Oliver Clarke's Blog: Little Slices of Nasty, page 15

Monstrous Souls by Rebecca Kelly #BookReview

Over a decade ago, Heidi was the victim of a brutal attack that left her hospitalised, her younger sister missing, and her best friend dead. But Heidi doesn’t remember any of that. She’s lived her life since then with little memory of her friends and family and no recollection of the crime.

But lately, it’s all starting to come back.

As Heidi begins retracing the events that lead to the assault, she is forced to confront the pain and guilt she’s long kept buried. But Heidi isn’t the only one digging up the past, and the closer she gets to remembering the truth, the more danger she’s in.

When the truth is worse than fiction, is the past worth reliving?

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Title: Monstrous Souls | Author: Rebecca Kelly | Publisher: Agora Books | Pages: 320 | ISBN: 9781913099558 | Publication date: 25th June 2020 | Source: NetGalley

‘Monstrous Souls’ has some real strengths – it’s generally gripping, often moving and tackles a very challenging topic sensitively. Unfortunately it also has a fair number of weaknesses. At times it feels like there are gaps in the narrative and one of the central characters is plain dull. As a result I came away from it feeling somewhat dissatisfied. This is one of those books that probably could have been really good, but which falls just short.
The story is immediately attention grabbing and the first few chapters are really strong. The setup is that in 2001 three young girls are attacked. One dies, one survives and one goes missing. Heidi, the survivor loses her memory, but years later in 2016 she starts to regain it. Teaming up with Denise, a policewoman who investigated the case originally, she starts to unravel the mystery.
The book switches back and forth between 2001 and 2016, with the older parts all told in first person by Heidi. For the 2016 chapters author Rebecca Kelly takes a different approach, some are Heidi, some are about Denise and some a mysterious male character who goes unnamed until the end. The format works well and Heidi’s sections are really good as she slowly recalls the events of the past and pieces things together. I found Denise a much less interesting character, and that comes from someone who normally loves reading about cops. She lacks a distinct character or drivers and as a result is fairly dull to read. The mystery male is more interesting, with a story arc that’s one of the best things about the book. The gimmick of not releasing his name and deliberately leaving out details that would allow the reader to identify him does wear a bit thin after a while though.
The fact that the book is about child sexual abuse is fairly obvious early on, but fortunately the handling of the subject matter is sensitive and gives the book a real emotional impact at times. Unfortunately the mystery itself is less skilfully handled. Whilst I didn’t guess every detail the ending didn’t come as a big shock to me. In fact a lot of the tension comes from the overwhelming desire to see justice done rather than a need to solve the mystery. In a way that’s not a bad thing, there’s a horrible inevitability to events which suits the topic, but a few more surprises would have strengthened the book.

3/5

Keeper by Jessica Moor #BookReview

When Katie Straw’s body is pulled from the waters of the local suicide spot, the police are ready to write it off as a standard-issue female suicide. But the residents of the domestic violence shelter where Katie worked disagree. These women have spent weeks or even years waiting for the men they’re running from to catch up with them. They know immediately: This was murder.

Still, Detective Dan Whitworth and his team expect an open-and-shut case–until they discover evidence that suggests Katie wasn’t who she appeared. Weaving together the investigation with Katie’s final months as it barrels toward the truth, The Keeper is a riveting mystery and a searing examination of violence against women and the structures that allow it to continue, marking the debut of an incredible new voice in crime fiction.

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Title: Keeper | Author: Jessica Moor | Publisher: Penguin | Pages: 336 | ISBN: 9780143134527 | Publication date: 19th March 2020 | Source: NetGalley

‘Keeper’ (or ‘The Keeper’, it seems to have been published under both titles) is a gripping mystery novel set around a women’s refuge. Given that venue, it’s no surprise that domestic violence is the central theme. This an assured debut from an author who clearly knows the subject matter. As a mystery it doesn’t quite make the top tier, but it is an engrossing and thought-provoking read.
The plot concerns the investigation of the apparent suicide of Katie Straw, a young woman who works at a shelter in a small Northern town for women who have been victims of domestic violence. The action switches regularly between following the investigating officer, a gruff, older copper nearing retirement, and the experiences of the women in the refuge. Author Jessica Moor uses these multiple viewpoints to give an admirably balanced and comprehensive view of domestic violence and true impact it has on its victims. Alongside this, Moor tells Katie’s story in flashback, focussing on her relationship with an abusive boyfriend.
It’s this part of the book that gives ‘Keeper’ its narrative tug, gradually unravelling the mystery of the dead woman as the story progresses. The boyfriend, Jamie, is convincingly creepy. Not a violent wife beater, but instead a quiet monster who gradually erodes Katie’s self-confidence and freedom. Katie is similarly believable, a recognisable everywoman whose plight is moving and compelling.
Moor has experience of working with abused women and that shines through in the book. The stories of the women in the refuge are horribly real and told with a passion that craves justice but resists easy answers. It’s that balance that makes the book so good. The characters feel like real people rather one dimensional outlines conjured up to make a point. The life they breathe into the book makes its message all the more powerful.

