I've read and reviewed quite a few of Oliver Harris's bang-up-to-date spy thrillers. The Shame Archive is another quality addition to the brand. Elliot Kane, now out of MI6 and in the private sector, is called in when two of his Russian sources are brutally murdered. Meanwhile someone calling themselves Eclipse is trying to blackmail MP's wife Rebecca Sinclair. This is tricky because Rebecca is a former escort and her husband is a potential PM. It all dates back to New Year's Eve 2008 when Rebecca was one of many girls hired to entertain guests of Opula, a Russian concierge business. She doesn't remember much about the night but knows she was raped and found wandering the streets covered in blood and claiming to have murdered someone. Nothing came of it, which she doesn't really understand, other than a man called Elliot Kane was involved and gave her his private phone number in case she needed him.
She needs him now, obviously, but that phone number is long out of date. Meanwhile Elliot also becomes a target of Eclipse, as do many people far more important. The thing is, Eclipse seems to have got his hands on a large trove of MI6's kompromat materials and is threatening to release it bit by bit.
Elliot and Rebecca pursue their separate inquiries for most of the book. I have to admit - my one reservation about The Shame Archive - Harris took the alternate chapter too far for my liking. That said, when Rebecca and Elliot finally come together the sparks really fly. The ending was a complete, thrill=packed stunner. I guessed right about Eclipse but had absolutely no idea how it all tied in with Elliot. Highly recommended, and I look forward to Harris's next.
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