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Birthright
Taxi driver Trung Nguyen spots something strange happening opposite his brother's restaurant in
China town.
He moves closer and sees something he shouldn't. Beaten up, he's left for dead.
Later, Trung tells passenger Robin Edwards, a detective, about it. Soon Trung and Edwards are in over
their heads in a complicated situation. Edwards isn't sure about some of his colleagues. Who can they trust?
German backpacker Renata says she's come to trace her grandfather, but should Edwards believe
her?
Moving between Perth and Vietnam, this action-packed crime story will keep you guessing until the final pages.
China town.
He moves closer and sees something he shouldn't. Beaten up, he's left for dead.
Later, Trung tells passenger Robin Edwards, a detective, about it. Soon Trung and Edwards are in over
their heads in a complicated situation. Edwards isn't sure about some of his colleagues. Who can they trust?
German backpacker Renata says she's come to trace her grandfather, but should Edwards believe
her?
Moving between Perth and Vietnam, this action-packed crime story will keep you guessing until the final pages.
358 pages, Paperback
Published February 7, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 3, 2024
Trung Nguyen, a South Vietnamese refugee taxi driver, witnesses men unloading a body onto a trolley … and is mugged for it. On the way to the airport, he tells Detective Sergeant Edwards about the incident. Bored sorting through old cases, Edwards decides to do some investigating. Called to pick up Alan Duffy, Trung spots one of the men who mugged him. Duffy, a WWII bomber pilot, is running an organ harvesting operation in Vietnam and shipping drugs to Australia under cover of his funeral business. Things began to unravel when his former bombardier and estranged granddaughter show up. Duffy conveniently eliminates the bombardier, but stops short at killing his granddaughter. Edwards has enough superficial evidence to go after Duffy’s drug smuggling operation, but is sidelined by his corrupt police chief. Undeterred, he and his team pursue the case. Things never work out as planned, though.
With ‘Birthright’, Kelvin White and Bruce Russell weave an intricately plotted story that captures interest from the first page. The large cast of characters, frequent chapter skipping, and historical flashbacks, makes it initially difficult to follow what is going on, or relate to any principal character, as there isn’t one. However, this compelling story and the evolving relationship between the protagonists, demands turning the next page. The authors provide a wealth of local detail and unfold the novel with good dialogue and narrative. Unlike with many whodunits, ‘Birthright’ is not predictable and closely guards the developing plot, which makes for a gripping read. Greater character development would make this book an outstanding crime thriller, but readers will nevertheless walk away satisfied.
With ‘Birthright’, Kelvin White and Bruce Russell weave an intricately plotted story that captures interest from the first page. The large cast of characters, frequent chapter skipping, and historical flashbacks, makes it initially difficult to follow what is going on, or relate to any principal character, as there isn’t one. However, this compelling story and the evolving relationship between the protagonists, demands turning the next page. The authors provide a wealth of local detail and unfold the novel with good dialogue and narrative. Unlike with many whodunits, ‘Birthright’ is not predictable and closely guards the developing plot, which makes for a gripping read. Greater character development would make this book an outstanding crime thriller, but readers will nevertheless walk away satisfied.
February 19, 2024
It's not often I read a novel I don't have some criticism of, but Birthright is one of them.
I really didn't know what to expect. I had read Kelvin White's two Spencer Marlowe stories and enjoyed them enormously. The co-author of Birthright I hadn't encountered before.
The writing style of this novel is very different from the previous Kelvin White stories.
The prologue is harrowing, telling of a WW2 massacre by the German Army in Lidice. I googled that and found it had actually happened.
The bulk of the story revolved around Perth, Vietnamese taxi driver Trung, cop, Robin Edwards and Renata, a German girl who travels to Perth to find her Australian grandfather Alan Duffy, who impregnated Renata's grandmother at the time of the Lidice massacre. Yes, you guessed it. One of the SS officers was supposedly Renata's grandfather.
The plot twists and turns, travelling between Perth Western Australia, Vietnam, with flashes back to Germany.
This really is a terrific plot. There are crooked cops, and a web of corruption involving Renata's real grandfather Alan Duffy.
I'll say no more but let me tell you it's a great plot, the characters are very believable and it has a very satisfying ending that could easily spawn a sequel.
Well done Kelvin White and Bruce Russell.
I really didn't know what to expect. I had read Kelvin White's two Spencer Marlowe stories and enjoyed them enormously. The co-author of Birthright I hadn't encountered before.
The writing style of this novel is very different from the previous Kelvin White stories.
The prologue is harrowing, telling of a WW2 massacre by the German Army in Lidice. I googled that and found it had actually happened.
