On Cape Three Points

by Christopher Wakling

'Thirteen days ago I made a mistake. A momentary slip, but enough to launch me into freefall, a life unravelling in my wake' Lewis Penn is a young business lawyer, his currency is mind-numbing detail, his skill is in keeping to the middle of the road. He's never put a foot wrong. Until now. Entrusted with a file of confidential papers, Lewis loses them; an oversight that threatens his career, his sanity and, ultimately, his identity. Every step Lewis takes to cover up his mistake propels him further off course, into an incomprehensible world of Ukranian mafia and industrial spies. Increasingly paranoid, Lewis can only confide in his dying brother, Dan. But as the facade of Lewis's life cracks, it seems that Dan's is also riven by deception. Lewis's faltering trajectory takes him from London to Washington DC and Cape Three Points, where a pivotal moral decision catapults him into freefall.

Genres: Thriller

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2003

About the author

Christopher George Wakling was born in 1970. He studied English at Oxford and has worked as a farm hand, teacher and lawyer. He has written four novels: Towards the Sun, The Undertow, Beneath the Diamond Sky and On Cape Three Points. The first three were literary thrillers, published under the name Christopher Wakling, but his latest book, Towards the Sun, isn’t thrilling at all, so he’s published it as Christopher George. This name decision is a publishing thing. Some books are translated into Dutch, French, Spanish and Italian. Christopher George Wakling is the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at Bristol University. From time to time he teaches creative writing for the Arvon Foundation, and writes travel journalism for The Independent. Married with two children, he lives in Bristol.
- From author's website

Reviews

[El Civi Tu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy bien descrito como una persona puede ir hundiendose poco a poco sin hacer nada al respecto, la historia es muy interesante, pero no es nada relatable, ninguna persona consciente tomaria decisiones tan absurdas

[Suleman Ali · Rating 1 out of 5]

On Cape Three Points is a thriller which follows Lewis Penn, a London lawyer, as he desperately tries to fix a mistake, sending him into a downward spiral.

The blurb looked great, a lawyer getting mixed up with the wrong sort, a dash across the atlantic and running from dark unknown forces. Unfortunately the story itself was big let down. It essentially, in my eyes, centred on one mistake being compunded by another and then another sending the main character into more and more desperate decisions. But all the while it felt like he was making far more of the danger than was really out there.

As a result of the decisions the main character took, i found myself disliking him more and more and really didnt care if he met an gruesome end (which would have been a better end).

Not what the blurb promised!

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

So weird- the first 100 pages.. I couldn't stop reading I was so enthralled. It managed to be both exciting and somehow believable. The rest was.. boring. And it took me over a week to finish. Overall, this failed to be more than just a thriller. And I'm not a thriller-fan so it didn't much strike my fancy.

[Alex Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a point in this book when you've got to make a decision as to whether you go with it or leave it. If you go with it, you do get sucked in and the relentless flow then has got you. That's why it ended up with four stars - there is depth below the basic story rather than it being a standard thriller.