4/5

Thriller Corner: Hitler’s Secret by Rory Clements #BookReview

In the Autumn of 1941, the war is going badly for Britain and its allies. If the tide is going to be turned against Hitler, a new weapon is desperately needed.
In Cambridge, brilliant history professor Tom Wilde is asked by an American intelligence officer to help smuggle a mysterious package out of Nazi Germany – something so secret, even Hitler himself doesn’t know of its existence.
Posing as a German-American industrialist, Wilde soon discovers the shocking truth about the ‘package’, and why the Nazis will stop at nothing to prevent it leaving Germany. With ruthless killers loyal to Martin Bormann hunting him down, Wilde makes a desperate gamble on an unlikely escape route.
But even if he reaches England alive, that will not be the end of his ordeal. Wilde is now convinced that the truth he has discovered must remain hidden, even if it means betraying the country he loves . . .

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Title: Hitler’s Secret | Author: Rory Clements | Series: Tom Wilde #4 |Publisher: Zaffre | Pages: 432 | ISBN: 9781838770273 | Publication date: 23rd. January 2020 | Source: NetGalley

‘Hitler’s Secret’ is the fourth of Rory Clements’ Tom Wilde novels, but the first that I’ve read. It’s a gripping and enjoyable World War 2 thriller with a good blend of espionage and historical detail. On the strength of this entry in the series I can see myself picking up the first three books.
The story is set in 1942 and sees Wilde, an Irish-American teaching at Cambridge University, going to Nazi Germany masquerading as a businessman wanting to do a deal with the German government. In fact he is there to rescue a young girl and bring her back to Britain. The first third or so of the book switches between Wilde’s attempts to find that girl and that of two of Martin Boorman’s thugs who are also on her trail.
The basic premise is somewhat far-fetched and the plot relies on coincidence and deluxe ex machina events a little too often, but that doesn’t stop it being a very entertaining read. Wilde is a likeable hero, resourceful and determined rather than blessed with the near superhuman abilities of some thriller protagonists. The supporting cast are solid too. There are vicious Nazis, sympathetic Germans who oppose the regime, wily American spies and stiff-upper lip British operatives. None of them will win awards for originality, but they’re all fun to read and convincing within the universe of the book.
It’s an easy read, packed with intrigue, twists and action. The plot contains gun fights, car chases, torture, and other thriller staples, all used to good effect. The writing is good and Rory Clements throws in loads of well researched detail, which makes the book overall feel believable, even if the events of the plot stretch credibility at times.
That attention to detail lifts this above some other thrillers I’ve read and makes for a read that’s informative as well as thrilling. Despite not being the first in the series I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything, but it did wet my appetite for the other books.

4/5

Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough #BookReview

“Once a cheat, always a cheat,” they say. Marcie Maddox has worked hard to get where she is after the illicit affair that started her new life a few years ago. But her world of country clubs, yachts and sumptuous houses in Savannah, Georgia, isn’t easy to maintain, no matter how hard she tries. Nor is keeping her husband, Jason, truly interested.

So, when Jason’s boss brings home a hot new wife from his trip to London, the young Mrs William Radford IV isn’t quite the souvenir everyone expected. Sexy, drop-dead gorgeous and black—Keisha quickly usurps Marcie’s place as the beautiful second wife. But when Marcie sees the extra spark in the room when Keisha and Jason are together and their obvious, magnetic attraction, the gloves come off.

Revenge is best served cold, but in the steamy Savannah heat, blood runs so hot that this summer it might just boil over into murder.