The bulk of the story revolved around Perth, Vietnamese taxi driver Trung, cop, Robin Edwards and Renata, a German girl who travels to Perth to find her Australian grandfather Alan Duffy, who impregnated Renata's grandmother at the time of the Lidice massacre. Yes, you guessed it. One of the SS officers was supposedly Renata's grandfather.
The plot twists and turns, travelling between Perth Western Australia, Vietnam, with flashes back to Germany.
This really is a terrific plot. There are crooked cops, and a web of corruption involving Renata's real grandfather Alan Duffy.
I'll say no more but let me tell you it's a great plot, the characters are very believable and it has a very satisfying ending that could easily spawn a sequel.
Well done Kelvin White and Bruce Russell.
February 22, 2024
I do get a kick out of being amongst the first readers to find a new novel.
My favourite genre's are just about anything, so long as they're well written and have a great plot.
Birthright certainly ticked the boxes.
Clearly writing a best seller is no easy task, the competition is literally infinite.
What I find difficult to understand is you start following an author, loving his or her work and then they turn out a stinker, and you wonder ' How the hell did that happen?'
And then out of the blue you turn up a little known author or authors and find an absolute gem that puts a lot of the heavyweights to shame.
Authors Kelvin White and Bruce Russell between them have a very distinctive style that keeps you turning the page. It has been said that every chapter of a novel should be capable of standing alone. This is certainly the case with Birthright. All the essential ingredients are there. A great plot, intrigue, a charming romance and some nasty villains.
I would defy anyone to not enjoy this story. A definite 5 star read.
My favourite genre's are just about anything, so long as they're well written and have a great plot.
Birthright certainly ticked the boxes.
Clearly writing a best seller is no easy task, the competition is literally infinite.
What I find difficult to understand is you start following an author, loving his or her work and then they turn out a stinker, and you wonder ' How the hell did that happen?'
And then out of the blue you turn up a little known author or authors and find an absolute gem that puts a lot of the heavyweights to shame.
Authors Kelvin White and Bruce Russell between them have a very distinctive style that keeps you turning the page. It has been said that every chapter of a novel should be capable of standing alone. This is certainly the case with Birthright. All the essential ingredients are there. A great plot, intrigue, a charming romance and some nasty villains.
I would defy anyone to not enjoy this story. A definite 5 star read.
March 26, 2024
You can almost point to the set tropes that seem to be a requirement for a crime novel, like choosing dim sum at a Chinatown bistro. They come in set colors and flavors and heaven help the author who decides to step out of the box. In Birthright, Australian Author Kelvin White leaps out of the box with abandon. The first trope punched in the nose is the first prime character, an oriental cab driver who finds himself on the very wrong side of a few brutal racists. A German massacre during WW2 comes into play, and it is handled nicely, fitting the past into the present with neat logic. There is language, so be prepared, but that too is logical, not just sprinkled in with abandon to please the masses. As for how the story wraps up... pay the pennies and find out You will not leave unsatisfied.
August 18, 2024
This really was an enjoyable read. Well developed characters that leap off the page. Elderly villain Alan Duffy, urbane, suave and a psychopath is compelling. His criminal partner ex Nazi Bauman is truly spine chilling.
This is a sweeping story with a prologue opening with a Nazi atrocity in Lidice, now in the Czech Republic.
The story jumps to the 1980's and a German girl who travels to Australia to track down her real grandfather. Of course she finds love in with the very cop who's aiming to have her grandfather convicted of murder and drug smuggling. Throw into the mix a Vietnamese taxi driver and an interesting assortment of villains and you have a terrific story.
I have read all of Kelvin White's Spencer Marlowe novels, but this crime novel co-written with Perth author Bruce Russell has a totally different feel.
A fast moving crime story with a great climax.
This is a sweeping story with a prologue opening with a Nazi atrocity in Lidice, now in the Czech Republic.
The story jumps to the 1980's and a German girl who travels to Australia to track down her real grandfather. Of course she finds love in with the very cop who's aiming to have her grandfather convicted of murder and drug smuggling. Throw into the mix a Vietnamese taxi driver and an interesting assortment of villains and you have a terrific story.
I have read all of Kelvin White's Spencer Marlowe novels, but this crime novel co-written with Perth author Bruce Russell has a totally different feel.
A fast moving crime story with a great climax.
March 21, 2026
What a great story. An Aussie cop, a war criminal, a German girl looking for answers, a hitman and a taxi driver. All intertwined in a fast paced crime stories spanning continents.
The prologue is brutal, describing the Nazi exterminating of the village of Lidice, in the Czech Republic. This horrific event forms the backdrop of a gripping crime novel set largely in 1980's Perth, Australia. The characters so finely crafted by skilled authors Kelvin White and Bruce Russell, are so completely real the reader feels as if he knows them. Vietnamese Australian taxi driver is particularly engaging as he grapples with the Australian culture and language.
