Book Review: ‘Citizen Orlov: A Novel’ By Jonathan Payne

It’s the end of WWII, in an unnamed country, and for Citizen Orlov, being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and answering a phone he shouldn’t have. When he hears a phone ringing at the Ministry office, he makes the mistake of answering it, and is then drawn into a plot to kill the King. He is assigned to Citizen Agent Zelle, an alluring, mysterious woman, who out to get the King. Orlov manages to foil the plot, but a man dies, and he’s put on trial. He has names, and information he can use in his case, is suddenly freed, and forced to work again for the Ministry, by blackmail. He decides to fight back, and comes up with his own plan to bring down the bad guys, and it just might work for him, or get him killed trying. This is a fun, twisty thriller, set in an era, that works great for this novel. You root for Orlov the whole way to get out of the problems he is in, and there are many. A good debut novel.

You can pick up Citizen Orlov in stores on Tuesday, May 23rd.