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DYNAMITE ROAD
by Andrew Klavan
Forge, November 2003
317 pages
$25.95
ISBN: 0765307855


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Jim Bishop has little or no conscience; for some reason, this quality seems to encourage women to fall in love with him. Scott Weiss, owner of a private detective agency, has an almost uncanny ability to see a situation from another person's perspective -- which can be disconcerting if that other person is a serial killer, or a potential victim.

In DYNAMITE ROAD, Jim Bishop is sent undercover to a small airport in northern California to investigate one of the owners of that airport; the Agency has been hired by the other owner, who suspects a major criminal activity is pending. Naturally enough, there is a woman tangentially connected to the case, and Bishop seduces her as part of his investigation.

In the meantime, Scott Weiss is tracking a serial killer known as The Shadowman. The Shadowman looks, at the moment, to be killing all the people who were with Cameron Moncrieff when he died. This list includes Julie Wyant, a lovely strawberry blonde former prostitute with an air of permanent innocence. Weiss is more than a little in love with Julie, although he has only seen her on a short videotape.

Because Klavan is such a good writer, when these two storylines converge, it doesn't seem improbable. Only when I was done with DYNAMITE ROAD and thought back did I realize that I wasn't particularly impressed with it. The characterization is well done, but I didn't care for/about anyone. The pace is good, with all the roller-coaster ups and downs we expect in a fast-paced thriller. The sexual tension leaves a little bit to be desired, in that there are no surprises. The ending is flat. I don't believe that The Shadowman could have escaped, therefore I don't believe that Weiss still has to contend with him.

Up until that point, DYNAMITE ROAD pretty much lived up to all the glowing jacket blurbs. It will make, if Klavan's past is any predicator of his future, a pretty good movie. Perhaps that was the intent all along.

Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, March 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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