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KISmet
Member of Parliament Edmund Lafitte has it made. He is well-heeled, privately educated and in a stable relationship with lawyer Stella.
A terrified Muslim businessman visits the MP, claiming his life is threatened by British Jihadists. The same day the man is brutally murdered and Edmund’s business card is found on the body.
Badly shaken, Edmund is spurred into action when he is an unwitting bystander at the scene of an ISIS bomb atrocity. He makes an impassioned speech in the House of Commons, demanding the eradication of the rogue state.
The result is an attempt on his life and a price on his head. Nothing will ever be the same again.
A terrified Muslim businessman visits the MP, claiming his life is threatened by British Jihadists. The same day the man is brutally murdered and Edmund’s business card is found on the body.
Badly shaken, Edmund is spurred into action when he is an unwitting bystander at the scene of an ISIS bomb atrocity. He makes an impassioned speech in the House of Commons, demanding the eradication of the rogue state.
The result is an attempt on his life and a price on his head. Nothing will ever be the same again.
354 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2017
1 person want to read
About the author
Chris Calder
5 books4 followersAfter ten happy years of retirement in rural France, Chris Calder is back in England. He came late to writing novels, penning his first whilst incarcerated in a French hospital following cancer surgery. At the time he spoke little French. Unable to communicate effectively with the staff, he spent his time fleshing out his first novel. Four more have followed; light thrillers leavened with humour.
Chris knows that readers of fiction expect to be diverted and entertained. He loves feedback and believes passionately that taking on board readers’ views improves what he does.
You can find him at: http://www.chriscalder.com.
“You have an aggressive cancer.” That’s what the specialist said. Not what I needed in my seventies, happily retired in France. Recovering after surgery and unable to communicate easily in French, I wrote my first novel. It was based on stuff I experienced during years running my small engineering business. Years of avoiding people in brown envelopes.
Five books to date; four light thrillers, the fifth not. But that one’s in a narrow niche and has potential for sequels. When asked which is my favourite book I say, “The next one.” When asked when I intend to quit, I reply, “Ask me again in twenty years’ time.”
Published:
PAYBACK, written in 2013. A light revenge thriller, based loosely on personal experience.
MY BROTHER’S KEEPER. A priest charged with helping other priests who have problems. But he has his own demons to confront.
CELESTE THREE IS MISSING. A light thriller, set in the near future of passenger earth-orbit travel. The protagonist waits a long time to get even with a murderous Russian oligarch.
KISMET. A slightly darker thriller. A British Member of Parliament falls foul of ISIS.
Completed, now published as an e-book:
GROWING APART. A story about twin boys conceived in pre-war India by an affair between an English civil servant and a vivacious Anglo-Indian woman. She dies in childbirth and the twins are separated. One is adopted and raised in India, the other is taken by the father to be raised in middle-class comfort in England. They meet 25 years later in dramatic circumstances.
Chris knows that readers of fiction expect to be diverted and entertained. He loves feedback and believes passionately that taking on board readers’ views improves what he does.
You can find him at: http://www.chriscalder.com.
“You have an aggressive cancer.” That’s what the specialist said. Not what I needed in my seventies, happily retired in France. Recovering after surgery and unable to communicate easily in French, I wrote my first novel. It was based on stuff I experienced during years running my small engineering business. Years of avoiding people in brown envelopes.
Five books to date; four light thrillers, the fifth not. But that one’s in a narrow niche and has potential for sequels. When asked which is my favourite book I say, “The next one.” When asked when I intend to quit, I reply, “Ask me again in twenty years’ time.”
Published:
PAYBACK, written in 2013. A light revenge thriller, based loosely on personal experience.
MY BROTHER’S KEEPER. A priest charged with helping other priests who have problems. But he has his own demons to confront.
CELESTE THREE IS MISSING. A light thriller, set in the near future of passenger earth-orbit travel. The protagonist waits a long time to get even with a murderous Russian oligarch.
KISMET. A slightly darker thriller. A British Member of Parliament falls foul of ISIS.
