Review of The Walker on the Cape: Anthony Lund Allbooks

The Walker on the Cape

 Review by: Anthony Lund, Allbooks Reviewers International

 

Police procedural novels come from two stables; plodding or pacey. Mike Martin’s debut fiction novel The Walker on The Cape falls mostly into the latter category.

The Walker on The Cape introduces yet another policeman into the world in the form of Winston Windflower, a sergeant of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, along with his sidekick Constable Eddie Tizzard, and we have to ask do we really need one?

While not breaking any moulds, Windflower is a decent enough addition to the ever growing list of policemen out there in the world of crime fiction. His character develops quickly enough to grab the reader’s attention, giving a little insight into the man behind the officer and Martin doesn’t fall into the trap of many others in bogging readers down with a host of slow-moving introductions. All in all, after the first few dozen pages, the story already had me hooked and I was not feeling an urge to just skim read a few pages to get beyond weighty descriptions.

Possibly the one gripe with the characters – who are well-crafted and, while not entirely unique, are ordinary people, which is what ordinary readers can connect with in this genre – is the choice of names. The mouthful of Winston Windflower, combined with something far too close to Eddie Izzard is something that will either help ingrain the characters on minds, or simply make people laugh at the wrong moment.

The Newfoundland setting of the novel is described just enough to, along with the glum coastline image of the book’s cover, create a sense of setting, and the small community with its secrets is one similar to those that work to such great effect in the work of Stephen King in the likes of Needful Things and Storm of The Century.

As with any crime novel that doesn’t rely on gimmicks or spectacular set-pieces, the story is key to the success of the book, and it doesn’t disappoint. Again, police procedurals fall into two types; one giving an entire law seminar and boring readers to tears, the other supplying just the right amount of detail to keep story-lovers entertained and nit-pickers from accusing the author of blagging their way through. Again, Martin manages to keep to the latter of these throughout, and doesn’t stray from his focus on the evolving storyline.

The Walker on the Cape is a promising debut for Windflower and co, and with a constantly moving plot, some clever twists and a pleasant writing style it will not be the last we see of them either. For anyone who enjoys the R D Wingfield’s Frost novels will find plenty to get their teeth into here.

 

Title – The Walker on the Cape

Author – Mike Martin

Publisher – Baico Publishing