Book Review: The Man From St. Petersberg by Ken Follett

Summary: 

His name was Feliks. He came to London to commit a murder that would change history. A master manipulator, he had many weapons at his command, but against him were ranged the whole of the English police, a brilliant and powerful lord, and the young Winston Churchill himself. These odds would have stopped any man in the world-except the man from St. Petersburg...

Review: 

What makes Ken Follett so great, in my opinion, is his ability to take a really dull subject and create a book around it that is exciting, thrilling and suspenseful.  Thinking back on all of the Ken Follett books I've read:  The Pillars of the Earth was about building a cathedral, World Without End was about building a bridge, A Dangerous Fortune was about banking, and The Man From St. Petersberg was about foreign policy in 1914 England. 

All of those topics sound so boring when I read that list, but Follett makes them into a book that I can't stop reading!  I was a little apprehensive that The Man From St. Petersberg wouldn't be as good as the previous Follett books I've read, but it was.  It was a shorter book so I was able to speed through it and after the first 75 pages, I just couldn't stop!  

The Man From St. Petersberg is about two star-crossed lovers and the paths their lives take after their heartbreaking forced separation.  The way Follett weaves his plots together, taking events that seem unrelated and then making them all tied together at the end, is so satisfying.  I also really enjoy the way he writes relationships and feelings.  His poetic justice is another selling point, as well as his pacing.  Can you tell that I love Ken Follett?

Just One Gripe: 

This one was a little harder to get into than his other books.

The Best Thing About This Book: 

The relationships and character development.

Appropriate for a younger audience: 

No

Score: 

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Setting/Imagery: 5/5

Originality: 5/5

Ending: 5/5

Total Score:  25/25