Blurb
THE CURRENCY IS DEATH
Five grand for a couple of hours work?
It seems easy money, but the deal ex-mercenary Max Iversson is chasing has gone disastrously wrong. Two of his friends are dead. And now he wants to find out who’s behind their killings.
Detective Sergeant John Gallan is also looking for answers. He’s investigating the fatal poisoning of a nightclub doorman. But leads are scarce and, when they do appear, so do bodies.
What neither man knows is that they are heading towards a devastating confrontation that will see one of them staring down the wrong end of a gun.
My Review
There’s a gun to your head, and nothing you can do about. Except it’s not clear who’s head or who’s gun. And that’s half the fun of the read, because you will find out.
Set in London, Max Iversson runs a security business. Then he makes a disastrous deal and is forced to go on the run. DS John Gallan is investigating the murder of a nightclub doorman. Both good men dealing with the fall out of bad actions. The question is who is going to cross the line first?
Iversson doesn’t mean to be a bad guy, it really is a rollercoaster ride reading him.
John Gallan has been described as ‘mundane’ in some reviews, but that’s actually part of why I like him. He was an everyman doing his job to the best of his ability, and he was able. He was also a good colleague, watch how he treats Tina Boyd.
The reader is instantly drawn in by the first-person narrative of this work. We switch between seeing things from Iversson’s and Gallan’s POV, but the story is so strong you don’t get confused as to who you are reading. Especially when you get to the one chapter that isn’t from either of them. I mentioned this only because it doesn’t feel like it belongs in the book. While it’s a massive part of the story and crucial in that respect, perhaps this story could have been revealed in a different way. Also, there’s a lot of swearing, totally fits the POV of the character, as does the gore. While this didn’t put me off I can see how it might affect others.
Now, normally Simon Kernick books start fast and get faster. This starts fast, and it’s pacy enough, but not as pacy as others. That’s one of the reasons why I wouldn’t say this is the best offering, but it is an early show of Tina Boyd and set up her character nicely before she takes off in later books.
I found Simon Kernick’s books in the early 2000s and loved them instantly. Absolutely galloped through them and read them as they came out.
GB Williams Crime Blog 