You belong to me by Colin Harrison

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Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408886298
(Age: Adult) Recommended. Themes: Murder; Greed; Maps; Drama (Thriller). You Belong to Me! Greed, jealousy, desire and ambition clash violently in this tense drama set in New York amongst the upwardly mobile and the rich and well-connected. Paul Reeves, the central character is a twice married, but now single lawyer with a passion for old maps of the New York region. This passion borders on obsession and impacts his current relationships and direction. His neighbour, Ahmed Mehraz, is of Iranian extraction and has successfully risen to great heights within American society and particularly in the complex world of global business. His beautiful wife, Jennifer, is an adornment and possibly a 'possession' that might prove to be a future political asset as proof of his 'neo-American' success, but she hides a past with rough edges. Into this cauldron of external success and the rise-to-the-top arrives an ex-flame for Jennifer, an all-American ex-serviceman - William Wilkerson, whose relationship with Jennifer fractures the surface of the veneer of success. The successful Ahmed sets in motion an engineered solution to prevent the interloper from destroying his plans for the future and with Paul and Jennifer also embroiled in keeping William from Ahmed's attention, the circumstances of their life become very complicated. Tension, violence, and organised crime enter the otherwise perfect world of the richly connected neighbours. Even though past horrors of Tehran's history have been left behind for the Mehraz family, the reader feels the tension as current horrors involving Mexican assassins and murder slowly twist what seemed to be glamour and success into a miry mess. And into all of this we see the wheeling and dealing of Paul Reeves as he tries to get his hands on his own prized possession - an antique map of New York.
Harrison has written a slowly ratchetting thriller, that uses New York and its locale as a contributing influence in the tension. I loved the insight into Antique Map collecting and the uber-successful business world with its flashy botoxed-facade as the setting for this slow-burn tense drama. With some quite violent moments, this is not for the faint hearted, and definitely for an adult audience as jealousy, sexual pursuit and obsession take over - who belongs to whom?
Recommended for adult readers who enjoy the Drama/Thriller genre (with some violence)
Carolyn Hull

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