The ending is perfect with the bad guys getting their comeuppance in some very creative ways.
This one has to be an absolute 5 star read.
The prologue is brutal, describing the Nazi exterminating of the village of Lidice, in the Czech Republic. This horrific event forms the backdrop of a gripping crime novel set largely in 1980's Perth, Australia. The characters so finely crafted by skilled authors Kelvin White and Bruce Russell, are so completely real the reader feels as if he knows them. Vietnamese Australian taxi driver is particularly engaging as he grapples with the Australian culture and language.
The ending is perfect with the bad guys getting their comeuppance in some very creative ways.
This one has to be an absolute 5 star read.
February 17, 2024
What a great story.
I have read and enjoyed Kelvin White's two time travel novels, The Singapore Saga and The Hawaiian Intervention and thought they were very innovative.
This crime novel , Birthright set in Perth felt so real I could touch it. The characters were very believable. I really felt for German girl Renata in her quest to find her grandfather. The crime plot was very original.
The writing style is completely different from Kelvin's other two novels, I imagine that's the influence of his co-writer Bruce Russell.
I don't know if the authors are considering a sequel but the way Birthright ends it certainly looked like a sequel would work.
A very good story, very well written.
I have read and enjoyed Kelvin White's two time travel novels, The Singapore Saga and The Hawaiian Intervention and thought they were very innovative.
This crime novel , Birthright set in Perth felt so real I could touch it. The characters were very believable. I really felt for German girl Renata in her quest to find her grandfather. The crime plot was very original.
The writing style is completely different from Kelvin's other two novels, I imagine that's the influence of his co-writer Bruce Russell.
I don't know if the authors are considering a sequel but the way Birthright ends it certainly looked like a sequel would work.
A very good story, very well written.
May 4, 2024
RIVETING
This book captured my interest from page one. It starts in Germany during WWII with two men, Allen Duffy, a war pilot who escapes a downed plane, and Sandy Tuckwell, his bomber. As I delve further into the book, I discover that Duffy abandoned Sandy, leaving him to fend for himself. As Duffy seeks refuge in the home of a pretty German woman whose husband is off at war, Duffy takes advantage of the situation by having an affair with the woman who took him in.
Before I knew it, I am in Australia in 1998, following a young Vietnamese man named Trung Nguyen, who the older Allen Duffy had hired, now the boss of a criminal ring. By chance, Trung meets a cop named Robin Edward right before his job takes him to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, Trung finds himself in deep trouble and reaches out to Robin.
Each chapter brings in new characters, a love interest for the cop named Renata Schmidt, who turns out to be Allen Duffy’s granddaughter (remember the affair?), crooked cops, and criminals.
This all may sound confusing, but trust me, you find yourself turning page after page to figure out how all of these characters relate to Duffy, Sandy, Trung, Robin, and the granddaughter that Alan Duffy never knew existed.
Plenty of intrigue, criminal activity, and investigative findings that no one would even dream of.
Tie it all together with a love interest between Robin, the cop, and Renata, the granddaughter, and you have quite an enjoyable book.
I’ve read all of Kelvin White’s books, and this one definitely did not disappoint.
I highly recommend!
This book captured my interest from page one. It starts in Germany during WWII with two men, Allen Duffy, a war pilot who escapes a downed plane, and Sandy Tuckwell, his bomber. As I delve further into the book, I discover that Duffy abandoned Sandy, leaving him to fend for himself. As Duffy seeks refuge in the home of a pretty German woman whose husband is off at war, Duffy takes advantage of the situation by having an affair with the woman who took him in.
Before I knew it, I am in Australia in 1998, following a young Vietnamese man named Trung Nguyen, who the older Allen Duffy had hired, now the boss of a criminal ring. By chance, Trung meets a cop named Robin Edward right before his job takes him to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, Trung finds himself in deep trouble and reaches out to Robin.
Each chapter brings in new characters, a love interest for the cop named Renata Schmidt, who turns out to be Allen Duffy’s granddaughter (remember the affair?), crooked cops, and criminals.
This all may sound confusing, but trust me, you find yourself turning page after page to figure out how all of these characters relate to Duffy, Sandy, Trung, Robin, and the granddaughter that Alan Duffy never knew existed.
Plenty of intrigue, criminal activity, and investigative findings that no one would even dream of.
Tie it all together with a love interest between Robin, the cop, and Renata, the granddaughter, and you have quite an enjoyable book.
I’ve read all of Kelvin White’s books, and this one definitely did not disappoint.
I highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews