Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Janitor and The Spy, courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources.

My Review

Thomas Thornhill has been sent to Amsterdam by his handler, in the guise of an international businessman. It’s his first spy mission and his objective is to meet with Nils Golay, possibly an employee of the NSA, and check out his findings about large sums of money finding their way to communist groups across the world.

What seems like a simple mission initially turns out to be much more than Thornhill had ever imagined. His life, and that of Golay, relies upon the quick think of his handler, Mallory and Jones, a former marine sniper. His first meeting with Golay is compromised and results in bloodshed but gives Thornhill the name of the person who ordered the attack. 

Golay tells Thornhill conflicting stories which confuses the issue. Also, I did find it odd that this was stated to be Thornhill’s first assignment yet he mentions a previous mission that also had to be kept secret. 

The Janitor and the Spy is an unusual, short novel. After a strong beginning the story has a slow build up then it’s full on action, which is written well. The narrative is heavy on dialogue and this approach doesn’t allow for much depth or background to the main character. Golay’s stories could be condensed, they rambled slightly taking me out of the main story. I felt Thornhill would have been easier to connect to had he been fleshed out much more. 

A cliff hanger ending sets the scene for book two. 

I chose to read and review The Janitor and The Spy  based on a copy of the book supplied by Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources.

About the Book

Baby wipes are not the best at cleaning up blood or what happened to Thornhill in Amsterdam.

They told Thornhill it would be a simple spy mission that he was more than eager to take on, but of course, it wasn’t.

It didn’t take long after meeting the contact for Thornhill to question if he or anyone else connected to him was going to be able to make it out of Amsterdam alive. Passing strangers on the streets became potential hitmen and dinner with criminals became safe heavens as Thornhill seeks to find answers from an old man named Golay.

Book Links  ~ Amazon UK | Amazon US 

About the Author

S. W. Ellenwood is thankful to have a close-knit family of two parents, a brother, and two sisters. A homeschooler who graduated college from the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, Ellenwood loves all forms and genres of stories and was inspired by  The Lord of the Rings films and his parents to write. You can find Ellenwood writing his next novel at the local coffee shops or playing table top games with his best friends. 

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