Richard Armitage (2) (1971–)

Nobel prize winning scientist Sarah Collier has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Her husband is keen that she endorses a new medical discovery with lots of potential so she comes to Geneva for the launch. However not is all that it seems and Sarah is caught up in events that she cannot foresee and cannot control.
There is a lot to like about this book. The premise is solid with a futuristic science aspect and the key elements for a decent thriller are there, betrayal, trust, money, foreign powers etc. I just found it a little too predictable and clunky at times.… (mere)

Actor Richard Armitage’s debut novel, a thriller. Originally commissioned as an audio book, he reads a lot of books for Audible, which was subsequently translated to the page.

How original it is I can’t say as I don’t actually read a lot of thrillers, but it kept me turning the page. Recent Nobel winner Sarah has been invited to be the face of a new scientific discovery, but is all what it seems? The concept is current, but I think it missed out on spending some time exploring the moral questions, there was an opportunity but it was missed.

I often find that actors make pretty good storytellers, they can be good on place and character. Armitage does a pretty good job, and the second novel is underway.… (mere)

For his debut novel Richard Armitage takes as his inspiration Sarah Gilbert, the scientist who co-developed one of the first covid vaccines available for use in the UK. His creation is Sarah Collier, a Nobel prize-winner, who is showing early signs of the Alzheimer's that is already advanced in her father. Sarah is asked to endorse a technological advancement that could save lives, maybe even her own and so she travels to the conference at the Schiller Institute in Geneva with her husband, Daniel.

The story is told from the points of view of Sarah and Daniel. Sarah is becoming increasingly confused and Daniel is her rock. What would she do without him? There are also blog posts from a blogger called Terri Landau who specialises in exposing the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.

Geneva is a fairly fast-paced intelligent thriller with a fascinatingly unreliable narrator in Sarah. Her story is distressing as she struggles with focus and knowing what is real. What's really interesting in this book is that no character is what they seem and it kept me guessing all the way through. Armitage pulls off some rather clever plot twists!

I enjoyed Geneva. I felt it had a cinematic feel to it (no surprise given the writer's background) and I suspect it will translate very well to the screen should that happen. Sarah's circumstances are told sympathetically, the villains are dastardly and the setting is icy and frosty which is perfect for a suspense-filled novel like this. An accomplished and well-written literary thriller debut.… (mere)