A(nother) Year of Orenda – Absolution by Paul E. Hardisty

Today Mandie has her review of the final book in the Claymore straker series, Absolution. I loved the book, but. it. was a bitter sweet moment for me as we said goodbye to Straker. You can read my thoughts here. Here’s what it’s all about:

About the Book

It’s 1997, and eight months since vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker fled South Africa after his explosive testimony to Desmond Tutu’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In Paris, Rania LaTour, Claymore’s former lover, comes home to find that her son and her husband, a celebrated human rights lawyer, have disappeared.

On an isolated island off the coast of East Africa, the family that Clay has befriended is murdered as he watches.

So begins the fourth instalment in the Claymore Straker series, a breakneck journey through the darkest reaches of the human soul, as Clay and Rania fight to uncover the mystery behind the disappearances and murders, and find those responsible.

Relentlessly pursued by those who want them dead, they must work together to uncover the truth, and to find a way to survive in a world gone mad.

At times brutal, often lyrical, but always gripping, Absolution is a thriller that will leave you breathless and questioning the very basis of how we live and why we love.

Mandie’s Thoughts

Absolution is the fourth book in the Claymore Straker series and probably my favourite one. After testifying to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission you would think that Straker would finally have fond some peace, unfortunately this is not the case and he had to disappear so that those who felt he had betrayed them could not find him. Very quickly we find that no matter how much he tries, he can’t stay hidden for long and those who he has let get close to him pay the price. On top of this Rania is now asking for his help after her own life is shattered once more.

There is an undeniable connection between Straker and Rania, but their past history may just be too big for both of them. This doesn’t stop Straker risking everything to help her when she asks him to, as he still feels some responsibility for her. Rania is still trying to bring justice to the world with her writing and she is far from a vulnerable woman, in fact she is quite the opposite. Fiercely independent and not afraid of getting into situations that may be dangerous, she does at times let her heart rule her head in order to get to the truth. In that respect they are very similar.

What I loved most about this book is that it has two elements to it, the action that Straker is involved in and the letters that Rania writes to him. These letters lay bare all of Rania’s fears and things she has had to endure in the time since she last saw Straker. They are what make her seem far more real and you hope that one way or another she will get the answers that she is looking for.

This series has caught me off guard in quite a big way. It’s full of action, but at the heart of it there are characters that are totally flawed yet you can’t help but get caught up in their stories. The paths they take are never easy and are always fraught with danger. They have lost so much along the way, friends, family and even their freedom, yet there are also moments of calm and honesty that take you by surprise. Whilst they are fiction there are so many events that really did take place blended throughout that make these books stand out. I am going to miss Straker but I know that these books will stay with me for quite a while

About the Author

Canadian Paul Hardisty has spent 25 years working all over the world as an engineer,
hydrologist and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where he was befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, and was bumped from one of the last flights out of Addis Ababa by bureaucrats and their families fleeing the rebels. In 1993 he survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a, and was one of the last Westerners out of Yemen before the outbreak of the 1994 civil war. Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). He is a sailor, a private pilot, keen outdoorsman, conservation volunteer, and lives in Western Australia.

Books by Paul E. Hardisty