The Destroyers is a fast-paced, thrilling and engrossing holiday read. Sentences are thick with descriptors; the tight prose is rich with apt summations: ‘The imagination is a wild dog, it runs happily toward the meanest end.’

Set on Patmos, a holy island in Greece, we follow the rekindled friendship of Ian and Charlie, who are reunited after the death of Ian’s father and his estrangement from his rich family. At first glimpse Charlie provides a lifeline for Ian, who desperately needs a second chance. However, Charlie’s life chartering yachts among the Greek islands is not as postcard-perfect as it first appears. The novel glides easily through the waters of a financially ruined Greece, although the characters are far from cash-strapped as they talk, eat and drink their way into a sinister web of intrigue and secrets. Christopher Bollen maintains a strong vibrant pace, and is consistently engaging, if a little dramatic towards the end.

This novel’s pace and setting, and the constellation of money, boats and the Mediterranean, make for a smooth and compelling read.

Anaya Latter