Compromised is the story of a British Special Forces soldier kidnapped by the IRA in Belfast during The Irish Troubles in 1989 – the first part of the story is relentless in its pace and covers a time period of less than 12 hours focussing on the kidnapping and interrogation of the soldier. In contrast the second part of the novel covers the years that follow the kidnapping through a series of snapshots of key events affecting the principle characters against the backdrop of The Troubles, interwoven with insights into the activities of British intelligence and security agencies. The third and final part of Compromised is set in 1997 where, with the promise of a real prospect for peace looming across the whole of Ireland, there will be a final reckoning.
Compromised is the tale of a young British special forces soldier who is abducted by the IRA during the "troubles" in Northern Ireland. What happens to him and other significant characters following the abduction and in later years forms the story. The strengths of the novel are the plot and the apparent authenticity of the details of the setting. Unfortunately, Derek Keyte's writing is very heavy handed and this almost destroyed my interest. The reader is given little credit as everything is explained at length, and Keyte thinks nothing of stopping the action for an info dump. A clear 2.5 stars if ever there was one, but 2 stars would be a bit mean considering the plot was decent and that Keyte seemed to know his stuff.
I found this book has great detail and knowledge of that period. The storyline was very believable and strong characters. I was however not so keen on the ending!
The sequel to Compromised is coming and Derek is planning to release his new novel towards the end of 2012: he has confirmed that this will be a sequel following on directly from the final confrontation witnessed at the conclusion of Compromised and will feature some familiar characters from his first novel...more news will be published exclusively on DerekKeyte.com later in the year.
Entertaining. Having worked for 5 months in Belfast during the height of the Troubles I recognised a lot of the settings and the atmosphere. However, whan the author writes that somebody flicks off the safety on his Glock 17 (which doesn't have an external safety) you wonder how much of the other facts are flawed.
Well written, exciting, and realistic. Unmarred by the increasingly prevalent problems with spelling and basic English in ebooks. For a paid book, it would be well worth it - this is a kindle free offering!
As a freebie not much was expected but I actually enjoyed the debut novel though writing was not the best. Decent plot and sound atmospheric characters ensured you read on but the ending was swift and a slight let down. Author clearly knows the subject.
A Kindle freebie: On the whole a very good book although uncomfortable reading in places. Couldn't predict the end...recommend to those old enough to remember the Northern Ireland 'troubles'.
I downloaded this book for free and it makes sense why. It is slow at times and boring at others. The only interesting part is the setting, Northern Ireland in the 80s.
Couldn't put it down and couldn't predict the ending. Not sure if it was factually correct, but certainly a good read and a good insight into the troubles.
This book is about a British soldier captured by the IRA what he endures and his life following. A difficult read at times but nevertheless a book that is difficult to put down
To say this was a free book it was very good, not my usual type of read but I think that's why I liked it, seemed very realistic, definitely would recommend it