To Die in Vienna

Author/Guide: Kevin Wignall

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: He’s seen something that could get him killed. But what?

ISBN: B077GSNV52
Genre: Spy story

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What you need to know before your trail

Freddie Makin is a spy for hire. For a year he’s been watching Jiang Cheng, an academic whose life seems suspiciously normal. To Freddie it’s just a job: he never asks who’s paying him and why—until the day someone is sent to kill him, and suddenly the watcher becomes the watched.

On the run from whoever wants him dead, Freddie knows he must have seen something incriminating. The only trouble is, he has no idea what. Is the CIA behind all this—or does it go higher than that? Have his trackers uncovered his own murky past?

As he’s forced into a lethal dance across Vienna, Freddie knows one thing for sure: his only hope for survival is keeping the truth from the other side, and making sure the secrets from his past stay hidden.

Locations

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Travel Guide

Vienna

Freddie stands in his room and looks out onto the city:

“When Freddie goes back to his room, he stood for a minute looking out over the city. They sky had remained uniformly grey all day but i had stayed dry. Now, as the afternoon was drawing to a close, some sun had broken through, casting the grand buildings before him in a golden light.”

“He’d been living in Vienna for over a year, but so narrow had been the focus of his life that he’s never really noticed what a beautiful city it was. He was seeing is through fresh eyes now, as a tourist might, and he was a little besotted.”

Some places for you and him to discover:

Michaelerplatz

The cafe where he and Marina play chess is here. This square is near the famous Hofburg in Vienna and is one of the most well known and well located squares in the city. It’s very grandiose!

The Hofburg

The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace which was built in the 13th century. It’s been the seat of power of the Habsburg dynasty rulers for many years and is now the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria.

Cube hotel – “The Madhouse”

If you come to Vienna and read this book, you have to stay in the Cube hotel! Brilliant views of the museum district for one and well, very apt for the action which takes place in the novel’s “The Madhouse”

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

I’ve not read much spy action thrillers but this one felt very different to the ones I had. Slower paced for one, but that worked well in the sense the tension built up steadily and the twists and shadows of the city appeared and disappeared at will.

Freddie was a great character but for a spy was rather in touch with his feelings!Not sying that spies aren’t or shouldn’t be but he has a backstory and worries of his own which ,when being the target as it were, really came into his own. There’s a great deal to think about if you’re a spy it would seem and loyalty is not all it’s cracked up to be. This was an interesting angle on the spy story for me and there were lots of grey areas opposed to the black and white of the spy world and the world outside.

Vienna was the perfect backdrop to this story of secrets and spies. Old, gothic and with plenty of character and history. The characters moved around the city, taking advantage of it history and cobbled, twisty alleyways. The author really used the setting well to illustrate an old city, plenty of heritage and secrets of course.

It’s going to be a film – think this will work really well on screen and I’ll be in that queue at the cinema for sure!