Review of Brutes for Kin
Posted: 10 Jul 2025, 15:46
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Brutes for Kin" by Bob Gillespie.]
Brutes for Kin by Bob Gillespie is very good book with an interesting look into spies and Russian politics. I do recommend this book for young adults and up who are interested in mysteries and foreign politics.
Brutes for Kin starts off rather well with a mystery that seems to have been an assassination attempt, allowing the reader to meet John ‘Bugs’ Macpherson on the American side and join Ivan Promyslov on the then-Soviet Bloc side. While neither Ivan or Bugs meet, both of them are involved in the investigation of the attack from completely different angles.
I gave this book a three out of five stars because the characters were highly enjoyable to go along with. Bugs’ tenacity and will to get the job done is done well even if it feels like the relationship he had with his wife is mostly glossed over.
The glimpse of the Soviet Bloc that the reader gains while reading seems to be an intriguing concept to explore as well as the way people in Russia live is. Ivan does actually seem to grow as the story goes on, his circumstances forcing him to learn through hardship.
I did not give Brutes for Kin all five stars because of the plot. There are many plot twists and loose ends in the novel that are eventually solved but solved in such a way that it almost seems manufactured. All the evidence seems to slot into place; nothing is out of the ordinary. The pacing of the plot as it progressed, as well as the spoilers at certain points for the next part of the book are also strange choices of the book to make. The editing was also hard to get past and was not great.
Brutes for Kin was an overall decent book to read, despite the fact it was hard to finish. Bob Gillespie did make the book end on a satisfying enough note.
******
Brutes for Kin
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Brutes for Kin by Bob Gillespie is very good book with an interesting look into spies and Russian politics. I do recommend this book for young adults and up who are interested in mysteries and foreign politics.
Brutes for Kin starts off rather well with a mystery that seems to have been an assassination attempt, allowing the reader to meet John ‘Bugs’ Macpherson on the American side and join Ivan Promyslov on the then-Soviet Bloc side. While neither Ivan or Bugs meet, both of them are involved in the investigation of the attack from completely different angles.
I gave this book a three out of five stars because the characters were highly enjoyable to go along with. Bugs’ tenacity and will to get the job done is done well even if it feels like the relationship he had with his wife is mostly glossed over.
The glimpse of the Soviet Bloc that the reader gains while reading seems to be an intriguing concept to explore as well as the way people in Russia live is. Ivan does actually seem to grow as the story goes on, his circumstances forcing him to learn through hardship.
I did not give Brutes for Kin all five stars because of the plot. There are many plot twists and loose ends in the novel that are eventually solved but solved in such a way that it almost seems manufactured. All the evidence seems to slot into place; nothing is out of the ordinary. The pacing of the plot as it progressed, as well as the spoilers at certain points for the next part of the book are also strange choices of the book to make. The editing was also hard to get past and was not great.
Brutes for Kin was an overall decent book to read, despite the fact it was hard to finish. Bob Gillespie did make the book end on a satisfying enough note.
******
Brutes for Kin
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon