Disguises — James Brown

There are some things you'll never know about your friends. And some things you'll never know about yourself...Disguises is a contemporary novel in which four friends travel to the south of France to find one of their number, Oliver, who appears to have gone missing. All the while they are being pursued by a malevolent Mafia-style boss who is determined to capture Oliver for a perceived wrong against his organisation. The four friends find him and they begin their journey home - a journey made much harder as Oliver cannot fly - trying to evade the traps that have been set to capture them. Taking the central themes of control and disguise that dominate The Odyssey, Disguises weaves these ideas through a tight plot and colourful secondary characters. As the friends spend more time together, it becomes clear that there are things they do not know about each other, about their spouses or partners, and, in some cases, about themselves. This is foregrounded in the novel's denouement, when the real reason for Oliver's actions becomes clear. The theme of control and what motivates people to do the things they do and have the opinions they do in the modern world is developed alongside this and echoed in the different characters and settings that arise. Disguises is a novel that can be read as a straight forward adventure story full of life-threatening situations and daring deeds. On another level it can be read as a novel which shows how we can never truly know or trust another person - and how what we do in life can be controlled by things we are not even aware of. It will appeal to fans of adventure stories and thrillers.