Completed, now published as an e-book:
GROWING APART. A story about twin boys conceived in pre-war India by an affair between an English civil servant and a vivacious Anglo-Indian woman. She dies in childbirth and the twins are separated. One is adopted and raised in India, the other is taken by the father to be raised in middle-class comfort in England. They meet 25 years later in dramatic circumstances.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 31, 2017
Book Review: kISmet by Chris Calder
kISmet is a political action thriller with more than a hint of the police procedural about it. The story follows Edmund Lafitte, a British Member of Parliament drawn almost incidentally into the activities of Islamic State in the UK when he tries to help a constituent whose journalist son has been kidnapped in Syria. His activities on behalf of the kidnapped man draw the attention of a frightened Muslim businessman being forced to pay ‘protection money’ to a radical imam preaching sedition from his mosque in Donfield, a fictional Yorkshire city which I assume is meant to be an amalgam of Doncaster and Sheffield. When the Muslim businessman is found brutally beheaded within a day of meeting Edmund, the only thing found on him is Edmund’s business card, tucked into his pocket.
Whether he likes it or not, Edmund is now involved. Consulting with Detective Inspector Royce, the police officer assigned to the case, the pair are determined to get to the truth and expose the activities of radical Islamists in the UK. The story follows the parallel paths of the two men, Edmund in London and Royce in Yorkshire, as they try to painstakingly untangle the web of lies and terror… before Edmund becomes IS’s next victim.
kISmet is an enthralling read full of gripping drama and high action moments. It feels incredibly real, especially given recent events in the UK. Chris Calder knows his topic, and obviously the atmosphere in the northern cities, well; I could almost picture the weary terraces of Sheffield in my mind, the ethnic shops lining Bradford’s streets, the wariness that pervades the atmosphere as people from many different cultures try to live side by side.
Despite the subject matter, Muslims are not demonised in the book, which I was half-afraid of going in. It is made clear by the actions of several characters that radical Islam is not the way of life that most Muslims seek, and the author’s respect for the culture clearly shows through. The protagonists are well-drawn and not caricatures; I found Edmund very sympathetic and was rooting for him throughout the story, as well as the beleaguered police detectives doing their best in difficult circumstances where witnesses were terrified into silence.
kISmet is not only a great thriller, it is a fascinating examination of the difficulties plaguing many European countries struggling to assimilate their recent intake of refugees and migrants and balance the security of their citizens with the cultural changes brought by newcomers, especially since not all those newcomers have the purest of intentions. The story had plenty of twists and turns, along with some intriguing reminders that not everything is black and white in terms of good and evil; there are plenty of morally shades of grey out there. I highly recommend kISmet to anyone who enjoys a political thriller or a good police procedural! Five stars!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through Reader’s Favorite.
kISmet is a political action thriller with more than a hint of the police procedural about it. The story follows Edmund Lafitte, a British Member of Parliament drawn almost incidentally into the activities of Islamic State in the UK when he tries to help a constituent whose journalist son has been kidnapped in Syria. His activities on behalf of the kidnapped man draw the attention of a frightened Muslim businessman being forced to pay ‘protection money’ to a radical imam preaching sedition from his mosque in Donfield, a fictional Yorkshire city which I assume is meant to be an amalgam of Doncaster and Sheffield. When the Muslim businessman is found brutally beheaded within a day of meeting Edmund, the only thing found on him is Edmund’s business card, tucked into his pocket.
Whether he likes it or not, Edmund is now involved. Consulting with Detective Inspector Royce, the police officer assigned to the case, the pair are determined to get to the truth and expose the activities of radical Islamists in the UK. The story follows the parallel paths of the two men, Edmund in London and Royce in Yorkshire, as they try to painstakingly untangle the web of lies and terror… before Edmund becomes IS’s next victim.
kISmet is an enthralling read full of gripping drama and high action moments. It feels incredibly real, especially given recent events in the UK. Chris Calder knows his topic, and obviously the atmosphere in the northern cities, well; I could almost picture the weary terraces of Sheffield in my mind, the ethnic shops lining Bradford’s streets, the wariness that pervades the atmosphere as people from many different cultures try to live side by side.
Despite the subject matter, Muslims are not demonised in the book, which I was half-afraid of going in. It is made clear by the actions of several characters that radical Islam is not the way of life that most Muslims seek, and the author’s respect for the culture clearly shows through. The protagonists are well-drawn and not caricatures; I found Edmund very sympathetic and was rooting for him throughout the story, as well as the beleaguered police detectives doing their best in difficult circumstances where witnesses were terrified into silence.
kISmet is not only a great thriller, it is a fascinating examination of the difficulties plaguing many European countries struggling to assimilate their recent intake of refugees and migrants and balance the security of their citizens with the cultural changes brought by newcomers, especially since not all those newcomers have the purest of intentions. The story had plenty of twists and turns, along with some intriguing reminders that not everything is black and white in terms of good and evil; there are plenty of morally shades of grey out there. I highly recommend kISmet to anyone who enjoys a political thriller or a good police procedural! Five stars!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through Reader’s Favorite.