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Title: Dead to Her | Author: Sarah Pinborough | Publisher: HarperCollins | Pages: 400 | ISBN: 9780062856821 | Publication date: 12th February 2020 | Source: NetGalley

I’m a huge fan of Sarah Pinborough’s audacious 2017 novel ‘Behind Her Eyes’ and was hoping for more of that brilliance in ‘Dead to Her’. Unfortunately, it lacks the insanity that made ‘Behind Her Eyes’ so great. That’s not to say it’s a bad book, it’s well written and intricately plotted, but I couldn’t help being a little disappointed when I finished it.
It tells the story of two women in Savannah, both second wives to successful men. Keisha is a young, black Londoner, the new spouse of ageing lawyer William. Marcie is an established part of the local elite. The two become rivals and events quickly escalate until a crime disrupts the polite social circle they inhabit.
There’s a lot in this book that’s great. Pinborough’s prose has never been better and she does a great job of painting the wealthy Southern community the book takes place in. The characters are believable and engaging and the in-fighting and bitchiness between them is entertaining. The two leads are particularly strong. Flighty, outspoken fish out of water Keisha and jealous Marcie are credible and fun to read. The twists and turns of the relationship between the two women are gripping and make for a page turning read. As the story unfolds, Pinborough throws in numerous mystery elements, which kept me guessing. There are hints at secret pasts, voodoo and other supernatural elements all swirling in the mix.
The problem is that the final quarter of the book that ties all these threads together is unsatisfying and feels a little contrived. The final explanation of the events makes perfect sense, with clues skilfully seeded throughout the rest of the book. It just wasn’t the ending I was hoping for. There are twists and turns aplenty along the way and the book is never less than entertaining, but it lacks a knockout punch.

3/5

Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong #BookReview

Who can you trust if you can’t trust yourself? Early one morning, twenty-six-year-old Yu-jin wakes up to a strange metallic smell, and a phone call from his brother asking if everything’s all right at home – he missed a call from their mother in the middle of the night. Yu-jin soon discovers her murdered body, lying in a pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs of their stylish Seoul duplex. He can’t remember much about the night before; having suffered from seizures for most of his life, Yu-jin often has trouble with his memory. All he has is a faint impression of his mother calling his name. But was she calling for help? Or begging for her life? Thus begins Yu-jin’s frantic three-day search to uncover what happened that night, and to finally learn the truth about himself and his family. A shocking and addictive psychological thriller, The Good Son explores the mysteries of mind and memory, and the twisted relationship between a mother and son, with incredible urgency.

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Title: Good Son | Author: You-Jeong Jeong | Publisher: Penguin | Pages: 309 | ISBN: 9780143131953 | Publication date: 5th June 2018 | Source: Self-purchased

‘Good Son’ is a disturbingly effective Korean psychological thriller about a young psychopath and the events in his past that led him to kill. It’s the kind of book that sticks with you, largely thanks to its amoral but fascinating narrator. It isn’t often that you finish a book feeling like you’ve been given a window into an alien psyche, but I definitely found that with ‘Good Son’.
The book starts with the protagonist Yu-Jin waking to the smell of blood and finding that his mother has been brutally murdered in the apartment they share. Yu-Jin is an epileptic who suffers from blackouts and as a result has only a vague recollection of the events of the preceding night. The rest of the book is taken up with his attempts to find out what happened, as well as understanding events from his childhood.
The prose, perhaps thanks to the translation rather than the original text, is a little laboured at times, but it didn’t take me long to get used to it. It helps that it’s written in the first person, meaning I came to think of it as another facet of Yu-Jin’s unique personality. The matter of fact way he describes the effects of violence is chilling. He came to remind me a little of a killer from a Jim Thompson novel, or the serial murderer in Shane Stevens’ classic ‘By Reason of Insanity’. Disturbing as it is, his view of the world and the place of other people in it is convincingly psychopathic.
As the book unfolds, more and more details of the crime and events from Yu-Jin’s past are revealed, building up to a very believable portrait of remorseless insanity. At 300 pages, the book is short by modern standards and it’s all the more effective for its brevity. Shocking and punchy it demands to be read quickly and I found I couldn’t put it down.

4/5

Triggernometry by Stark Holborn #BookReview

Triggernometry is a brand-new novella from Nunslinger author Stark Holborn, mixing the grit of the west with a cast of mathematicians from across history, to create a truly unique and unforgettable western adventure.

