I wouldn’t mind Dan Brown so much, if there weren’t quotes from dozy people on the front of his books declaring him some genuis, hugely talented writer – ‘cos he’s not.

Like the rest of his books, this is a very readable, fast-paced, perfect trashy beach novel. Silly entertainment.

What it is not is particularly clever, well-put together, or even suspenseful. Or possessing much of any kind of literary merit, despite the quotes.

Actually, right from the beginning it had me rolling my eyes: apparently, no one has ever heard of the deeply mysterious NSA. Ri-ight. The same NSA currently in the comedy TV show I’m watching? And about a zillion movies? Brown loses me instantly as soon as he makes stupid claims like this. The NSA doesn’t need to be impossibly secret for the novel to work, so why bother with the stupid claim? That’s just the start, too.

So, while I galloped through this easily in 2-3 days, happy enough to keep going, I wouldn’t recommend this.