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The previous Joe Hunter novel was definitely a page-turner but, somewhat to my disappointment, I found this one harder to get into, and nowhere near as gripping as the others when I did finally succeed. Hilton worked hard to keep up the pace as his protagonist, ex-Special Forces soldier turned vigilante, Joe Hunter, went in search of the missing – presumed kidnapped – sister of a dead friend, but in the early chapters in particular I found myself putting the book down more frequently than I'd expected. I think part of the reason for this lies in the fact that the villain in this book, seemingly respectable business Robert Hoffman, nicknamed Quicksilver as a result of his liking for the offensive use of a cut-throat razor, lacked much of the crazy charisma of Hunter's earlier opponents. Hoffman was also hampered by having to share the limelight with one of his henchman, Larry Bolan, which seemed to go a long way to diluting Hoffman himself as an antagonist. The book follows the same format as its precursors, alternating chapters told by Hunter himself, who does remain a reasonably engaging narrator, and those mainly from the perspective of Larry Bolan, whose own loyalty to Hoffman is very much in doubt as the book progresses. Hilton also introduces a potential love-interest for Hunter in the person of US cop Kate Piers who asks Hunter to find her missing sister, Imogen. The character of Kate seemed to be more of a plot device than someone the reader is likely to become heavily invested in and I know I'm not a great one for guessing endings, but even I wasn't surprised by one aspect of the denouement, when it finally came. The supporting cast remained strong, with a return for Hunter's best friend, ex-army Ranger Jared 'Rink' Rington accompanied by his even more stylish friend Harvey, who brought a fair amount of flair to their various stand-offs with Hoffman's cohorts. All in all, the book still manages to drag the reader along in an enjoyable romp that hotted up reasonably well after a slow start and did provide some well-written and gripping action scenes, but on this occasion, I definitely felt the lack of the earlier, larger than life villains who populate Hilton's earlier books. But, having said that, I'll still happily pick up any future books in this series, as Hunter's adventures are still a cut above many others in this field. § Linda Wilson is a writer, and retired solicitor, with an interest in archaeology and cave art, who now divides her time between England and France.
Reviewed by Linda Wilson, June 2010
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