“I hereby arrest the fugitive “Mad” Malago Browne for murder, arson, robbery and acts of pernicious arithmetic against the Capitol States. Also the fugitive Pierre “Polecat” de Fermat, for sundry of the same.”

In the Western States, it doesn’t pay to count your blessings.

Professor Malago Browne, once the most notorious mathematician in the west, has been trying to leave her outlaw past behind and lead a quiet life. But all of that changes when her former partner – the deadly and capricious Pierre de Fermat – shows up with a proposition of a lifetime.

One last job, one last ride: a heist big enough to escape the tyranny of the Capitol forever.

With a misfit crew of renegade topologists and rebel statisticians, Browne and Fermat prepare to take on the Capitol in the crime of the century. Little do they know the odds are stacked against them…

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Title: Triggernometry | Author: Stark Holborn | Publisher: Rattleback Books | Pages: 62 | ASIN: B086JXRSZK | Publication date: 8th April 2020 | Source: Author

Are westerns crime fiction? They certainly tend to cover a lot of the same ground – violence, betrayal, retribution, redemption. Stark Holborn’s new novella has all of those, as well as a heist and a brace of famous mathematicians.
I can’t remember exactly how I first heard about Holborn, but I really enjoyed their first book ‘Nunslinger’, a series of 12 novellas that together tell the thrilling tale of a wayward Sister in the wild west. I say “their” quite deliberately. Stark Fairweather Holborn is the pen name of an enigmatic author who is giving nothing away about their identity (although there is at least one clue in the pages of ‘Triggernometry’). That’s why I’ve forgone the author pic I normally include above.
This new book has a similar western setting, but whereas ‘Nunslinger’ was played quite straight (albeit with a knowing eye and a tonne of flair), ‘Triggernometry’ is deliberately offbeat. Its heroine is Professor Malago Browne, a mathematician and outlaws she teams up with are similarly numerate. In fact the supporting cast features famous scholars from a range of time periods. The western world it is set in sees mathematicians as outlaws with arcane skills that aren’t to be trusted. Indeed, Browne users trigonometry to calculate the probable past of bullets to win the gun fights she finds herself in.
It’s a playful twist that doesn’t add a huge amount to the story, but it does give the book a charm that sets it apart from the competition. The real star of the show though, is Holborn’s grasp of dialogue and action. The characters chew their words in classic western style, and the bullets fly from six shooters and Winchester rifles with an energetic joy that fits the subject matter perfectly.
The result is a books that is gripping, funny and extremely entertaining. Even if you don’t think you like westerns, I suspect you’ll have a lot of fun with it.

4/5

Are Snakes Necessary by Brian De Palma and Susan Lehman #BookReview

When the beautiful young videographer offered to join his campaign, Senator Lee Rogers should’ve known better. But saying no would have taken a stronger man than Rogers, with his ailing wife and his robust libido. Enter Barton Brock, the senator’s fixer. He’s already gotten rid of one troublesome young woman — how hard could this new one turn out to be?

Pursued from Washington D.C. to the streets of Paris, 18-year-old Fanny Cours knows her reputation and budding career are on the line. But what she doesn’t realize is that her life might be as well…

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Title: Are Snakes Necessary? | Author: Brian De Palma and Susan Lehman | Publisher: Hard Case Crime | Pages: 240 | ISBN: 9781789091205 | Publication date: 31st March 2020 | Source: Publisher

When one of my favourite publishers offered me the debut novel from a film director I’ve long admired I bit their hand off for it. Brian De Palma has a long and impressive list of movies to his name (‘Carrie’, ‘Body Double’, ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘The Untouchables’, ‘Scarface’ to name a few) and a reputation for visual audacity and great set pieces. On the basis of his work in cinema, I was expecting ‘Are Snakes Necessary?’ to include a strong plot, a fair amount of action and a bit of lunacy. The fact that it only has the last of those was a disappointment, but it’s still a fun read when you get into the rhythm of it.
The book focuses on a number of loosely linked characters, connected by a US senator with a fondness for extra-marital shenanigans. Aside from the politician and his wife, the cast includes one of his former lovers and her daughter, a photojournalist, a savvy single woman who gets wrapped up in a blackmail scheme.
There isn’t really a plot, more a series of vignettes as the characters lives intersect. It feels more like 50s melodrama than the focussed noir I was expecting, but once I accepted that I enjoyed it. There are a few fairly wild coincidences (including a whopper at the end) but they work within the lurid logic of the book. If you enjoy the silly twists of soap operas, you’ll probably like what De Palma and his co-author Susan Lehman do here.
How much of the book is De Palma and how much is Lehman really isn’t clear, but I’m not sure it matters. The writing itself is easy reading and fun, and despite the lack of a strong narrative I found the pages flew by. The book has decent dialogue, sex, intrigue, politics and murder. What more could you want? A stronger plot would definitely have helped, but even without that I had a lot of fun with ‘Are Snakes Necessary?’.