September 18, 2017
Thank you Netgalley.
Oh Lord....where do I begin with this???
I gave up on this one at 30% of the way through. Was ready to give up at the 20% mark, but kept reading from some sense of obligation... received it from Netgalley after all.
As best as could could tell at 30%, the primary characters in this book were mostly a waste of space.
The main plot was easy -- IS (or ISIS) = bad. Maybe religious leaders = bad as well. But story was so disjointed and incoherent. I gave up when the beautiful TV news producer attempted to manipulate seduction of the MP character.
Enough.
Oh Lord....where do I begin with this???
I gave up on this one at 30% of the way through. Was ready to give up at the 20% mark, but kept reading from some sense of obligation... received it from Netgalley after all.
As best as could could tell at 30%, the primary characters in this book were mostly a waste of space.
The main plot was easy -- IS (or ISIS) = bad. Maybe religious leaders = bad as well. But story was so disjointed and incoherent. I gave up when the beautiful TV news producer attempted to manipulate seduction of the MP character.
Enough.
September 14, 2017
Great idea for a plot which ultimately doesn’t deliver
Edmund Lafitte is a Conservative MP and, like many of his ilks, from a monied family. He enjoys a close relationship with Stella, to whom he should perhaps have proposed many years ago, but another woman is about to enter his life. For good or ill?
He has been involved, on the periphery, in attempting to secure the release of a journalist constituent being held abroad by Islamic State. Due to his involvement, and high profile, another constituent comes to him to ask for help. This Muslim man is scared of The Brotherhood, a radical Muslim group, which demands money with menaces from local businesses. Lafitte promises to do what he can but does not get the chance as the man is then found decapitated. The angry, unwise speech in the House of Commons which follows results in a price being put on his head and he goes into hiding.
I would not normally go into such depth as far as the plot is concerned but the fact that Lafitte is the subject of a Fatwa is emblazoned across the front cover of the book so is hardly a secret. I recently reviewed “Celeste Three is Missing” by the same author and has similar reservations about this book; namely the abrupt jumping from one scenario to another. I settle down for a session to hear about a particular meeting or event which will add to my knowledge of the plot development only to have the rug pulled from under me and to be jettisoned unceremoniously into the following day or even the following week. Although I am not given the information to which I think, as a reader, I am entitled, I do know that, as an example, Lafitte wears boxers to bed - a fact which doesn’t add colour or is relevant in any way. So, too much information on the minutiae and insufficient attention to the seamless transition from one section to another which results in any opportunity to build tension being lost.
Personally, I believe every really good book has a hero or antihero but I would be hard-pressed to nominate one in this novel. It can hardly be the MP who, frankly, is a bit of a dork, although maybe my gross dislike of all politicians is showing itself. However, the man does very little of note so is out of the running in my opinion. I also doubt his motivation. Despite my poor opinion of politicians, I appreciate that most have a degree of intelligence but in making the kind of inflammatory speech which he gives it does mark him down as being a special kind of idiot.
There are several other characters who could assume the mantle of hero but none figures strongly enough to take that label. Characterisation is therefore weak. However, it is not only the portrayal of the characters which is suspect as there is a twist in the plot which comes far too late to be effective as a subplot and which could have been built upon earlier to much better effect.
Having sat in judgement on this new novel I do feel slightly guilty. However, as a reviewer, I do feel a responsibility towards readers, to tell the truth as I see it. All reviews are subjective but I trust myself to recognise a good book when one is presented to me. Of course, that is not to say this is a bad book - it’s not. It just could have been much better. By the way, I have no idea as to why this title was chosen other than the fact that the “IS” in the word makes reference to the terrorist group.
mr zorg
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
Edmund Lafitte is a Conservative MP and, like many of his ilks, from a monied family. He enjoys a close relationship with Stella, to whom he should perhaps have proposed many years ago, but another woman is about to enter his life. For good or ill?
He has been involved, on the periphery, in attempting to secure the release of a journalist constituent being held abroad by Islamic State. Due to his involvement, and high profile, another constituent comes to him to ask for help. This Muslim man is scared of The Brotherhood, a radical Muslim group, which demands money with menaces from local businesses. Lafitte promises to do what he can but does not get the chance as the man is then found decapitated. The angry, unwise speech in the House of Commons which follows results in a price being put on his head and he goes into hiding.
