. Who hasn’t dreamed of being in involved in something like the Secret Service at some point?! The opening chapters were fast paced and action packed, and it gave me high hopes for the rest of the book. It really was a great start!

“If he was the driver of the van, this could be bad, very bad.”

However, what came next felt really different to what I’d just read. We rewind to four weeks before the ferry incident, and SO many characters are introduced all in one go which felt really off. I just could not get my head around them all. We’re given a little too much information about a lot of them, which is an issue I don’t think I’ve come across before! Their introductions felt like they should have been kept in the author’s private character development notes. It was literally impossible to remember all the information we’re given which really made me lose concentration. I hoped I’d be able to pick up on who these characters were and their significance later! So many chapters flew by without even mentioning Elliot again and I hoped things would pick up again soon. But what did interest me was the opera setting! I loved preparations for Guiseppe Verdi’s Otello, and how there is an chilling feeling of knowing something dangerous is about to go down. A shot is fired. The Kuwait oil minister covered in blood. Who was responsible? Come back to us, Elliot! Quickly!

The middle

The book quickly turns very political which isn’t my thing at all, so I felt the need to skip over certain scenes to avoid marking the book as a DNF and to prevent boredom. I much preferred reading the action packed/mystery solving scenes and the author really writes them so well! I was so thankful when Elliot’s chapters came around because these were what I was staying for and I knew they wouldn’t disappoint me. These chapters also helped me to understand what was happening in the whole political side of things in a nutshell, which I was thankful for. The plot is complex, there are big info dumps often which were way too heavy in my eyes, but I’m sure there will be an audience for it somewhere. But I did love Elliot’s whole investigation into what really happened with the oil minister’s attack and just how brilliant he was at his job. I liked playing detective to try and work out the truth and I really thought the author’s storytelling talent shone through here in particular. I was still amazed and stumped in equal measure by how many characters there were, but I was getting by!

“You never know. People nowadays are crazy.”

I have to say, the detail the author goes into was really impressive. You can just see the research that’s gone into this story, into creating these characters, both lovable and dangerous. Some detail didn’t feel needed though, just like when the character introductions were taking place (why do we need to know so much detail about a car model?! I guess the author loves cars…) but maybe this is just a me thing. There was some robotic, small talk dialogue that didn’t really move the plot along in any way, nor did it feel interesting to read, but this was also balanced with some exciting dialogue that really brought out the best in some characters. Sometimes, it felt like I was reading two different books! I continued to love Elliot’s character more and more, his detective work was impeccable. He leaves no stone unturned. With his team behind him, we get closer and closer to uncovering the truth, with the different perspectives giving the book a mysterious edge. I loved analysing all the evidence alongside them, coming up with theories. Definitely the best part of a book like this.

The end

There were some brilliant action scenes as things start to get tense. The kind of scenes that make your heart race, the kind where you just don’t know what’s going to happen. Elliot, as well as being a badass, is also a family man, and we see him in full protector mode which made me feel like a proud mother. But – as one example out of many – why interrupt the flow of a great action scene with specifications of a gun? I don’t care if it’s a .44 Magnum, I don’t care if it was used in Dirty Harry and Magnum Force, I need to see this scene play out!! This, once again, pulled me out of the story, just when a fast paced scene had me flicking through the pages. Instead of feeling satisfied, I did an eye roll. Thankfully, these interruptions didn’t last long. BUT, forgetting all of that, there is some brilliant writing which really makes you feel the fear and the danger. It makes you ask questions, ponder the truth. Many characters finally began to grow on me, and as a result, I became more excited about the grand finale.

“Had he been discovered? If so, what should he do? Surrender, fight? Maybe he was overreacting.”

The ending, however, fell a little flat for me but again, I blame the political theme that to be honest, you just can’t get away from in a book like this. It just wasn’t to my taste, which isn’t to say everyone else will feel the same way! I did enjoy reading the epilogue though, which gave us a round up of some of the characters, where they were now and where life went for them after the whole ordeal. Some happy endings and some not so happy! Even though this book wasn’t the dream book for me, I would still love the author to write something with more action, more mystery. I think he’d really excel at it! And I’m still curious to see what he comes up with next. Elliot was a brilliant character, so depending on the themes of the book, I’d definitely be interested in trying out another book in the series, if that’s the plan!

Overall thoughts

Otello’s Oil combines crime, mystery and politics to create a multilayered story of betrayal, love and greed. It’s a heavy read at times with a lot to keep track of, but Layton’s creation of Elliot Jones had me coming back for more. He’s a great main character, his desire to protect his family and do what is right, as well as his actions in times of fear and immense danger were great. I loved the action, but less so the politics. Not the perfect book for me, nor was it written as well as it could be. 2.5 stars but rounded up to 3.

You can grab your own copy of Otello’s Oil over on Amazon.

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