3/5

Thriller Corner: Slow Horses by Mick Herron #BookReview

Slough House is a dumping ground for British intelligence agents who’ve screwed up a case in any number of ways—by leaving a secret file on a train or blowing a surveillance. River Cartwright, one such “slow horse,” is bitter about his failure and about his tedious assignment transcribing cell phone conversations.

When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the Internet, River sees an opportunity to redeem himself.

Is the victim who he first appears to be? And what’s the kidnappers’ connection with a disgraced journalist? As the clock ticks on the execution, River finds that everyone has his own agenda.

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Title: Slow Horses | Author: Mick Herron | Series: Jackson Lamb #1 | Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton | Pages: 336 | ISBN: 9781473674189 | Publication date: 1st June 2010 | Source: Self-purchased

My dad has been on at me for ages to read the Jackson Lamb books¸ now that I’ve read the first of them, I can see why. The old man has taste when it comes to thrillers, it has to be said. ‘Slow Horses’ is the first in a series of six (currently) novels and a couple of Kindle novellas. After finishing it, I can see myself reading all of them in pretty quick succession.  

What makes the book work is the fact that it feels so credible. Part of that is down to the convincing portrayal of spycraft; much of it is a result of the fact that Mick Herron has created believable, three dimensional characters. The concept is that MI5 (the UK security service responsible for tackling domestic threats) has two streams – the high-flying, sharp suited go getters and those who have fallen out of favour. Jackson Lamb is a brilliant but unpleasant and unpopular MI5 officer who runs Slough House, an out of the way office where agents who’ve either failed publicly or upset the wrong people get sent to work. Slough House agents are side-lined onto unappealing busy work like going through journalist’s dustbins, while the high-fliers get to all the sexy spy stuff. 

The book concerns a young British man who is kidnapped by an extremist group threatening to behead him on a livestream. As it develops it becomes clear that both the victim and the extremists are not what they appeared, and the plot gets enjoyably twisty. Sometimes books with convoluted plots can leave me scratching my head, but Mick Herron nailed it with this one. I rarely saw the twists coming, and when they came, they didn’t lose me. 

Where the book really shines, though, is in its characters. Even the lesser ones are well done and convincing, and the unfortunates of Slough House in particular are brilliant. Each of them is distinct and convincing, with an engaging back story and an underdog appeal. Lamb himself is a powerhouse. Abrasive, nasty, determined and utterly believable. The blending of great characters and a solid plot results in a book which is gripping, involving and really fun to read. 

My dad did good with this recommendation then, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series and comparing notes with him. In return, I recommended to him the ‘Vinyl Detective’ books recently (the third of which I reviewed here a few weeks ago) and he’s making his way through those at pace. Now I just need to get him into McBain…  

4/5

Hollywood Station by Joseph Wambaugh #BookReview

For a cop, a night on the job means killing time and trying not to get killed. If you’re a cop in Hollywood Division, it also means dealing with the most overwrought, desperate, and deluded criminals anywhere. When you’re patrolling Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards, neither a good reputation nor the lessons of scandals past will help you keep your cool, your sanity, or your life when things heat up.The robbery of a Hollywood jewelry store, complete with masks and a hand grenade, quickly connects to a Russian nightclub, an undercover operation gone bloodily wrong, and a cluelessly ambitious pair of tweakers.

Putting the pieces together are the sergeant they call the Oracle and his squad of street cops. There’s Budgie Polk, a twenty-something firecracker with a four-month-old at home, and Wesley Drubb, a rich boy who joined the force seeking thrills. Fausto Gamboa is the tetchy veteran, and Hollywood Nate is the one who never shuts up about movies. They spend their days in patrol cars and their nights in the underbelly of a city that never sleeps. From their headquarters at Hollywood Station, they see the glamour city for what it is: a field of land mines, where the mundane is dangerous and the dangerous is mundane.

