"The Payback", by Simon Kernick

Ok I admit, I am hooked after reading only two books from this author, I have been drawn from the start into the excitement of Mr. Kernick’s fast moving action packed dramas. “The Payback” drags you into the gory and mystery filled action right from the first murder and with each new victim the suspense intensifies, the constant twists and turns make it a hard novel to put aside. 

This latest caper set in the Philippines highlights two of Mr. Kernick’s most popular protagonists: Tina Boyd, the exciting and feisty police office and Dennis Milne, a former cop who is now earning his living by accepting contract killings. A third player is Paul Wise a recurring villain, he is well known as an international crime boss and cruel pedophile.

It opens when Dennis is sent to Manila to carry out an “assignment” for his employer Bertie Schagel (Paul Wise’s right hand man), his target is a journalist. Tina is also in the city, on leave from the force with the hope of settling accounts. She has scheduled a meeting with the same journalist to gather information as to the whereabouts of Paul Wise, the man who left her for dead and killed her ex-lover. When Paul realises he is targeted by Tina, he gives the order to have Dennis eliminate her also. When Dennis realises his second target is a beautiful, innocent woman and a police officer he is unable to fulfill his boss’ wishes and knows by doing this he has put an even bigger target on himself. His only alternative is to join forces with Tina and go after the head of the snake. Their encounter is completely explosive and when you add to the mix a notorious villain you have a fast-paced and action-packed plot that is guaranteed to put boredom at bay for another day.

Mr. Kernick’s characterization is outstanding, Dennis, for one is portrayed as a cold-blooded murderer but he has so much depth and heart it is hard not to empathize with him at times, the others characters are equally well developed in their own roles. The author has provided a lot of Dennis’ back history to make this novel exciting on its own and has brought to light some loose ends from previous installments. However my gut feeling is I should have started with “The Business of Dying ”, all of his novels are definitely on my TBR list, time will tell.

"Slash and Burn", by Matt Hilton

Book 3, in the Joe Hunter Thriller series

If you are looking for an entertaining, easy to read action packed story, do not look any further, this series showcasing Joe Hunter will certainly live up to your expectations. Joe is definitely the man to have on your side when things go south and drastic measures have to be considered.

The story opens when Kate Piers shows up at Joe’s Florida beach home and reveals her sister Imogen is missing and may be in serious trouble, she is in desperate need of help from someone with the expertise Jo has acquired over the years. He is well-known for his success rate and his ability to thrive in this type of situation. Since Kate is the sister of one of Joe’s buddies from the Special Forces he has no second thoughts, a family member in distress always has priority.

In the first few pages, Kate and Joe travel to Imogen’s Kentucky home, but as soon as they arrive they are targeted by thugs representing Robert Huffman, Imogen’s former employer and local businessman with ties to organized crime. We are quickly plunged into a tale of non-stop gunfire, Steve McQueen type car chases (Opps I am showing my age) and fistfights. Imogen has become a liability, she knows too much and Huffman will leave no stone unturned to silence her and now the appearance of Kate and Joe complicate matters even more, throwing a monkey wrench into Huffman’s plans.

This book may be violent and on the gory side at times but it goes with the territory when we need an adrenaline fix. There is not a dull moment, in their quest to find Imogen, Kate and Joe face plenty of life-threatening situations and shady characters and when things get so hot they need help, Joe knows he can always count on his buddies from the Forces, Rink and Harvey, to cover his back and even the odds. As the action and the body count rises, suspense intensifies and putting the book aside becomes harder and harder. I was hooked to the end.

Joe Hunter series has a plethora of tough characters. The theme is refreshing, dramatic and well-constructed with plenty of twists and turns to captivate any reader. Mr. Hilton has the perfect recipe to engage those who thrive on this type of action.

"Half-Blood Blues", by Esi Edugyan

Esi Edugyan's "Half-Blood Blues" is a period story of the jazz culture with colourful scenes of jamming sessions, drinking and bickering among a mixed-race ensemble called the Hot-Time Swingers. The novel interweaves two chronologically distinct storylines one during the turmoil of the 1940's Europe and the other decades later. We see how old friends struggle to reconcile with a past that strongly influenced their future and their contribution to the music world, a recap of their personal side and their creativeness as artists.

At the center is Sidney "Sid" Griffiths, an African American bass player who performed with the Swingers in Berlin with his band mates and childhood friends, Chip C. Jones a rather tasty homophone and Hieronymus "Hiero" Falk, a "mischling" born in Germany with roots stemming from Africa. "Sid" is the narrator who takes us back and forth in time while he recounts his memories of events.

It all starts in 1940 Berlin when the group is forced to flee Germany and is rumoured to have had a vague offer to play with Louis Armstrong. Griffiths and his band mates escape to Paris where they discover a rapidly changing world, one that is gradually succumbing to Nazi power and the racial hatred that follows. Their lives are in constant fear with little hope on the horizon, the trio is broken up when Hiero is arrested and disappears, only to leave a few scattered recordings of their sessions together.… 

The second storyline brings us to 1992 as we follow Sid and Chip's journey back to Europe in search of Hiero hoping to rekindle the bond they had and come to peace with their past.

This is an emotional story with rich and well-drawn characters. The plot is powerful and thought-provoking as it deals with sensitive issues over a span of several decades. The beautifully energetic narrative captures the rhythmic patois of the jazz musicians and has created a unique voice for its narrator. At first I found it difficult to follow, not being familiar with the lingo, however, once I overcame my handicap and addressed it as a new challenge I fell right into the beat and enjoyed every remaining page, it added another dimension to a very interesting story.

Congratulations Ms. Edugyan for winning the Scotia Bank Giller prize for 2011.