This is a cleverly told thriller coming from a first person perspective, but it’s a little bit different than usual because the perspective alternates between two characters. This is achieved by changing perspective from chapter to chapter with the title of the chapter given to the character doing the talking. It’s also following a timeline that counts down to a zero hour scenario that gives the feeling of building to a tremendous crescendo. It’s very effective.
The two men telling the story are Max Iversson and John Gallan. Max Iversson is a former soldier, first with the army and then as a mercenary who now works as a personal bodyguard. He finds himself wanted by the police when a protection job goes horribly wrong. He realises he had been set up and wasn’t supposed to have survived and now is desperate to find out who set him up and why, while still avoiding apprehension by the law. John Gallan is that law, working as a Detective Sergeant in CID; he is trying to investigate an unrelated murder when Iversson’s name and business begin popping up throughout the investigation.
Mixed into the story and the lives of the two protagonists is an organised rime family, the Holtz family, and as with most stories involving organised crime, drugs, prostitutes and violence make their appearance. Iversson is pretty sure that it was the Holtz family that was involved in the set up, so he’s trying to find out why, as well as working out a way to get some sort of revenge. Gallan is pretty sure the Holtz family was somehow involved in the murder that he is working on and so he begins to tangle with them. The Holtz family is known to be ruthless towards anyone who crosses them no matter who they are, setting up a tremendous showdown as it becomes obvious that they’re all going to meet somehow. The results are not going to be pretty.
I like my thrillers to come with a fast-paced storyline carrying plenty of action sequences, which usually equates to full on violence. This book certainly fills that bill. The bad guys are ruthless, so are some of the good guys providing a no-holds-barred battle to the death. It’s a terrific follow up to Kernick’s first book, The Business of Dying, with a character or two making a return appearance here.
