The Jonah (Hardcover)

For the bulk of the novel however this aspect is kept very much in the background, with only a few flashbacks to previous tragedies in Kelso's past peppered amongst the regular chapters. Instead the first 200 pages concentrate on policeman Kelso going undercover in a fishing town trying to uncover a drug ring. This section is readable but fairly standard thriller territory, with no new ideas or twists. The initially frost pairing with a female agent that leads to a romance is obvious and predictable, and the identity of the local drug lord is never really in doubt.

It's only really in the last 50 pages that The Jonah picks up, with some great action scenes courtesy of some freak weather conditions, (though this does seem a little like a convenient deus ex machina to save the hero from otherwise certain doom). The final full-fledged appearance of Kelso's malevolent twin is fittingly macabre though, and there's a nice sting in the tale ending.

Some of Herbert's novels, even when enjoyable, can seem a little formulaic, and to his credit The Jonah doesn't feel like a retread of any of his previous books, but for my own personal tastes I could have done with a little more supernatural horror, and a little less mainstream police investigation.

In fact it is the actual composition of the book rather than the storyline itself that has led me to this conclusion. The first ½ of the book is all plot background and story setting. We see detective Jim Kelso transferred into the drugs squad after a run of bad luck incidences in the serious crime squad and we then see his subsequent posting to the small coastal town to investigate a possible drug trafficking incident. This part of the book is pure thriller, competently written and thoroughly enjoyable as is the plot development when customs and excise officer Ellie Shepherd is assigned to the same case. The blossoming romance between the two main characters, whilst being obvious and not unexpected is never the less well written and a great addition to the story line.

What happens then is a series of flashbacks to Kelso's past showing his run of bad luck experiences and strange goings to those who threaten him. Whilst again they are well written I don't really like this well-worn Herbert tactic of interspersing the live action with the flashbacks. The flashbacks tend to be quite short and as such you don't really get into them before being transported back to the present time.

Likewise at the conclusion to the book, in order to set the scene with the huge storm hitting the coast, Herbert writes several short snippets of scene description as various new characters fall foul of the bad weather. Again because they are short you don't connect with the characters and although they passages are relatively exciting you don't really care what happens.

The final twist in the tale is good although it is only at this very last gasp you actually get any pure horror writings.

All in all and fun and enjoyable book but by no means a classic.