Derailed (Hardcover)

The title "Derailed" comes not only from the first scene, a chance meeting of a married man and a married woman on a train, but from the different tracks your life can follow if you make the wrong choices along the way. In this case, Charlie Shine is "guilty as charged" for being attracted to another woman but the price he will pay for that random encounter on the train is definitely not justified. The reader almost can't fault him for his indiscretion and will root for him all the way to extricate himself from this fiasco. But can he do it or is it too far gone for him to get his life back on track? You'll witness him making one mistake after another in an effort to get his life back and every page will have your own heart beating faster and faster in fear of what will come next.

If you're the type of reader who enjoys books where events spin out of control, then definitely put this one on your list because it's a winner. I would put it in the same category as The Job by Douglas Kennedy, A Simple Plan by Scott Smith and About the Author by John Colapinto -- all favorites of mine.

There's been a lot of hype about this book. Let's face it....how often do you see a book advertised on TV? It's what caught my eye so it obviously was a successful ad campaign. But the best thing about all the "Derailed" hoopla is that it's warranted. This is one heck of a book that will have your stomach in a knot for 339 pages...definitely well worth the price of admission into the perilous world of Charles Shine as created by author James Siegel.

But only for a short period.

The book is fun in a nasty way and has some shocking scenes - really shocking - but is woefully let down by a number of plot howlers so daft, you wonder why the editors didn't step in and say 'no, pal, this just doesn't work.' With each 'now nobody would do that, surely' the book weakened.

By the time one of the last 'twists' came along, I thought it was so silly and so unbelievable, I came to the conclusion it was a fantasy sequence that had been dropped in to make some esoteric post-modern point. But no, checking back, it really was that co-incidental.

The motivation of the central character in starting the affair is not properly explored. Once he gets into the nightmare spiral, it's quite good, but crossing the line - why he does that - is left far too sketchy. Naturally the 'wife' role is under-written, as it invariably is in thrillers of this kind.

Strictly on a plane, quick thriller fix reading.