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Title: Hollywood Station | Author: Joseph Wambaugh | Series: Hollywood #1 | Publisher: Little Brown and Company | Pages: 340 | ISBN: 9780316066143| Publication date: 3rd January 2007 | Source: Self-purchased

‘Hollywood Station’ is a tough talking, impossibly gritty
police procedural from Joseph Wambaugh. Wambaugh was a cop for 14 years in LA
before leaving the force and turning to writing full time after his novels and
true crime works became bestsellers. In other words, Wambaugh knows his onions,
and that really shows in ‘Hollywood Station’.

The novel’s format is similar to that of Ed McBain’s ‘87th
Precinct’ novels. There’s a precinct populated with detectives and patrolmen
and women working through a number of cases. What makes Wambaugh’s book
slightly different to McBain’s is that he pays more attention to the criminals.
A variety of panhandlers (his term), meth addicts and gangsters appear
throughout the story with sub-plots of their own that run alongside (and
intertwine with) those of the cops. McBain does this occasionally in his books,
but his focus tends to be much more on the cops.

The book feels like it doesn’t have a plot, but as the
various threads progress it becomes apparent that there are many connections
between them. This makes for a read that can be a bit episodic at times, but
which ends up coming together well. Despite the books narrative strengths, it’s
the verisilimitude that impresses most. Wambaugh’s characters are well drawn
and convincing as people, but more than that he writes with utter confidence
and conviction about what it’s like to be a cop. The book is filled to the brim
with anecdotes, asides and insights, all of which add massively to the
atmosphere and the sense that you’re reading something not a million miles from
the truth.

Wambaugh tackles many big themes – racism, sexism,
corruption – and does each of them justice. I often didn’t agree with his
characters, but his even-handed approach was engaging and convincing. More than
those things though, it’s the sense of camaraderie and joint purpose that shone
through. The characters bicker and rub each other up the wrong way, they insult
each other and brawl, but they’re always, deep down, in it together.

It’s engaging, fascinating stuff from beginning to end and
well worth a read if you fancy something that feels real.

4/5

So Nude, So Dead by Ed McBain #BookReview

He’d been a promising piano prodigy, once. Now he was just an addict, scraping to get by, letting his hunger for drugs consume him. But a man’s life can always get worse – as Ray Stone discovers when he wakes up beside a beautiful nightclub singer only to find her dead… and 16 ounces of pure heroin missing. On the run from the law, desperate to prove his innocence and find a killer, Ray also faces another foe, merciless and unforgiving: his growing craving for a fix…

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Title: So Nude, Dead | Author: Ed McBain | Publisher: Hard Case Crime | Pages: 224 | ISBN: 9781781166062| Publication date: 17th July 2015 (original publication: 1952) | Source: Self purchase

Anyone who has read CriminOlly for any length of time will
know that I’m a huge fan of Ed McBain. His ‘87th Precinct’ books are
my favourite literary series bar none, and I’ve been reading him for at least
30 years. When I saw that his first published crime novel was included in the
Hard Case Humble Bundle I wrote about recently I knew I had to read it. The fact
that it didn’t reach the high levels of the ‘87th Precinct’
mysteries probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Despite its flaws,
though, there’s some fun to be had with the tale.

‘So Nude, So Dead’ is about a heroin addict, Ray Stone, who
wakes up in a room with a beautiful corpse (female naturally, this was the
1950s) and spends the rest of the book trying to prove he isn’t the killer. The
“I’m the prime suspect but I didn’t do it, honest” sub-genre was probably
pretty hackneyed even 60 years ago, but it does have an immediate appeal.
McBain’s self-loathing hero isn’t terribly likeable, and the back story to his
addiction isn’t all that original (TL;DR – he’s a musician). McBain provides
ample convincing detail about the life as a reasonably well-heeled junkie
though and it makes for quite interesting reading.

The plot involves Stone running around New York trying to
avoid the cops and various bad guys while solving the crime. It’s pretty much
what you’d expect – exciting at times, populated with colourful characters from
the city’s underbelly, but lacking in any great spark or originality. It
definitely reads like any early novel. The great author McBain would become is
visible at times, but the book lacks the polish of assured lightness of touch
that characterises his best work.

Overall this is an interesting curio and not a bad book by
any means, but given that there are over fifty books in the ‘87th Precinct’
series alone it’s not one I’d necessarily rush to recommend if you have other
McBains available to you.

3/5