This
is a British police procedure mystery with a different kind of hero.
Wild is a police officer with a past and an attitude. This is the
first novel I have read in this series by Thompson so I missed
Wild's tainted activities in the first novel. But the past comes back
to bite him and he is frequently trying to keep people from using his
past misdeeds against him. The other aspect of his unusual character
is that he is so determined to get what he wants he frequently steps
over the line of what is appropriate for law enforcement. I was
amazed at how he managed to get out of trouble with his superiors.
There
is quite a bit of colloquial language in this novel American readers
may not know. When a youth was said to be in borstal, I had no idea,
as was the case with schtum. There is also police slang, such as
misper.
I
did enjoy the mystery. I felt transported into Wild's world of
getting along with other officers, investigating a murder and running
down the villain. He is not a squeaky clean policeman but he managed
to get the task done.
My
rating: 4/5 stars.
Derek
Thompson grew up in London and started writing fiction in his teens.
He writes freelance and his short fiction has appeared in both
British and American anthologies. He has also written comedy material
for live performance and radio. He has written several thrillers.
Joffe
Books, 278 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My
comments are an independent and honest review.
(My
star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it,
1-I hate it.)
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