I would not normally go into such depth as far as the plot is concerned but the fact that Lafitte is the subject of a Fatwa is emblazoned across the front cover of the book so is hardly a secret. I recently reviewed “Celeste Three is Missing” by the same author and has similar reservations about this book; namely the abrupt jumping from one scenario to another. I settle down for a session to hear about a particular meeting or event which will add to my knowledge of the plot development only to have the rug pulled from under me and to be jettisoned unceremoniously into the following day or even the following week. Although I am not given the information to which I think, as a reader, I am entitled, I do know that, as an example, Lafitte wears boxers to bed - a fact which doesn’t add colour or is relevant in any way. So, too much information on the minutiae and insufficient attention to the seamless transition from one section to another which results in any opportunity to build tension being lost.
Personally, I believe every really good book has a hero or antihero but I would be hard-pressed to nominate one in this novel. It can hardly be the MP who, frankly, is a bit of a dork, although maybe my gross dislike of all politicians is showing itself. However, the man does very little of note so is out of the running in my opinion. I also doubt his motivation. Despite my poor opinion of politicians, I appreciate that most have a degree of intelligence but in making the kind of inflammatory speech which he gives it does mark him down as being a special kind of idiot.
There are several other characters who could assume the mantle of hero but none figures strongly enough to take that label. Characterisation is therefore weak. However, it is not only the portrayal of the characters which is suspect as there is a twist in the plot which comes far too late to be effective as a subplot and which could have been built upon earlier to much better effect.
Having sat in judgement on this new novel I do feel slightly guilty. However, as a reviewer, I do feel a responsibility towards readers, to tell the truth as I see it. All reviews are subjective but I trust myself to recognise a good book when one is presented to me. Of course, that is not to say this is a bad book - it’s not. It just could have been much better. By the way, I have no idea as to why this title was chosen other than the fact that the “IS” in the word makes reference to the terrorist group.
mr zorg
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
December 17, 2017
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Vincent Burgum
5.0 out of 5 starsThis one is definitely a winner
30 August 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
I have read all of Chris Calder's books and found this one to be the most gripping of all. I know that Chis is a comparatively new writer but Kismet appeared to have been written by someone with far more experience than Chris. Unless a book grabs me in the first dozen pages I am afraid I just turn off and put it down, I started reading Kismet and could not put the book down and I read it in just over a day- I normally would take about 2 weeks to read a book of this size.
There are some very good twists towards the end of this tome, but I wont spoil it for you, read for yourself!
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pcall
5.0 out of 5 starsFull on
1 October 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Unputdownable as usual , another gripping story once again, looking forward to reading the next book from this author ,
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Debbie Young
4.0 out of 5 starsGripping, pacy political thriller
17 December 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Having enjoyed a previous book ("Celeste Three is Missing") by the same author, I agreed to receive a free copy from the author in return for an honest review, without knowing much about it. When it came, although it wasn't a topic that I was keen on, being rather squeamish as well as apolitical ,had to store it with the cover face down as the executioner on the cover was a bit scary - great cover, though, for the kind of book it is!), I approached it with an open mind, and found it gripping, reading it in the space of 24 hours.
The pace is maintained by lots of very short chapters, alternating the action between various groups of characters involved in the central story. I think it's a brave topic to tackle - how a British conservative MP gets entangled with would-be extremist IS terrorists, after a misjudged action on his own part (no plot-spoilers here though!) I do not have the experience to be able to say how true-to-life it all is, either regarding the MP's behaviour (there was one action that I didn't find entirely convincing) or the terrorist network, but I thought the story worked well, revealing how individuals with the best intentions - and some with the worst - can end up embrolied in international crises.
While I didn't particularly like the MP character, and thought him a bit weak at times (his actual character, not the way he was depicted), I did care what happened to him, and to other players in the book, and I especially liked the ending.
I know it's a cliche to say a book would make a good film, but I did find this quite cinematic (albeit often short of pictorial description), because of the action and the pace, and the locations chosen, from the Palace of Westminster to rural parts of Britain (not saying which for fear of plot-spoilers!) were vivid in my own mind, as I know them all pretty well.
Recommended for people who enjoy political thrillers and police procedurals - and don't be put off if you're squeamish like me, because althought that threatening machete does seem some action in the story, it's actually well contained and unlikely to give anyone nightmares.
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Vincent Burgum
5.0 out of 5 starsThis one is definitely a winner
30 August 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
I have read all of Chris Calder's books and found this one to be the most gripping of all. I know that Chis is a comparatively new writer but Kismet appeared to have been written by someone with far more experience than Chris. Unless a book grabs me in the first dozen pages I am afraid I just turn off and put it down, I started reading Kismet and could not put the book down and I read it in just over a day- I normally would take about 2 weeks to read a book of this size.
There are some very good twists towards the end of this tome, but I wont spoil it for you, read for yourself!
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pcall
5.0 out of 5 starsFull on
1 October 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Unputdownable as usual , another gripping story once again, looking forward to reading the next book from this author ,
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Debbie Young
4.0 out of 5 starsGripping, pacy political thriller
17 December 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Having enjoyed a previous book ("Celeste Three is Missing") by the same author, I agreed to receive a free copy from the author in return for an honest review, without knowing much about it. When it came, although it wasn't a topic that I was keen on, being rather squeamish as well as apolitical ,had to store it with the cover face down as the executioner on the cover was a bit scary - great cover, though, for the kind of book it is!), I approached it with an open mind, and found it gripping, reading it in the space of 24 hours.
The pace is maintained by lots of very short chapters, alternating the action between various groups of characters involved in the central story. I think it's a brave topic to tackle - how a British conservative MP gets entangled with would-be extremist IS terrorists, after a misjudged action on his own part (no plot-spoilers here though!) I do not have the experience to be able to say how true-to-life it all is, either regarding the MP's behaviour (there was one action that I didn't find entirely convincing) or the terrorist network, but I thought the story worked well, revealing how individuals with the best intentions - and some with the worst - can end up embrolied in international crises.
While I didn't particularly like the MP character, and thought him a bit weak at times (his actual character, not the way he was depicted), I did care what happened to him, and to other players in the book, and I especially liked the ending.
I know it's a cliche to say a book would make a good film, but I did find this quite cinematic (albeit often short of pictorial description), because of the action and the pace, and the locations chosen, from the Palace of Westminster to rural parts of Britain (not saying which for fear of plot-spoilers!) were vivid in my own mind, as I know them all pretty well.
Recommended for people who enjoy political thrillers and police procedurals - and don't be put off if you're squeamish like me, because althought that threatening machete does seem some action in the story, it's actually well contained and unlikely to give anyone nightmares.
February 23, 2018
A British member of parliament is contacted by a businessman from Yorkshire who tells him that he and his fellow Muslim businessmen in his hometown are extorted by the local imam who is an IS fanatic and that those who refuse end up dead. It does not take long before the MP ends up with a huge target on his back.
We follow him but also a Yorkshire cop who tries to solve the murders.
Interesting to see that most of the people in a role of power: the prime minister, someone high in counter terrorism, the leader of a team of special protection officers, a retired secret agent are all women. And although the bad guys here are Muslims also the true hero is one, and the MP's close friend too.
Only minus point was that I did not bond with Edmund the MP. Maybe because he is a bit easy with other women (not his own one) and I do not like that kind of guys.
We follow him but also a Yorkshire cop who tries to solve the murders.
Interesting to see that most of the people in a role of power: the prime minister, someone high in counter terrorism, the leader of a team of special protection officers, a retired secret agent are all women. And although the bad guys here are Muslims also the true hero is one, and the MP's close friend too.
Only minus point was that I did not bond with Edmund the MP. Maybe because he is a bit easy with other women (not his own one) and I do not like that kind of guys.
January 28, 2019
**I received this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I was first drawn to the book because of the title - Kismet - however, after I started reading it was just TOO political and too thriller for me. Centered on an islamic militant organization very similar to the Daesh, the novel became very dense for me to read. However, if political thrillers are your type of genre then this is the perfect book for you.
I was first drawn to the book because of the title - Kismet - however, after I started reading it was just TOO political and too thriller for me. Centered on an islamic militant organization very similar to the Daesh, the novel became very dense for me to read. However, if political thrillers are your type of genre then this is the perfect book for you.
November 19, 2017
ISIS in Britain is the theme of this novel. It's a fast read but not really suspenseful and it's clearly written from a conservative point of view. My main problem is that I couldn't relate to any of the characters.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews