Guns for Hire The Modern Adventure

Thriller 2012 Barry Forshaw

Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmeta.com/product/guns-for-hire-the-modern-adventure-thriller-2012-barr
y-forshaw/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Brit Noir 1st Edition Barry Forshaw

https://ebookmeta.com/product/brit-noir-1st-edition-barry-
forshaw/

War God for Hire Mercenary A Reincarnation Cultivation

Litrpg Adventure 1st Edition David Burke

https://ebookmeta.com/product/war-god-for-hire-mercenary-a-
reincarnation-cultivation-litrpg-adventure-1st-edition-david-
burke/

Pirates for Hire Julie Law

https://ebookmeta.com/product/pirates-for-hire-julie-law/

Attacking Network Protocols 1st Edition James Forshaw

[Forshaw

https://ebookmeta.com/product/attacking-network-protocols-1st-
edition-james-forshaw-forshaw/
Gunning for Hire 1st Edition Renee Pawlish

https://ebookmeta.com/product/gunning-for-hire-1st-edition-renee-
pawlish/

The Nexus Knight: A lit Thriller Adventure (The Nexus

Games Book 2) 1st Edition Shami Stovall

https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-nexus-knight-a-lit-thriller-
adventure-the-nexus-games-book-2-1st-edition-shami-stovall/

MISRA C 2012 Amendment 1 Additional security guidelines

for MISRA C 2012 Motor Industry Software Reliability
Association

https://ebookmeta.com/product/misra-c-2012-amendment-1-
additional-security-guidelines-for-misra-c-2012-motor-industry-
software-reliability-association/

Railway Guns British and German guns at war 1st Edition

John Goodwin

https://ebookmeta.com/product/railway-guns-british-and-german-
guns-at-war-1st-edition-john-goodwin/

Waiting for Pumpsie Barry Wittenstein

https://ebookmeta.com/product/waiting-for-pumpsie-barry-
wittenstein/
 G UN S F O R H IRE

T h e Mod ern Ad ven t u re Th riller

Barry F orsh aw

OceanofPDF.com
© B ar r y F or shaw 2012
B ar r y F or shaw h as asser ted his r ights under the Copyr i ght,
D esig n and P at en t s Act , 1988, to be identif ied as the autho r
o f th i s w or k.
F i r st p u blish ed 2012 by E ndeavour P r ess L td.

OceanofPDF.com
 C ont ents I N T RODU C T I ON

T HE AME R I C AN T HRI L L E R

Cr oss- G e nr e H oppi ng
New Di r ect i ons
Reach er Ri des I n
T h e T hr i l ler Wr i t e r ’s T hr iller Wr iter
Bo x of P leasu r e
Br a nd C lanc y
T h e Jam es P att er son F actor y
S i d e l i ni ng t he S por t
To p of t he Tr ee?
Co a l s to N ew cast l e
Bi o t echno l ogi c al Mayhem
F o r ti ssi m o Vi ol ence
F at her of t he Technothr ill er
Mia m i Menace
On t he S l opes o f P ar nassus
L if e Af t er D eat h

T HE BR I T I S H T H R I L L E R

T h e M a st er
An I nt er l oper
E n ca psu l at i ng a G enr e
Co n t r a r i ans and K i l l er s
S wee pi ng P anor am as
T h e Tor y We C an A ll A dm ir e
T h e Ar t of t he T hr i l l er
T h e T hi nk i ng R eader ’s Dan Br own
Da n c e of D eat h
T h e P r oli f i c M r Hi ggins
N e w F ear s
I n th e Gr and M anner
Mo vi ng i n on McNab

AUT HOR Q UE S T I ONN AI RE S

Ger al d S e ym our
S a m C hr i st er
R o b er t Ry a n
Jam es C r aig
Jam es Renn e r
E m ly n R e es
Mat t Lynn
T.S . L ear ner
Mat t R e es
Mat t hew D un n
Jam es B ecker
An dy Mc N ab
S am E ast l and
S t eve B e r r y
Ro b er t Wi l t on
C h r i s Ryan
T.D. G r ig gs a.ka. Tom Maculay
To m Har per
Dean C r aw f or d
S t ep hen L eat her
P et er M i l l ar
Br ian F r ee m a n
T h e Moder n Advent ur e T hr ill e r : author s included

OceanofPDF.com
 INTR O DUC TIO N

Ov er t he year s – i n sever al books and f or a var iety of

n ewsp aper s and m agazi nes – I 've wr itten extensively about
cr im e f icti on, al ways at tem pting to com m unicate m y
en th u si asm f or t he genr e as well as m aking the best possib l e
case f or i t s v i r t ues. However, only w hen appr opr iate; af ter
all , as the wr i t er T heodor e S turgeon once said: '90% of
ev er y t hi ng is cr ap’ – l et ’s not use the m or e m ealy- m out hed
‘ cr u d ’ this adage som et i m es gets. A cer tain r esolve was
n ecessar y, i n t he t eet h of som e liter ar y snobber y, to keep
t al k in g up t he genr e; t he notion that such popular f or m s of
en ter t ainm ent coul d be taken ser iously in ter m s of their cr af t
i s a r elati vel y r ecent one and the cultur al r espectabil it y of
t h e cr im e novel owes m uch to the exam ple of such w r i ter s as
P D Jam es. But what abou t the thr iller – the novel of
ad v en t ur e? T her e, t he si tuation is m ar kedly diff er ent.
A d m i tt edl y, cer t ai n t hr i ller w r iter s f r om the last centur y
h av e achi eved gr eat cr i t ical acclaim , notably such tal ents as
E r ic Am bler, but t her e have been nothing like the kind of
cr it ical encom i um s accor ded to this m or e kinetic f o r m of
p o p u lar wr iti ng as t o i t s less sanguinar y bedf ellow in whi ch
d o g g ed copper s sol ve cr im es in the teeth of their bosses’
d i sap p r oval .
T h is st udy wi l l at t em pt t o deal w ith novels which do no t
f all in to t he cat egor y of str aightf or war d cr im e, detecti ve,
l eg al o r pol i ce pr ocedur als - - in other wor ds, the bo oks
d i scu ssed her e wi l l spor t a picar esque, ( possibly)
g l o b et r ot ting el em ent with an em phasis on action and
d an g er ; it m i ght be sai d to be a snapshot of the genr e which
b eg an w i th John B uchan’s T he T hirty- Ni ne Steps an d
co n ti n ued t hr oug h F r eder ick F or syth's Day of the Jackal up
t o su ch m oder n- d ay t hr i ller wr iter s as Ger ald S eym our and
t h o se noveli st s w ho specialise in books f eatur ing special
f o r ces oper at i ves et c. T he br ief will be ver y wide.
 Ho wever, Joh n B uchan and his f ollower s f r om Geoff r ey
H o u sehol d o nwar ds wi l l not be discussed ( except en passant )
– an d t her e i s a r eason f or that.
F o r T he Modern A dventure T hriller , I have opted to
co n cent r at e on wr i t er s at w or k in the late 20 th and ear ly 21 st
cen t u r y. T her e i s no question that cer tain nam es – such as
t h e af o r em ent i oned Ger ald S eym our – have achieved t he
k i n d o f gr avi t as t hat t heir gr eat pr edecessor s did but th er e
ar e a h ost of wr i t er s who, w hile not attem pting the
co m p lexit y of char act er isation of S eym our and co., sti ll
p r od u ce highl y eff i ci ent , t otally pr of essional pieces of
p o p u lar enter t ai nm ent i n which the em phasis is on acti on and
ad v en t ur e, cust om ar i l y set against a globetr otting
b ack g r ound. Man y of t hese w r iter s ar e yet to achieve li ter ar y
r esp ect abili t y and t hey ar e gener ally per ceived to be l argel y
r ead b y a m al e r eader ship – although not always; the
m assiv ely successf ul L ee Child, f or instance is r ead by bot h
sex es. T heir det r act or s t end to take a r eductive appr oach to
t h e f o r m – suggest i ng of ten that this can thr iller wr it ing is
f o r ev er boun d by i t s sel f - im posed lim itations. P ar t of the
p u r p o se of t hi s st udy i s to tr eat these wr iter s w ho m ay be
n eg lected cr i t i cal l y but ar e cer tainly not neglected
co m m er cial l y, t o cl oser attention than th ey have r eceived
b ef o r e. Yes, G er al d S eym our will be f ound within the
f o ll o wing chapt er s, but so ar e w r iter s who ar e largely
n eg lected by t he cr i t i cal establishm ent. I f I m anage to do a
l it t le r edr essing of t he balance her e, I will be happ y.
I t sho uld be not ed t hat this study m akes no attem pt t o be
t o tal ly com pr ehensi ve. I have concentr ated on wr iter s whose
ach i ev em ent r anges f r om the quotidian to th e O lym pian but
w h o , r egar ded t o get her, m ay constitute som ethin g o f a
sn ap sh ot of t he genr e t oday. To that end, I ’ ve concent r at ed
o n o n e or tw o books per author – and not necessar il y t hose
au th o r s’ si gnat ur e t i t l es cover ed elsewher e. I pr off er i n
ad v an ce t he m ea cul pas f or the necessar y om issio ns and I
h av e n o doub t t hat t he aler t r eader w ill be wonder ing why a
f av o u r it e auth or or t wo is not included. But I tr ust that you
w i ll f i nd sever al st i m ul ati ng w r iter s to add to your shopping
l ist – and I hope I can steer you to som e wr iter s who you
m ay n ot have r ead. I have also conducted a ser ies of
i n ter v iews w i th sever al talented pr actitioner s of the f or m to
i ll u m i nate bo t h t hei r o wn thr iller w r iting – and the inf luen ce
o n t h ei r wor k of t hei r gr eat pr edecessor s.
T h e study i s di vi ded into two sections, concentr ati ng on
A m er ican and Br i t i sh t hr iller w r iter s. T her e ar e, of cour se,
i m p o r tant exam pl es f r om other countr ies, but one of m y self -
i m p o sed lim i t at ions was to keep this f ocus on these two
p r in ci pal sour ces. Wi t hi n the Br itish/Am er ican or bi t, I r egr et
n o t b ei ng abl e t o i ncl ude such w r iter s as the af or em ent ioned
E r ic Am bler or even t wo par ticular f avour ite Br itish wr iter s
o f m in e f r om t he past , t he now- neglected F r ancis Cli ff or d
an d Al an Wil l i am s. But I have been able to cover these
i m m en sel y tal ent ed novel ists bef or e and by tur ning the
sp o tl i g ht on cont em por ar y wr iting, I tr ust this guide to the
l an d scape of t o t he m oder n adventur e thr iller will be a
p assp o r t t o som e pu lse- r acing wr iting. My appr oach wi ll
i n v o lv e f ocussi ng on i ndividual books as em blem atic of th e
v ar i o u s au th or s’ car eer s.

OceanofPDF.com
T H E AMERICA N T H RILLER

Wh er e to begin? P ossi bly with the alphabetically

ap p r o p r iat e Jeff Abbot t ? T her e ar e sever al ways i n w hich a
w r it er o f cr i m e t hr i l l er s can ensur e that cr ucial thin g: the
r ead er t ur ns t o t he next chapter. Jam es P atter son has a
si m p le str at egy: ext r em ely shor t chapter s that invar i abl y end
w i th a cl iff hangi ng si t uation. Val McDer m id teases t he
r ead er s wit h a ser i es of per f ectly tim ed r evelations t hat keep
u s g lued to t he page. B ut Jeff Abbott, in such ter sely- nam ed
o u tin g s as P ani c and F ear , has a double- pr onged tactic:
est ab lish a t ense and unusual situation in the f ir st chapt er
t h en o r chest r at e t he developm ents in hypnotic f ast/sl ow
seg m ent s. P ani c used t hese tactics to deliver the taut tale o f
a m an str uggl i ng t o f i nd out the tr uth behind the
d i sap p ear ance of hi s f at her and the death of his m other and
t h e l ean , pol i shed st or ytelling sur pr ised those who thought
A b b o t t was a debut aut hor. I n f act, he had seven books und er
h i s b el t ; eff i ci ent enough, though they har dly hinted at t he
t o p - n o t ch pr act it i oner he' d becom e. I f F ear isn’t q uite in th e
sam e l eague as P ani c , i t’s still pr et ty galvanic stuff . T he
p r ot ag oni st , Mi l es Kendr ick, star ts the book at the end of hi s
t et h er – and t hi ngs get wor se f r om then on. I n an echo of
F i g h t Cl ub, Mi l es i s bei ng taunted by his best f r ien d Andy,
w h o i s thr eat eni ng hi m with hum iliation and violence. But
Mil es h as ki ll ed Andy – or so he believes. A ndy isn’t ther e,
ex cep t as a taunt i ng voi ce in his m ind. Miles is in the
w i tn ess pr ot ect i on pr ogr am m e, concealing his w her eabouts
f r o m m ob ki l l er s, even as he tr ies to deal with the g ui lt he
f eels at his f r i end’s death. He has one ace in the hole:
p sy ch i atr i st A l l i son Vance, tr ying to pull him back to som e
k i n d o f m ental equi l i br i um while sor ting out the tr aum ati c
ev en t s of the ni ght of hi s f r iend’s death. But an expl osi on i n
h er o ff ice ki l l s Al l i son and destr oys Miles’ chance of
r eg ain ing his sani t y. He f inds him self in a desper ate cat- an d-
m o u se gam e wi t h F B I oper ative Dennis G r oote, a m an whose
o w n m adness t akes a m uch m or e lethal f or m than that of
Mil es. T her e i s a key t o his sur vival: cr acking the tr uth of
j u st h o w hi s f r i end Andy died. I f the levels of tension
en g en d er ed her e don’t m atch those of Abbott’s P ani c , t hat’s
p r in ci pal l y because t he ear lier book set the bar high f or any
f o ll o w- up. F orget di r ect com par isons and you’ ll f ind t hat
t h o se t ube or bus st ops will f ly by unnoticed.
F el lo w th r il l er wr i t er s such as William D iehl have been
f all in g over t hem sel ves to pr aise the skills of Russel l
A n d r ews, as evi nced i n such books as G ideon and I carus.
A p h ro di te, an accom pl ished entr y i n his classically- ti tled
o eu v r e, has al l t he wei ghty skill of its pr edecessor s along
w i th a new conf i dence: the eff ects her e ar ise natur ally out of
t h e m o m entu m of t he nar r ative and never seem f or ced as
t h ey o ccasi onal l y di d i n the ear lier books. S usanna Morgan
ap p ear s t o have di ed because of an unf or tunate accident –
sh e h as br oken her neck af ter a f all in her apar tm ent. B ut
t en aci ous Det ect i ve Justin Westw ood is unwilling to accept
t h e o b vi ous ver di ct : f or him , too m any things ar e anom alous
i n t h e case and he becom es convinced that S usanna was
m u r d er ed. F i ndi ng a m otive is diff icult – S usannah was a
h ack o n a m odest l ocal newspaper and her innocuous
w r it i n gs m ade f ew enem ies. But, as Westwood discover s, a
f an ati cal f an had t aken objection to S usanna’s obitu ar y f or a
d ead f il m star. I s t hi s t he killer ? Or is the tr uth m u ch m or e
co m p licated? F r om R aym ond Chandler onw ar ds, the
t h r i ll er ’s t r aject or y has been to m ove f r om the seem ingl y
sm all case t o t he l arger one and a situation with m assi ve
r am i f i cat i ons. T hat 's t he or der of business her e. Justi n
Westw ood m ay not be an innovative cr eation, af ter all ever y
k i n d o f copper has sur el y been explor ed by now, but he i s a
sh ar p l y dr awn pr ot agonist and the sustained m er it of t he
w r it i n g her e guar ant ees a consistently enter taining t hr i ller.
As wi t h t he sam e w r i ter ’s I carus . T hr iller addict s ( and
w h o o f us ar en' t t hese day s?) quickly lear n to identif y the
v ar i o u s st yl es used by t op pr actitioner s: f lor idly w r itt en,
p en et r ati ng psychol ogi cal studies and par ed- dow n, kineti c
acti o n epics bei ng t he t wo pr incipal pr ototypes. With I carus ,
A n d r ews f orged a new genr e. H is pr evious novel G ideon
m ar k ed him out as a w r i ter of shar ply individual style and
h i s q u ir ky, i di osyncr at i c use of language is f ur ther
d ev el o ped in t hi s book. Jack K eller is opening a new
r estau r ant when a bungl ed burglar y leaves his wif e dead an d
Jack b l eedi ng f r om bul l et wounds. A ndr ews takes us thr oug h
h i s slo w and pai nf ul pr ocess of r ecover y and is par ticul ar l y
g o o d o n the t r ansf or m at ion f r om self - lacer ating vict im to
f u nct i oni ng h um an bei ng. T his tr ansf or m ation is eff ect ed by
K i d , a young m an whom Jack once r egar ded as a sur r ogat e
so n and has now becom e a p hysiother apist. But K id is al so
f o un d dead and Jack f i nds it im possible to b elieve t hat it
w as su ici de or acci dent . T hose w ho've r ead Raym ond
C h an dler i n whi ch t wo seem ingly unr elated plots invar iabl y
co n v erge, wi l l n ot be sur pr ised to lear n that the m ur der of
Jack 's wi f e was the engi ne f or all that f ollowed. I f the
co n sid er abl e l engt h of t he novel is slightly m or e th an
A n d r ews’ plo t can bear, f ew r eader s w ill f ail to be gr i pped
t h r o u g ho ut.

OceanofPDF.com
 Cross- G en re H op p i n g

S o u t h A m er i ca. A wealthy m an of ninety- six lies dead,

w i th th e bl ack secr et s of his lif e setting a ser ies of gr im
ev en t s i n t r ai n. S haw, t he enigm atic intelligence oper ati ve
w h o m w e encount er ed i n D avid Baldacci’s T he Whole Trut h ,
i s in F r ance when he wi tnesses the death of another m an an d
h as t o cal l on hi s own i m pr essive r esour ces to escape
i n v o lv em ent wi t h t he m ur der. S haw f inds him self team ing u p
w i th v ul ner abl e b ut si ngl e- m inded jour nalist Katie Jam es
w h o h as been pl unged i nto a ver y danger ous wor ld. Af t er
t r ack i n g down a l ead she ends up unconscious and bundled
ab o ar d an ai r cr af t , bound f or an undisclosed destin ati on.
B ef o r e long bot h S haw and Katie ar e on a helter- skelt er
j o u r n ey acr o ss t he gl obe, locking hor ns w ith a tr uly let hal
o p p o n en t.
T h is i s the pr em i se of Deliver Us F rom E vil , one of the
m o st accom pl i shed novels f r om a wr iter w hose nam e has
b eco m e a bywo r d f or quality thr iller w r itin g ( not to m ent io n
g en r e- h oppin g) , ex- l awyer D avid Baldacci. I nspir ed by the
p r of itabl e exam p le of John G r isham , m any a lawyer has
f ell ed a f or est or t wo by wr iting legal thr iller s based on the
t em p late of T he F i rm or T he Client . But of the br eakout
n am es f r om t hi s aspi r at ional gr oup, one of the m ost talented
i s B ald acci, who wi t h such highly pr of essional w or k as
S i m p le G enius, has put consider able distance between
h i m self and hi s cour t r oom contem por ar ies. He has also
m o v ed out of t he Gr i sham or bit by wr iting a ver y diff er ent
k i n d o f book t hese days, away f r om the dr am a of th e
co u r t r oom and f i r m l y i n t he r ealm s of the picar esque, l arge-
can v as advent ur e t hr i l l er. I t’s a tr icky f ield to m aster but
B al d acci has pul l ed off the tr ick with panache.
T h e Whol e Trut h , t he book to which D eli ver Us F rom E vi l
i s a f o l low - up, had j our nalist Katie Jam es tr ying to sal vag e
h er st all ed car eer and encounter ing the m yster ious S haw,
w h o wor ks f or a hi ghl y secr et organisation. T hat book was a
t r u l y exhi l ar at i ng r ead but this outing f or the du o spor ts an
ev en m or e am bi t i ous gl obal nar r ative and Baldacci – a wr i ter
w h o k nows how t o gi ve the r eader pulse- acceler ating jol ts at
u n ex p ect ed i nt er val s – i s an absolute m aster of the
b l o ck b uster thr i l l er. I f anything, he has this new f iel d even
m o r e secur el y un der hi s belt than the legal novel; if he keep s
o n d eli ver ing books as f or cef ul as this off er ing, f ew will
w i sh h i m back i n t he l aw cour ts – either pr of essional ly or o n
t h e p r int ed page.
Ho ur G ame i s B al dacci’s ser ial kil ler novel and a l ot of
t h e t er r i tor y her e has been tr aver sed bef or e but this i sn' t
T h o m as Har r i s- li t e – r eader s m ay be battle- w ear y f r om the
av al an che of ent r i es i n the genr e but Hour Game br istles
w i th a bushel of i nnovations that obliter ate any sense of
o v er- f am i l iar i t y, even i f the gr isly opening chapter s com e
p er i lo usly close t o t hi ngs we’ ve r ead about of ten bef or e.
B al d acci , as m ent i oned above, was one who m ade the r i ght
car eer m ove f r om t he l egal pr of ession. I n such books as
A b so lu te P ow er ( f i l m ed by Cl int E astwood, playing a burgl ar
w h o wi t nesses a US pr esident com m itting m ur der ) and
S a vin g F ai t h , t he aut hor has m ade his m ar k as a wr it er of
g r eat n ar r at ive d r i ve. Split Second int r oduced Baldacci's n ew
ser ies char act er s: t he t all, athletic Michelle Maxwell and t he
b r il li ant aest het e S ean King, both ex- S ecr et S er vice
p er so n nel who wer e obl iged to leave their jobs under a
clo u d . T he duo encount er ed som e pr etty nasty thing s in that
f ir st book, but Hour Game added new levels of
g r ueso m eness. Maxwel l and King, having inaugur ated a
p ar t n er ship t hat wi l l ut i lise their individual skills, look int o
t h e d i sappear ance of som e highly conf idential paper s own ed
b y t h e wel l - pl aced B at t l e f am ily. T he decom posed body of a
y o u n g wom an i s f ound, ar r anged in a bizar r e position and
t w o t eenager s ar e bl oodily slaughter ed while havin g sex in a
car. I t seem s a ser i al ki l ler is at wor k – and King and
Max wel l soon l ear n t hat the m em ber s of the Battle f am ily
ar e, n eedl ess t o say, up to their necks.
 S o what’s new h er e? Baldacci has com e up w ith
so m eth i ng we haven’t encounter ed bef or e: a m ur der er who
u t il i ses the var i ous m odus oper andi of f am ous ser ial kil ler s,
su ch as t he hi ghl y i nt el l igent psychopath Ted Bund y and
sev er al ot her r eal - l i f e m onster s. I t goes without sayi ng t hat
t h e h o r r if ic nar r at i ve i s dispatched with m axim um
eff ect i veness by t he aut hor. T he question now is: w hat else
can h e do t o r e- i n vi gor ate the ser ial killer genr e?
Ne w D irect ion s

T h e f act t hat t wo bestsell er s by Mar k Bowden ( B lack

H a w k Dow n and K il l i ng P ablo ) have been m ade into
su ccessf ul f i l m s has cer tainly r aised his pr of ile as a wr it er
o f co m pl ex and energet i c thr iller s. U nlike m any other
p r acti t io ner s of t he genr e, the r eader has no idea w hat t o
ex p ect wi th each successive title: his speciality is to str ike
o ff in new di r ect i ons wi th each book , which is the case wit h
t h e f ast- m ovi ng and per suasive F inders Keepers . A s w ith
B o w d en’s pr evi o us books, his backgr ound as a r epor t er at
t h e P h il adelphi a E nqui rer is pr essed into ser vi ce, so t hat all
b ack g r ound det ai l has t he plausibility of such wr iter s as
F r ed er ick F or syt h. Hi s pr otagonist in this piece is b lue-
co ll ar : Joey C oyl e i s a dock wor ker eking out an existence i n
P h i l ad elphi a whi l e l ooking af ter his sick m other and
att em pti ng to deal w i t h his own cr ippling dr ug hab it. S et tin g
o u t f o r a dr ugs f i x, h e com es acr oss two str ange yellow
co n tai ner s i n t he st r eet . To his am azem ent, he f inds t hat t h e
co n tai ner s ar e st uff ed with over a m illion dollar s in
u n m ar k ed no tes. C oyl e hides the container s bef or e he i s
sp o tt ed and l ear ns t hat t hey ar e par t of the loot f r om an
att ack o n an ar m our ed van. T hen Coyle does a str an ge thi ng :
h e b eg i ns t o shar e t he m oney with al m ost ever y one he
k n o ws, f r om t he wom an he loves to str anger s chosen at
r an d o m and ev en l ocal cr im inals. A s the new spaper s begin to
zer o in on t he st ol en m oney, Coyle lives in ter r if ied
su sp en se: w i ll h e end hi s days a r ich m an? Or will the
p o lice, or f or t hat m at t er the m ob, get him ? A s w ell as
d eli v er i ng the st andar d th r iller m echanics, Bowden ’s book i s
an in t r igui ng m edi t at i on on the natur e of gr eed and the
r ead er i s f or ced t o exam ine just what he or she woul d do in a
si m ilar si tuat i on.

OceanofPDF.com
 Rea c h er Ri d es In

Men ar e supposed t o r ead cr im e novels b y m en and

w o m en si m il ar l y choose wr iter s of their ow n sex. But t he
m o st cu r sor y exam i nat i on of this canar d shows how i t r eal l y
d o esn ’t hold up: P D Jam es and Ruth Rendell can bot h clai m
l eg i o n s of m al e r eader s, while T hom as Har r is has as m any
f em ale r eader s as m al e. But what about L ee Child? S ur el y
h e’s ai m i ng squar el y at a m ale r eader ship, what w it h t he
t est o ster one level and violence of his books cr anked up to
t h e m ax? A ct ual l y, no. As Child always intended, hi s her o
Jack R eacher has gr eat appeal f or w om en and Child’s
p u b lisher s ar e even r e- j acketing his thr iller s to m axi m ise
t h is f em al e r eader shi p ( with ‘ sof ter ’ edges to the let ter ing –
t h at ' s appar ent l y what i n publishing logic attr acts wom en
r ead er s) . T he bal anci ng act of m ale/f em ale appeal is less
assi d u ously pur sued i n B ad L uck and Trouble than i n
p r ev i o us books – char acter isation is her e, it w ouldn' t be a
L ee C hil d novel ot her wise, but the book is m or e plot- dr iven
t h an m o st r ecent R eachers – and it’s none t he w or se f or th at
( th o u g h som e m ay year n f or a little of the br eathing space of
ear li er book s) . I f you r ecognise the title as a lyr ic f r om a
so n g , then you know your A m er ican blues. But if you don’t ,
d o n ’t w or r y – you' l l get a cr ash cour se her e in all things
A m er ican. I n books such as Tripwire and Ki lling F l oor ,
C h i ld ’s t ough- as- nai l s pr o tagonist has becom e one of t he
m o st ap peal i ng of cont em por ar y her oes, and, of cour se,
r ead er s now expect t he vivid Am er ican locales that r eally set
t h e seal on the books – par ticular ly im pr essive in light of
t h e f act that t he aut hor is as E nglish as his her o is A m er ican.
A s w e know f r om pr evi ous books, Jack spent a tough 13
y ear s in t he ar m y ’s m i l i tar y police division, wher e he honed
h i s su r vi val ski ll s. He’s lost contact with his old col leagues
b u t h e’s not f orgot t en t he unspoken bond that links them al l.
T h en Jack r ecei ves a m essage: one of his old unit h as been
d i sco v er ed dead i n t he Calif or nian deser t. H e’s appr oached
b y a f ell ow ex- cop, wi t h a view to r e- f or m ing the unit to
d i sco v er w hat ' s behi nd th e death, but ther e's a pr ob lem :
w h er e i s t he r est of t he unit?
Ch i l d ensur es we’ r e as concer ned as Jack is with the
d eci m at ion of hi s ol d unit and the set pieces ( includi ng a
v i o len t cl ash on a hel i copter ) ar e or chestr ated w ith the usu al
au th o r it y.
Ch i l d has steadi l y – and inexor ably – built up one of t he
m o st d evoted f ol l owi ngs of any cur r ent thr iller w r iter – and
i t’s n o t har d t o see why. I n books such as Ki lling F l oor and
D i e Trying , Jack R eacher is shapi ng up to be one o f the m o st
en d u r i ng of cont em por ar y her oes and his laconic, har d-
b o iled appeal i s easy t o f athom . T he E nemy will
u n q u estionabl y r ecei ve the usual plaudits and so it shoul d:
t h is o u t ing f or Jack R eacher is L ee Child at his consider ab le
b est. S et bef or e t he ot her books, this one has Reacher
f in d i n g hi m self i n Nor t h Car olina on New Year ’s Day, 199 0.
I n o t h er par t s of t he wor ld, histor y is being m ade, see t he
t ear i n g down of t he B er lin Wall. But Reacher, a Mil it ar y
P o l i ce Dut y O ff i cer, i s dealing with a baff ling case: a soldi er
h as b een f ound l i f eless in a downm ar ket m otel and when
Jack v i si t s the house of the soldier ( a gener al, in f act ) to
b r eak th e news t o t he dead m an’s wif e, he f inds she is also
d ead . S oon, dar k happenings in another par t of the w or ld ar e
set t in g off r i ppl es i n t he S tates and Reacher is up agai nst t h e
h ar d est – and m ost danger ous – task he has yet encounter ed.
A s a p i ct ur e of t he ear l y lif e of Jack Reacher, this is t otall y
su ccessf ul and has al l t he energy and dr ive of Child ’s best
work.
T h e aut hor cust om ar ily pr oduces one novel a year
f eatu r i ng hi s t ough ex- m il itar y policem an Jack Reacher but
B an tam P r ess f elt obl i ged to announce that ther e would be a
v er y speedy f ol l ow- up t o 61 Hours – possibly to f or estall an
ar m y o f i r ate R eacher f ollower s, dism ayed by the f act t hat
t h ei r h er o seem ed t o be dead at the end of his latest
ad v en t ur e. Of cour se, author s have pulled this par ticular
t r i ck b ef or e ( I an F l em i ng had Jam es Bond appear in g to have
h i s licence to ki l l cancelled by the poison- tipped b oot of
R o sa Kl ebb at t he end of F rom R ussia Wi th L ove – the boo k,
n o t th e f i lm , t hat i s; unsur pr isingly, 007 was quickly back i n
h ar n ess) . A nd her e’s Worth Dying F or , w ith Jack Reacher i n
t h e l an d of t he l i vi ng, hav ing sur vived the explosiv e
d en o u em ent of t he l ast b ook.
Af ter Chi l d's m aver i ck her o has shr ugged off the G r im
R eap er, he m akes hi s way south to the hinter lands of
N eb r aska. I t 's wi nt er, and cold. T he town he ar r ives in is
r u led by t he aut ocr at i c Duncan f am ily and all f ight has been
d r ai n ed f r om t he dem or ali sed townspeople. I n a r un - down
h o tel , he m eet s t he t own' s doctor, an alcoholic who has a
w el l- d evel oped insti nct f or self - destr uction. Reacher dr ives
t h e d o ctor t o a house wher e the duo encounter a br ut al case
o f d o m est i c abuse and i t isn't long bef or e Jack is di spensin g
t h e k i n d of r ough- hewn ju stice ( against the custom ar y
i n su p er abl e odds) t hat r eader s know w ill always m ake an
ap p ear ance i n a L ee C hi ld novel. He is soon a m an on the
r u n, w i th t he r ut hl ess Duncans baying f or his blood. And th e
D u n cans them sel ves have som e sinister associates whom
ev en t hey can’t aff or d t o m ake angr y.
Ch i l d, li ke I an R anki n, is a cr af tsm an who com plai ns
ab o u t t he l ow st at us accor ded to genr e w r iting ( com par ed
w i th th e r espect ab il i t y bestow ed on ‘ liter ar y’ wr iter s) .
P er h ap s both m en shoul d sim ply r evel in the f act th at so
m an y peopl e r espond t o a key aspect of their talent – one
t h at C hil d has i n gener ous m easur e. H is is an ir onclad
st o r y t elli ng et hos, a gi f t f or nar r ative that gr ips like the
p r ov er bial vice. Cer t ai nly the chilly N ebr aska landscape
h er e, wit h its f r ost - cover ed bar ns and cr op- star ved f ields, is
ab ly conjur ed and t he cowed townspeople econom ical ly bu t
sh ar p l y char act er i sed. Reacher, as ever, is sui generi s – a
v i o len t f or ce f or good set down by the author to elim inat e
ev il an d m ove on . B ut what counts is Child's ability to keep
t h e r eader t ur ni ng t he pages – and if anyone can pu t dow n
Wo rth D yi ng F or af t er the f ir st f ew pages, they sho uldn't
r eall y be r eadi ng t hr i l l er s at all.

OceanofPDF.com
 Th e T h ri l ler Wr it er ’s T h riller Writ er

F ea r the Worst ? I sn' t that what all good cr im e novel s

sh o u l d m ake t he r eader f eel f or the beleaguer ed pr otagonist
– v i car io usl y, at l east ? L inwood Bar clay is adr oit at t he
st r ateg i es of put ti ng t he r eader thr ough the wr inger via t he
p r ob l em s of hi s cent r al ch ar acter and it’s a tr ick that
A r ist o t le knew al l about: cathar sis. Cer tainly, that f eel ing o f
b ein g t hor oughl y purged, in a str an gely pleasant way, is
p r ecisely what B ar cl ay’s w r iting deliver s, ver y m uch i n t he
f ash i o n of the C anadi an author ’s ear lier No Tim e for
G o o d b ye – a consider able success in Br itain. Bar clay’s her o,
Ti m B l ake, wakes up t o what he thinks will be an or dinar y
d ay. I t wil l , i n f act , be a pr elude to a nightm ar e. H is teenage
d au g h ter, S ydney, i s st aying w ith him w hile holding down a
j o b f o r t he sum m er at a near by hotel. H e is suff er ing the
cu sto m ar y di vor ced par ent’s guilt and is hoping f or a
b o n d in g per iod wi t h hi s daughter. He is not wor r ied when
sh e d oes not r et ur n f r om the hotel, assum ing that she i s
sp en d i ng t i m e wi t h f r i ends. But then it becom es clear that
sh e is no t co m i ng hom e at all – and to his hor r or, he f i nds
t h at n o body at t h e hot el wher e S ydney Blake was supposed
t o b e w or ki ng has hear d of her. T he nightm ar e has begun and
i n a d ef t l y m odul at ed pr ogr ession f r om unease to tension t o
t er r o r, B ar clay t akes t he r eader tow ar ds Tim Blake's f inal
en g ag em ent w i t h som e ver y sinister people. I t’s a jour ney in
w h i ch Bl ake i s obl i ged to r eassess ever ything he thought h e
k n ew ab out hi s daught er and, inter alia , him self .
T h er e i s a par t icul ar kind of popular wr iting,
u n p r et ent i ous and couched in f unctional pr ose, which has
j u st o n e agenda: t o st op you tur ning off the bedside l am p,
h o wev er heavy your eyelids. I r a L evin was the exem plar i n
t h is f iel d w ith such books as A K iss B efore Dying and the
ex p er t ly- cr af t ed R osemary's B aby . L inwood Bar clay isn' t
q u ite i n the L evi n cl ass yet but on the evidence of F ear th e
Wo rst and t he ear li er and f r ankly, better To o Close To Hom e ,
i t w o n ’t be long bef or e he h as hopped up to that exalt ed
categ o r y of popul ar f i ct ion. I t has to be said that Bar clay
t ak es his own sw eet t i m e in building the levels of
ap p r ehension her e and so m e r eader s m ay becom e a lit tle
i m p ati ent . B ut t hose on boar d f or the author ’s slow- bur n
t act ics wi ll f i nd t hat consider able dividends w ill be paid.
To o C l ose To Home , as m entioned above, i s one of
L i n w ood Bar cl ay’s m ost accom plished novels. T he C utt er
f am i l y i s dev ast at ed when their next door neighbou r s t he
L ang l eys ar e m ur der ed in their house, r uthlessly gunned
d o wn . T he Cl ut t er s st r uggle to com e to ter m s w ith the hor r or
o f th e event but som et hing else is in pr ospect f or them : i t
ap p ear s t hat t he m ur der er s went to the wr ong house. And
y o u n g Der ek C ut t er has been hiding in the cr awlspace under
t h e h o use – w hi ch m eans that he has hear d all the hor r if ic
ev en t s. Hi s f at her, Ji m Cutter, discover s that the boy has
r ecen t l y wor ked on t hei r old com puter ( along w ith Adam , t he
so n o f the m ur der ed f am ily) – is thi s f act som ehow behi nd
t h e k i l l ings? Any r eader w ho has been lucky or well- br ief ed
en o u g h to have encount er ed L inw ood Bar clay bef or e wi ll n ot
b e su r pr i sed t o hear t hat this f r aught scenar io w ith num er o us
u n g u essabl e tw ist s i s di spatched with consum m ate skil l. As
w i th ever y novel by t hi s autho r, the tension is br illi ant ly
o r ch estr ated.
A t r ain cr osses t he Mi ssour i state line, a m an clinging to
t h e si d e of a cat t l e car. T hr ee other m en, shabbily dr essed,
also h ol d on. T hei r eyes ar e peeled f or the f r eight boss wh o,
i f h e catches t hem , wi l l 'whale them r aw ’ . T his is the
p o wer f ul openi ng t o R ober t Jackson Bennett's debu t out ing
Mr S h i vers , ar r i vi ng on these shor es f estooned w ith the kin d
o f p r aise r ar el y vi si t ed on f ir st novels. And it isn't ver y lon g
b ef o r e the r eader m ay begin to agr ee with that chor us of
ap p r o v i ng voi ces. I t ' s t he tim e of the Gr eat D epr essi on i n t h e
U S A and the m an hi t chi ng a r ide is Mar cus Connelly. He has
l it t le t o l i ve f or except r evenge; his daughter has been
sav ag ely ki ll ed and C onnelly has lef t Mem phis to sear ch
t h r o u g h t he hobo cam ps and abandoned townships that now
l it t er Am er ica, chasi ng a scar r ed, wr aith- like f igur e who i s
k n o wn onl y as Mr S hi ver s. Connelly gather s ar ound him
( wit h o ut r eal l y t r yi ng t o) a m otley collection of tr am ps and
d am ag ed peopl e, al l of whom have had sim ilar ly r u inous
r u n- in s wi th t he 'gr ay m an’ . A s they close in, ther e wil l be
m u ch bl oodlet t i ng and t he act of r evenge ( f or Connel ly and
h i s com pani ons) m ay pr ove as destr uctive f or them as f or
t h ei r n em esis.
Ben net t ’s novel i s as r iveting in its slow- bur ning
accu m ul at ion of t ensi on as it is atm ospher ic in its per iod
ev o cation. And even f or t hose w ho shy aw ay f r om such f ar e,
t h e el em ent of t he super natur al is per suasively handl ed –
f ir m l y keepin g scept i ci sm at bay.
T h is i s ver y m uch a book with its own identity but ther e
ar e tw o author s ( one dead and liter ar y, one alive and
p o p u list ) hid ing i n t he shadows her e: John S teinbeck and
S t ep h en K in g. T he econom ical, per suasive char acter isation
an d th e sudden, shocki ng outbur sts of hor r or ow e not a lit tl e
t o t h e m aster of cont em por ar y f r ightening f iction, S tephen
K i n g . But t he br i l l i ant l y r ealised pictur e of dustbowl
A m er ica is f ir m l y i n t he tr adition of the author of T he
G r ap es of Wr at h – and i t' s not str etching the point to say
t h at , at ti m es, B ennet t 's stinging but hauntingly poeti c pr o se
asp i r es to t he qual i t y of S teinbeck's best w or k. I n f act , if th e
t r u t h b e t old , i t is t hi s elem ent r ather than the super natur al
t r ap p i ngs whi ch m akes the book so m em or able. T his
t er r i f y ing odyssey t hr ough a blighted per iod in Am er ican
h i sto r y wi l l st i ck i n r eader s’ m inds f or a long tim e af t er
r ead in g Bennet t ' s aut hor i tative debut.

OceanofPDF.com
 Box of P l easu re

T h o se who have encounter ed the r angy Am er ican wr it er

C J B o x ( ‘ Chuck’ t o hi s f r i ends) on his visits to the UK have
b een char m ed by hi s am iable, good ol' boy countr y m anner,
f in essed by an ever- pr esent cow boy hat guar anteed to gar ner
att en ti on i n t he l i t er ar y salons of L ondon. While it wouldn't
b e tr u e t o say t hat al l of this is a sham ( Box is the r eal
t h in g : l ivi ng i n r ur al C heyenne, Wyom ing, he is also a
r an ch er, hunter and gui de to the outback) ther e is actuall y
m o r e t o him than t hese George Bush accoutr em ents m i ght
su g g est . Apar t f r om anything else, Box is consider ably
b ett er r ead t han t he gun- toting ex- pr esident and to conti nue
t h e p r esi dent i al par al l el s, echoes Obam a in being a m an
f am i l iar w it h Wi l l i am F aulkner.
S u ch vint age wr i t er s as Joh n Buchan of T he 39 St eps an d
G eo ff r ey Househol d of R ogue Male m ay also be on Box’s
r ead in g l ist, as B ack of B eyond spor t s the sam e vibr ant
r esp o n se to count r ysi de and natur e against which tense
ch ases t ake pl ace, as hi s vener able Br itish pr edecessor s. I n
f act, it i s t his t al ent f or m ar r ying locale to accum ul ating
t en si o n whi ch has per haps cr eated such a m assive f ollowing
f o r t h e autho r i n hi s nat ive US A. Box accr ued even m or e U K
en th u si asts as t he publ i sher Co r vus continued its am bit iou s
p r og r am m e of i ssui ng t he w r iter ’s consider able back
catal o gue.
B a ck of B eyond begi ns on a r ainy day in t he Mont ana
m o u n tai ns in a bur nt - out cabin. I nside, a char r ed cor pse
sm o u l der s. D et ect i ve C ody H oyt, a m an with the cu st om ar y
b ag g ag e of per so nal pr oblem s in cluding alcoholism , is the
i n v est igati ng off i cer and f inds com plications in the f act that
t h e b o dy is t hat of hi s AA sponsor, H ank Winter s. T he i dea
t h at Hank has di ed acci dentally af ter a r etur n to the bott le i s
d i sco u nted by C ody. Dr inking has led to Cody him self bei n g
d i sg r aced i n t he depar t m ent – par ticular ly w hen he wounds
t h e co unty cor on er af t er a stakeout goes w r ong. E ven thou gh
h e is suspended, t he dogged Cody is no t about to let the
m u r d er er of hi s f r i end enjoy his liber ty. T he killer is on a
h o r seb ack t r ek i nt o t he hear t of Yellow stone National P ar k
an d to add even m or e f r isson, Cody’s alienated son is also
o n t h e tr ek.
T h e t ext ur e t hat com es f r om CJ Box’s asser tive
st o r y t elli ng ski l l s and channelling of the gr eat wr iter s of th e
p ast ( accom pl i shm ent s he is wont to play dow n)
co m p lem ent s t he sheer excitem ent of dar k doings against a
t h r eat eni ng landscape. And while our initial r espon se to the
eco n o m i cal ly char act er i sed Cody Hoyt m ay be ‘ Oh no, not
an o th er al cohol i c det ect ive! ’ r eader s will soon f ind
t h em selves di sr egar di ng the cliché, such is Box’s ineluct abl e
g r ip .
T h at gr i p is al so keenly in evidence in B lue H eaven . Bad
t h in g s can happen i n B l ue H eaven. I t is the nam e given to
t h e i d y l li c count r ysi de ar ea of Nor th Car olina w her e m any
p eo p le choose t o r et i r e, including policem en f r om L os
A n g eles. B ut L A cops, as we know f r om both r eal- li f e and a
g r eat m any novels, ar e not alw ays to be tr usted. I n CJ B ox ’s
u t ter ly ir r esi st i bl e novel, two childr en on a f ishing tr i p i n
t h e w o ods wi t ness a hor r if ying m ur der and f ind them selves
o n t h e r un, pur sued by t he f our m en r esponsible. A lf r ed
H i tch cock al ways used to say that it was im por tant to tel l
t h e au dience why hi s desp er ate her oes could not go to the
p o lice and B ox p ul l s off that tr ick her e: the f our kill er s ar e,
i n f act, hi ghl y r espect ed r etir ed policem en. A par t f r om their
ex ten si ve t r ai ni ng, t he m ur der ous cops have another weapon
i n t h ei r ar m our y when t r acking these inconvenient wit nesses:
t h ey can cal l t hei r pur suit a ‘ m issing child’ investigat ion.
Wh o , af t er al l , coul d doubt their honesty? A nd how could t he
r ath er weak- wi l l ed l ocal sher iff r ef use their help in such a
case? But an agei ng r ancher who becom es involved m ight
j u st p u t a spanner i n t he wor ks. ..
T h o se who have encounter ed ear lier novels by CJ Box
( in clu din g t he eq ual l y t ense T hree Weeks To Say Goodbye )
w i ll b e in no doubt t hat he is one of the m ost talented
t h r i ll er wr iter s at wor k today and the f ulsom e pr aise on t he
j ack et f r om such l um i nar ies as Har lan Coben and Tess
G er r itsen i s f ul l y j ust i f i ed. I f anyone is put off by t he noti on
o f th e ol d- school cowboy Jess Rawlins dr awn into the chase,
o r w o r r i es about t he i l l - advised S tetson spor ted by Box i n
t h e au t hor pi ct ur e, t hi s is only per ipher ally a Wester n –
ab o v e ever yt hi ng, i t ’s an exhilar ating m oder n thr iller. I t' s
n o t ju st t he m echani cs of keeping the r eader tur ning t he
p ag es t hat t he aut hor i s so skilled at, it's the wonder f ully
r ich ch ar act er i sat i on of all the pr otagonists her e, g ood and
ev il . I n par t i cul ar, t he r etir ed r ancher Raw lins is a
m ar v el l ous cr eat i on ( i f a f ilm is ever m ade of the novel, t h e
n o w- elder l y C l i nt E ast wood w ould be per f ect casting) . A
sen se of place l eaps off the page but how ever beaut if ul the
set t in g , w e ar e never al l owed to f orget the m enace t hat is
d r awi n g ever cl oser t o t he desper ate childr en. Blue Heaven
i s o v er 400 pages l ong but you w ill r ead it as quickl y as a
sl im n ovell a.
Ho war d Bl um ’s T he B rigade m ay not have r epr esented a
b r eak t hr ough f or i t s aut hor – but deser ved to. I n N ovem ber
1 9 4 4 , t he war i n E ur ope is in its f inal days. T he Br it ish
g o v er n m ent has agr eed to send a br igade of 5,000 Jewi sh
v o lu n teer s f r om P al est i ne to E ur ope to com bat the Ger m an
ar m y. I sr ael C ar m i i s one of these soldier s, a veter an of the
H ag an ah undergr ound. Car m i ser ves one ar m y but hi s
all eg iances ar e t o anot her. A nother soldier is Johanan P elt z,
b r ou g h t up on a m assi ve estate in P oland, longing to r etur n
h o m e as an off i cer i n t he Br itish ar m y. A nd ther e is ex-
st u d en t Ar i e P i nchuk, w hose r etur n to E ur ope conceals his
o w n secr et pl ans: he i s deter m ined to r escue his little si st er,
t h e l ast r em ai ni ng m em ber of his f am il y. At t he S eni o r iver,
P eltz l eads hi s t r oops i n a danger ous bayonet charge at t he
h ear t o f the G er m an l i ne. T he br igade sur vives and tr i um phs
i n t h e blo ody hand- t o- hand com bat, pr oving that even as th e
Jew ish r ace i s suff er i ng appalling victim isation, these
so l d ier s wi t h t he S t ar of David on their unif or m sleeves
d em o nst r ate t hat a per secuted r ace can f ight back. But af ter
t h e w ar, when t he t ot al hor r or s of the holocaust becom e
clear, the sol di er s vow t o inaugur ate a savage cam paign of
v en g eance - one t hat m ay change the cour se of histor y. T hi s
i s p o wer f ul , vi vi dl y wr i tten stuff : an epic tale of the f ight i ng
o f w ar and the f orgi ng of a nation. A s a thr iller wr iter, Bl u m
i s in t he hi ghest echel ons – and the ver isim ilitude o f the
d etai l her e adds a whol e new level to this im pr essive novel .
Wr it er s such as Joseph Heller, Mar y Higgins Clar k and Cli ve
C u ssl er queued up t o si ng the pr aises of T he B rigade – and
i t’s n o t har d t o see why.
T h e t hr i l ler af i ci onado has cause to b e both gr atef ul and
w ear y at pr esent . Gr at ef ul because so m any str ongly wr it ten
t h r i ll er s ar e appear ing and wear y because it tak es a
d ed icated r eader i ndeed to get thr ough all of them . Well, t h at
d ed icated r eader has another book to add to the bedsi de tabl e
an d Jo hn Case’s T he E i ghth Day m or e t han justi f ies being
b u m p ed t o t he t op of t he list. Case m ade a m ar k with such
b o o k s as T he G enesi s Code , and this is tr ul y t hr il ler wr iti ng
o n an epi c scal e, t he nar r ative goes globe- tr otting f r om t he
E t er n al Ci t y t o I st anbul and f r om the high- tech avenues of
S i li co n Val l ey t o t he cor r idor s of pow er in Washingt on. Bu t
w h at m akes t hi s book so unusual is the blend of r el igious
asp ect s in t he hi gh- oct ane m ix. Case’s pr otagonist, ar t ist
D an n y Cr ay, i s m aki ng m oney o n the side as an investi gator
w h en a r ich l awy er asks him to f ind out who is beh ind the
v i li f icat ion cam pai gn di r ected against a r eclu sive
b i ll i o n ai r e. When f ol l owing a lead, Danny com es into
co n tact wi th t he f i l es of a dead pr of essor of r eligio us
st u d ies, and r eal i ses t hat the stakes ar e f ar higher than hi s
cli en t tol d hi m ; so hi gh, in f act that m assive loss o f lif e on a
cataclysm i c scal e m ay com e about if Danny's unable to
o v er com e the f or ces r anged against him . D anny Cr ay is a
n i cel y vulner abl e her o whose r esour cef ulness car r ies him
t h r o u g h and t he el em ent s of the inter national thr ill er and
O men - st yl e el dr i t ch t er r or s ar e cannily synthesised her e,
m ak in g f or a hi g hl y com pelling r ead.
OceanofPDF.com
 Bra n d Cl an cy

By now, Tom C l ancy is m uch m or e than just an author.

L i k e sever al of h i s pr edecessor s, his ver y nam e has becom e
v i r t u all y a br and si gnat ur e f or a par ticular kind of thr i ller
w r it i n g, despi t e what m any see as his lim itations: tough, n o-
n o n sen se m at er i al t hat i s always f astidiously r esear ched and
( m o st l y) pl ausi bl e. Hi s r esour cef ul pr otagonist Jack Ryan
h as n o w been pl ayed on the scr een by m ultiple actor s,
r iv alli ng Jam es B ond. R ed R abbi t is an unusual additi on to
t h e Ry an canon, f i l l i ng in som e details of his ear ly days.
We'r e sti l l, of cour se, i n the ter r itor y of the political t hr ill er.
B ef o r e achi evi ng t he l of ty heights of the pr esiden cy, Jack
Ry an t oil ed i n t he l ower echelons of the CI A 's analysi s
d ep ar t m ent s. Deb r i ef i ng an im por tant S oviet def ector, he
l ear n s t hat t her e i s a pl ot to assassinate P ope John P aul . Bu t ,
n eed l ess to say, t he P ope's assassination is not the onl y
asp ect of a danger ous conspir acy that w ill give Jack a
h u n d r ed headaches: as i n m ost of the other Ryan books, su ch
as T h e Hunt F or R ed October , it's n othin g less than t he
i n ter n at i onal wor l d or der which is at stake. As Jack Ryan
g ets cl oser and cl oser t o the sinister per petr ator s, he i s to
en co u n t er f o r t he f i r st t im e the clear and pr esent danger
w h i ch is to be a hal l m ar k of his later lif e. T his m ay not be
t h e b est of Cl ancy' s Jack Ryan thr iller s bu t it deliver s the
r eq u i sit e act ion wi t h th e custom ar y skill.
As does T he Teet h of t he Ti ger . T he am azing success of
To m C l ancy i s a sour ce of wo nder and envy to m an y thr il ler
w r it er s. T hey argue t hat his use of language is f lat and
u n ad v ent ur ous, hi s descr iptive passages basic and b r i ef . Bu t
v en tu r e just a f ew pages into m ost Clancy novels and i t’s
clear h ow t he aut hor has attained his pr e- em inent positi on i n
t h e f i el d. Despi t e, or per haps because of the unf ussy styl e,
an ir o n gr i p i s exer t ed on the r eader by the author ’s
r elen t l essl y power f ul st or ytelling. A nd w hen it com es to
d eli v er i ng a st eady accum ulation of action set- pieces, he h as
n o p eer. T he Teet h of t he Tiger dem onstr ates this eff iciency
– an d t his one i s al l Cl ancy, not one of the por tm ant eau
p i eces he’s been ( l azi l y) pr oducing w ith o ther wr iter s of
l at e. Mi ddle E ast er n t er r or ism is the lynchpin her e: it’s
i m p o ssib le f or a cont em por ar y action novelist to avoi d thi s
m o st sober i ng of m enaces. A sinister deal is f orged in an
A u st r ian caf é bet ween an I slam ic extr em ist w ith a net wor k
o f al - Q aeda- st yl e act i vi sts who have inf iltr ated the West an d
a p o w er f ul C ol om bi an cr i m inal. T he r esulting liaison has t he
p o ssib il it y of wr eaki ng unlim ited destr uction on Wester n
t arg et s and P r esident Ryan ( ex - pr otagonist of so m any
C l an cy t hr i l l er s i n hi s pr e- Whitehouse days) r ealises that i t’s
t im e to r ecr ui t new agents to com bat this ter r if ying t hr eat .
Yo u th f ul F BI t yr o Dom Car uso and his m ar ine br other ar e
r elat ed t o Jack Ryan but f am ily associations becom e ver y
d an g er ous when you’ r e up against a car tel as sinister and
p o wer f ul as t he one posited her e. T he appeal of T he Teet h o f
t h e Tig er l i es i n the cl ose, detailed r ealisation of th e anti -
t er r o r i st s’ wor l d; th e Car u sos m ay be the nom inal
p r ot ag oni st s but t hi s i s an ensem ble piece, with a large
d ra m a t is personae yoked into a nar r ative as involving as
an y th i ng C lancy has del iver ed.

OceanofPDF.com
 Th e James P at t e rson F act ory

An ot her wr i t er happy to deliver por tm anteau w or k w ith

o t h er scr i bes ( who we’ ve r ar ely hear d of ) – som eone, in f act ,
w h o h as no equal i n t hi s pr of itable ar ea – is m ega- selli ng
Jam es P at t er son.
‘ Why do you B r i t s al ways pick on m y sho r t chap ter s?’
Jam es P at t er son i s apt t o say in m ock exasper ation to Br i ti sh
i n ter v iewer s: ‘ nobody i n the S tates ever br ings the subj ect
u p ! ’ Di pl om at i c B r i t s usually r ef r ain f r om m aking pi thy
co m m ent s about t he r espective attention span of Br i tish and
A m er ican r eader s but even if we did, P atter son cou ld poi nt
t o h is phenom enal sal es – on bo th sides of the Atlantic – and
d i ssen t woul d be f i r m l y r outed. T he author knows pr eci sel y
h o w t o m anipul at e h is r eader s and despite r ecur r ing
cr it ici sm of t he par ed- dow n chapter s, that A ncient Mar iner
g r ip is pr ecisel y what his adm ir er s cite as the r eason f or
P atter son’s success. T he cr eator of the A lex Cr oss novel s has
b een b esti ng t he sal es of his conf r èr es in the cr im e wr iti ng
f iel d f o r m any a m oo n and the f inely hon ed, utilitar ian pr o se
r eall y get s t he j ob done. H is countr ym an, Har lan Coben,
m i g h t not have gl eaned – yet – P atter son’s str atospher ic
sal es f igur es but C oben’s is m or e of a succès d’ est ime and
h i s r ep utat ion am ong di scer ning cr im e r eader s is
u n assai lable ( even i f i t ’s som etim es har d to give a dam n
ab o u t t he r ef er ences t o Am er ican spor ts) .
P at ter son del i ver s t he usual shor t blows to the m idr iff
w i th tal e o f seduct i ve Nor a S inclair and F BI Agent John
O ’ H ar a ( is t he l i t er ar y nam echeck an attem pt to give
H o n eymoon an ext r a gr avit as – or does P atter son thi nk t he
cr eat o r of P al Joey i s now a f orgotten m an?) . P atter son’s
H o n eymoon, om i nousl y co- author ed w ith the less wel l-
k n o wn Howar d R oughan, has all the f am iliar P atter son t r ai t s:
sat i sf y ingly t or t uous pl otting and a nar r ative tr aject or y that
n ev er pauses f or br eat h. F BI Agent O ’ Har a is dr awn with
eco n o m i cal ski l l , as i s his gr owing sexual obsession with t he
b ewi tchi ng N or a S i ncl ai r ; a wom an with whom it is unl uck y
t o h av e any ki nd of r el ationship. T his has elem ents of
H i tch cock’s Ver t i go or per haps even the Boileau/Nar cejac
o r ig i n al and i t s page- t ur ning quality is sui generis .
No t ever y P at t er son co- author was to be obscur e. Many
p eo p le ar e cur i ous as t o why he f eels obliged to wr ite so
m an y novel s i n t andem w ith other less well- know n w r iter s.
A f ter al l , r uns t he argum ent, P atter son is so com f or tably
ah ead of m ost of hi s r i vals in both sales and popular acclai m
t h at i t i s a m yst er y as t o why he f eels the need to d ilut e the
P atter son br and any f ur ther. Of cour se, a par t of this
r eact i o n agai nst t he co- author ed P atter son novels is due to a
f eeli n g t hat whi l e P at t er son's nam e m ay be in the larger f o nt
o n t h e jacket , i t m ay be his co- author who has done m or e of
t h e w o r k . T hi s i s not t he place to debate such argum ents but
w i th th e appear ance of P o stcard Kil lers , a new elem ent has
b een in tr oduced i nt o t he m ix. I n this case, P atter son' s co-
au th o r is not a wr i t er- f or- hir e with whom the r eader m ay n ot
b e v er y f am i l i ar but a consider able no velist in her own r igh t
– th e tal ent ed S wedi sh wr iter L iza Mar klund alr eady
celeb r ated f or her own highly individual novels whi ch ar e,
i n f act, qui te unl i ke t hose of Jam es P atter son. S o what
r esu l ts have thi s i l l - assor ted duo com e up w ith in thei r f ir st
co ll ab or at i on?
Jacob Kan on i s a New Yor k detective who has decided t o
t ak e th e gr and t our ; but f or diff er en t r easons to m ost peopl e.
A s h e vi si ts som e of E ur ope's m ost beautif ul and hi st or ic
cit ies, his r esponse i s ver y diff er ent to that of the aver age
t o u r i st . E ver yt hi ng Jacob sees is r ef r acted thr ough a dar k
sear ch ; he i s l ooki ng t hr ough the eyes of the m ur der er of h is
d au g h ter, Ki m m y, who was killed with her f iancée in Rom e.
Jaco b i s awar e t hat ot her m ur der s have f ollow ed this, all
i n v o lv i ng young coupl es in such cities as S alzburg, Athens,
Mad r id and P ar i s. T he one elem ent that connects the var iou s
k i ll i n g s is a p ost car d sent to a local newspaper. I t's up to t he
N ew Yo r k det ect i ve t o j oin f or ces w ith a S w edish jour nali st ,
D essi e L ar sson – i n r eceipt of a postcar d f r om S tockholm –
b ef o r e m or e coupl es di e.
T h e par t ner sh i p i n t he novel between an A m er ican and a
S wed e is obvi ousl y echoed in the liter ar y par tner shi p t hat
p r od u ced the book i t sel f . I nter estingly, while r eading
P o stca rd Ki l lers , i t i s not always clear cut w her e P at ter son
en d s and Mar kl und begi ns – per haps a deliber ate str at egy on
t h e p ar t of t he co- aut hor s. Cer tainly, the book is m ar kedly
d i ff er ent f r om m ost por tm anteau P atter son nov els, t hough
so m e Mar kl und f ans m ay w ish that she had m or e of a m ar k ed
i n p u t into t he novel . P er haps the pr incipal m ar ket her e wi l l
b e ad m i r er s of Jam es P atter son and they ar e likely t o f eel
t h at t h ey have got t hei r m oney's w or th.

OceanofPDF.com
 S i d eli n i n g t h e S p ort

Am er i can spor t s have a li m ited appeal f or the Br itish

r ead er – w hich m akes Har lan Coben’s success all the m or e
i m p r essive. Over t he cour se of m any books, Coben has
co n ju r ed up f r esh del i ghts f or adm ir er s of his spor ts
ag en t / det ect i ve, Myr on Bolitar. I n sar donic, cr ackling pr ose,
C o b en has taken Myr on and his laconic r oom m ate Win us o n
so m e wi ld r ides, sl owl y dr opping the secr et agent or igins of
h i s p r o t agoni st s. I n Darkest F ear, Myr on discover ed t hat he
w as f at her of t he chi l d his f or m er sw eethear t had wit h hi s
n em esi s and t he r esul t i ng f ir ewor ks w er e highly diver t ing.
B u t m any pr ef er t hose books in which the spor ts el em ents
ar e si del ined. I n Tel l No One, w e ar e in dar ker ter r it or y, wi t h
n ew ch ar act er s cr eat ed quite as vividly as in pr evious book s.
D av i d an d E l i zabet h B eck r etur n to L ake Char m aine ever y
y ear. T his has been a par t of their lives since they w er e
ch il d r en but a gr i m event destr oys their happy idyll. On th ei r
t h ir teent h vi si t , E l i zabeth is kidnapped and m ur der ed and
D av i d is lef t f or dead. F or the next eight year s, he attem pt s
t o co m e to t er m s wi t h t he hor r or of these events, whil e
E l izab et h’s ki l l er wai t s on death r ow. T hen an im age appear s
o f E li zabeth on hi s com puter scr een and the year s ar e tor n
away. I s i t a j oke? Or i s E lizabeth som ehow alive? Beck
f in d s t he f ew r em ai ni ng shr ed s of his lif e tor n apar t as he
t r i es to tr ack down a ghost whose m essage to him h as been a
w ar n i n g to t el l no one. And he him self is being hunt ed down .
T h i s is a l ean and m er cur ial nar r ative, deliver ed with
p an ache by a genui ne st ylist of the thr iller genr e and Coben
af ici o n ados wi l l f eel t hat the m aster is ver y m uch on f or m .
S o m eti m es it ' s best t o be the people's f avour ite, r ather
t h an com e t o t he at t ent i on of that chur lish gr oup, the cr iti cs.
F o r y ear s, r eader s of Am er ican cr im e thr iller s have been
r ati n g Har l an C oben as one of the m ost sh eer ly enter t ai ning
an d accom pl i shed wr i t er s in the genr e and his w onder f ull y
i n v en t i ve no vel s m ent i on ed above f eatur ing the spor ts agen t-
cu m - d et ect i ve Myr on Bolitar have added lustr e to h is nam e
an d a gr eat d eal of m oney to his bank account. But Coben, a
w r y an d sel f - dep r ecat i ng m an who is a self - conf essed
an g lo p hi le, was awar e t hat the spor t elem ent in these books
m ay h ave been l i m i t i ng h is r eader ship ( and cer tainly t ur ni ng
o ff w om en r eader s) and h e began to tur n out dar ker and m or e
am b iti ous stand- al one novels. F inally, with his sales going
t h r o u g h t he r oof , cr i t i cs who had pr eviously largely ignor ed
h i m h ad to take not e and som e dissenting voices wer e hear d.
O k ay : Coben was a cr owd- pleasing w r iter they gr ud gingly
ad m itt ed, but was he quite as talented as his adm ir er s wer e
sh o u t ing out? I t woul d be a sham e if the author too k note o f
t h is b l oo dy- m i nd edness. Actually, T he I nnocent has
ev er y t hi ng whi ch C oben adm ir er s tur n to his books f or. F o r a
st ar t, t h er e' s t he t or t uous nar r ative that spr ings a non- stop
ser ies o f sur pr i ses on t he r eader. T hen ther e' s that scabr ou sl y
w i tty d ialogue. And, best of all, the teem ing cast of
ch ar act er s. And boy, i s it a vintage batch her e!
Mat t H unt er has been r eceiving com pr om ising pictur es of
h i s wi f e f r om an unknown sour ce and he begins to r eali se
t h at t h e wom an h e t hought he knew is a str anger to him . At
t h e sam e ti m e, hom i ci de investigator L or en Muse i s called i n
t o i n v est igate t he deat h of a nun and f inds her self in the
u n co m f or tabl e posi t i on of having to deal with the Mot her
S u p er i or w ho m ade her lif e m iser able as a young gir l. But
so m e v er y st r ange el em en ts ar e woven into this case – such
as th e f act t hat t he nun had br east im plants. Behind all thi s
b i zar r e m yster y ar e som e ver y sinister f igur es and som et hi ng
b ad w hich happened i n Nevada a decade bef or e. Both Matt
an d L or en qui ckl y f i nd th e stakes in this gam e ar e of the
v er y h i ghest . I f your t aste is f or thr iller s w hich can be r eli ed
u p o n t o wr ong- f o ot you in the m ost delightf ul w ay, you
sh o u l d ignor e t hose cr i t ical voices and quickly pick up a
co p y o f T he I nnocent .

OceanofPDF.com
 Top of t h e Tree?

I f y ou enj oy good books and a good argum ent, her e’s a

t o p ic t hat has pl ent y of m ileage. T her e ar e sever al nam es
t h at r egu lar l y j ost l e f or the title of f inest m ale w r iter of
A m er ican cr i m e/ thr i l l er f iction. Who is top of the tr ee?
Jam es L ee B ur ke and Jam es E llr oy ar e com f or tably in poll
p o sit i o n. B ut what about Michael Connelly?
T h e appear ance of N ine Dragons was a salutar y r em inder
o f ju st how good a wr i t er Connelly is. T he r ock- har d
n ar r at i ve gr asp , t he sweeping sense of place ( both the
cu sto m ar y L os A ngel es locations and H ong K ong) and best
o f al l , t he ski l l w i t h which his pr otagonists including
n o tab l y t ough L A cop Har r y Bosch ar e r ealised. Bu t in Nine
D ra g o ns t her e ar e el em ent s which, though they m ay please
g en er al r eader s, wi l l be pr oblem atic f or long- tim e Connell y
af ici o n ados.
I n m any ways, C onnelly’s pr otagonist H ar r y Bosch is
b ack at the begi n ni ng: a v iolent, volatile Vietnam sur vivor
r ead y to use t he m ost extr em e m ethods r ather than the m or e
m easu r ed char act er we've seen r ecently. T he r eason? I n t he
t im e- h onour ed phr ase: t his tim e it's per sonal.
I n an L A l iquo r st or e an elder ly Chinese m an, Mr L i, is
v i ci o u sly gunned down. T hings seem open - and- shut : Mr L i
o w ed m oney t o t he C hi nese Maf ia, the tr iads and the m an
w h o sh ot him was th ei r enf or cer. As so of ten bef or e, Har r y
B o sch i s not convi nced that events ar e so str aightf or war d.
F o r a st ar t Mr L i, i n t he last m om ents of his lif e, lef t a cl ue
t o t h e i dentit y of hi s ki l ler. But as Har r y enter s the shadow y
C h i n ese under wor l d, hi s ow n per sonal lif e is danger ously
i n v o lv ed. Hi s daught er ( who lives in Hong Kong wi th his
est r an ged wi f e) h as been kidnapped by his sinister opponent s
an d H ar r y has 24 hour s to save her lif e.
No body who pi cks up Ni ne D ragons will be able t o r esi st
t u r n i n g t he pages at an ever f aster r ate but does the
i n ter n at i onal di m ensi on her e - along with a m or e
co n v en t i onal ‘ t i cki ng cl ock’ nar r ative than Connelly usuall y
u ses - suggest t hat he i s tr ying to r each out to those who
co n su m e bl ockbust er t hr iller s by less talented wr iter s?
P er h ap s not: af t er al l , C o nnelly has alr eady gr abbed a
si zeab le par t of t hat m ar ket with the phenom enally
su ccessf ul T he L i ncol n L awyer ( and that book’s low - r ent
l awy er, Mickey Hal l er, m akes an appear ance her e) . N ine
D ra g o ns m ay not be vi ntage Connelly but it's eff or t lessly
b ett er t han m ost cont em por ar y cr im e f iction.

OceanofPDF.com
 Coa ls t o New cast l e

Ho w easy i s it t o f ool Am er icans? Two Br its hav e done

p r et ty well at pul l i ng t he w ool over A m er ican r eader s’ eyes
an d h ave enjoyed m assi ve success in the S tates, despit e
b ein g f r om E ngl and and I r eland r espectively. Both
E n g lishm an L ee C hi l d, as m entioned above, and I r ishm an
Jo h n Connol ly have so t hor oughly m aster ed the A m er i can
i d io m that thei r success w as assur ed in a countr y which
g r ow s ever m or e r esi st ant to all things f or eign.
Wit h John C onnol l y, however, it's not just th e total ly
au th en ti c Am er ican voi ce that im pr esses but his jaw-
d r op p i ng am bi t i on: hi s T h e B lack A ngel is not just an
i d io sy ncr at ic t hr i l l er, i t ' s also a sur pr isingly sophisticated
m ed itati on on r el i gi on and the super natur al ( althoug h, it has
t o b e sai d, som e peopl e ar e going to f ind the latter a lit tle
t o o h ar d t o take t hi s t i m e r ound) . Connolly, w ho w as bor n in
D u b l in , m ade waves wi t h his f ir st thr iller E very Dead T hin g
w h i ch inaugur at ed hi s r isky gam es with the genr es he
w o r k ed i n. Was t hi s a cr im e novel? Hor r or ? A s the m oder n
t h r i ll er ( since T hom as Har r is) has becom e ever m or e bl ood -
b o lter ed, such di st i nct i ons ar e a little academ ic these days
b u t Co nnol ly has vi r t ually no m atch when it com es to
ch il l in g hi s r eader s. T he Whit e R oad w as a r em ar kabl e
sy n th esis of S t ephen Ki ng and Raym ond Chandler, wi th
C o n n o l ly 's dogged sl eut h Char lie ‘ Bir d’ P ar ker ( nam es af ter
t h e al t o saxophoni st ) encounter ing evil w hich ter r if yingly
sh ad ed int o t he super natur al.
T h e B l ack A ngel i s an am bitious per haps at ti m es,
o v er r eachi ng book. S om ebody is collecting bodies and
f ash i o ni ng bizar r e scul ptur es f r om the bones. Char lie
P ar k er 's associ at e L oui s has been tr acking dow n his m issi ng
co u sin and when her skull is f ound in the possessio n of a
m acab r e ar tisan, C har l i e f inds him self caught up in a si nister
m ael st r o m of whi ch t he bone sculptur e is on ly one el em ent .
A eo n s ago, t he f r agm ents of a vellum m ap wer e dist r ibuted
am o n g var i ous C i st er ci an m onaster ies and these f r agm ents
ar e th e key to t he wher eabouts of the sinister Black Angel ,
seal ed in a si l ver st at ue. I f the f r ag m ents ar e united, gr eat
ev il m ay be unl eashed u pon the w or ld. T his is head y stuff ,
d i sp at ched w it h al l t he casual br io that is John Connoll y's
st o ck i n tr ade. I n or der to m ake us sw allow the outr ageous
cen t r al pr em i se, we ar e car ef ully lulled into the gr itty r eal it y
o f C h ar li e P ar ker ' s w or l d, w ith its br utal pim ps and bai l
j u m p er s. Whi l e C har l i e is adept at m oving in this m ur ky
u n d er wor ld, t her e ar e hi nts that ther e is m uch m or e t o hi m
t h an b eing j ust a t ough and r esour cef ul thief - taker. S om e
m ay wi sh C onnol l y had not plu nged so deeply into the
su p er n at ur al her e but t ho se willing to take the jour ney wil l
f in d th at the r ewar ds ar e consider able.
Ap ar t f r om th e suspense that John Connolly's novels
cu sto m ar i ly del i ver, t her e is an extr a f actor built in to the
ex p er i ence of openi ng each new book by the Dublin- bor n
au th o r : w il l thi s be t he one that f inally ends his un br oken
seq u en ce of t ense and atm ospher ic thr iller s ( with, of t en, a
p i q u an t st ab of t he super natur al) ? T he B urning Soul , t he
1 0 th o ut ing f or t he t ough and conf licted pr ivate eye Char li e
P ar k er, i s pr oof of hi s dur ability. A teen age gir l, Anna Kor e,
h as d isappear ed f r om t he isolated ham let of P astor ’s Bay on
t h e r o ck y coast of Mai ne. P ar ker 's involvem ent does not
co m e about vi a t he chi l d’s distr essed m other Valer i e but
t h r o u g h a P ast or ’s B ay accountant, Randall Haight. Haight
h as p r essing per sonal r easons to solve the m yster y of t he
ch il d ' s di sappear ance. He lives a lonely and r eclusive
ex ist en ce and i s l ooked at askance by the townspeople. I f t he
r eal k idn apper i s not f ound, he f ear s he will autom at ical ly b e
i n t h e f r am e as t he chi ef suspect. H is f ear s ar e exacer bated
b y t h e f act t hat sever al year s ago as a teenager, he and a
f r i en d , L onny, wer e conv icted of ( and ser ved lengthy
sen t en ces f or ) t he ki l l i ng of a young gir l. H aight knows t hat
t h e secr et of hi s new i dentity, pr ovided f or him by the state,
i s a f r agil e t hi ng – par t i cular ly as som eone is sending poison
p en m essages showi ng t hat they ar e w ell aw ar e of his
cr im i nal past . Al l hi s hopes r est on the shoulder s of Char lie
P ar k er, a m an w ho has pr oved his ability to solve the m ost
m ad d eni ng of m yst er i es while battling his own dem ons. Not
l east of t hese i s t he savage killing of his ow n w if e and the
f act th at t he wom an wi t h w hom he now lives, Rach el , has
ab an d o ned hi m t aki ng t heir daughter w ith her.
Al l of t hi s i s per f ect gr ist to the m ill f or John Connolly
w h en pr oduci ng hi s speciality: large- scale, dar kly shaded
can v ases, shot t hr ough with elem ents of the m acabr e. As
ev er, t hi s I r ish novel i st pr oves as adept at cr eating Am er i can
l o cal es wi th t he ski l l of a native wr iter and his best wr iti n g
co n cer n ing hi s cent r al char acter is alw ays conjur ed when
C h ar li e i s at t he end of his tether – ver y m uch the case her e.
A s t h e l ies and bet r ayal ar e str ipped aw ay, the r eader is
t ak en int o a gr i m but exhilar ating nightm ar e w or ld – vint age
Jo h n Connol ly.
As i s T he R eapers . F or m any year s, ir onclad r ules
d em ar cated t he var i ous genr es of cr im e f iction. T her e was
t h e h ar dboi led no vel , usually but not always Am er ican,
w h er e dam aged pr ot agonists m oved though a m inator y wor l d
sh o t th r ough w i th sexual betr ayal; ther e was the ‘ cosy’ ,
u su al l y but n ot al ways Br itish, wher e th e landscape was
m an icur ed, vi ol ent deat h off stage and the status quo always
r easser ted. And t her e was the novel of hor r or, w her e the
b l o o d lett i ng assum ed oper atic pr opor tions. T hese days
h o wev er, m any wr i t er s pr ef er to stuff var ious ingr edi ent s
i n to th e b lend er, com i ng up w ith a ver y astr ingent br ew.
Wh i l e John Conn ol l y wi ll never wr ite a novel utilising the
t r o p es of the ‘ cosy’ ( he’ d r ather have r oot canal w or k sans
an aest hetic) , t he di vi di ng line f or him between the
h ar d b o i l ed det ect i ve novel and hor r or epic is nigh- i nvisibl e.
O f co u r se, no one coul d pick up a Connolly novel expect ing
a g en t eel r eadi ng exper i ence; T he R eapers, br andishes a
scy t h e on t he j acket , wi th the str apline ‘ Blood Will F low’ .
A n d , o f cour se, it does… copiously. But as ever w it h
C o n n o l ly, the m acabr e nar r ative is couched in pr ose that is
o f ten al lusi ve and poet i c – a com bination that is actuall y f ar
m o r e d estabi li si ng f or t he r eader, wr ong- f ooting us bef or e
t h at m o m ent when al l t he stops ar e pulled out.
T h e eponym ous ‘ r eaper s’ , L ouis and Angel, ar e hi ghly
eff i ci ent assassi ns: th ei r targets include a Russian people
t r aff i cker who suppl i es paedophiles with childr en. L ouis,
h o wev er, f i nds he no l onger has the stom ach f or his gr im
w o r k an d r eti r es t o a l ess sanguinar y pr of ession as a
p r op er ty owner, though the f ear of his f or m er car eer com in g
b ack t o haunt hi m i s a per m anent D am oclean swor d .
I n ev i t abl y, L oui s's wor st f ear s com e tr ue: af ter som e
u n p leasant w ar ni ngs, he r ealises that his own death and t hat
o f A n g el beckon at t he hands of another ex- r eaper call ed
B l iss. I t 's i m per at i ve t hat they discover the clandest ine
f ig u r e behi nd t hi s m ur der ous assignm ent… but bef or e t hey
d o , t h e du o di sappear s. On their tr ail is a f r iend, pr ivat e eye
C h ar li e ‘ Bi r d’ P ar ker. C har lie him self is a killer of bi blical
p r op o r t ions – a pot ent i al r eaper him self , in f act.
Co n noll y af i ci onados will be cheer ed by the appear ance
o f h is m uch- l oved pr ot agonist, though in this novel he has a
k ey ( b ut sm al l er ) r ol e – som ething which m ay disappoi nt
P ar k er f ans. Ref r eshi ngly, Connolly has alw ays r esi sted
r ep eat i ng hi m sel f and t he plot tr ajector y is str iking ly
i n n o v at ive. E xcept , t hat is, f or a f am iliar sleight- of - hand
ev id en t her e: a t r anspar ent attem pt to ensur e that hi s
r u th l ess pr otagoni st s ar e sym pathetic and hum an via a
st an d ar d thr i l l er devi ce ( beloved of Mar io P uzo and Richar d
S t ar k ) : m ake t he opponents of your m ur der ous her oes f ar
n asti er than them . We can easily f orgive Connolly this sli d e
i n to an or t hodox devi ce; T he R eapers aff or ds unusual ly
b r acin g doses of S t ygi an delights.

OceanofPDF.com
 B i ot e c h n ol ogic al Mayh em

T h e nam e of t he novelist Robin Cook has long been a

b y wo r d f or i m peccabl y detailed, plausible thr iller s and even
i f h is w or k i s not al ways as power f ul as such books as C oma
an d Out break , he i s al ways totally pr of essi onal, guar anteein g
t h e r eader a wel l- t ur ned p iece of wor k. T hat’s ver y m uch t he
case wi th Sei zure , wher e Cook’s ski lls in the plo tting ar ena
ar e tr i um phant l y br ought into play. Biotechnology i s the
t h em e her e and an i m pl acable opponent of all r esear ch in t he
f iel d s, ul tr a- conser vat i ve S outher n senator A shley But ler,
en jo y s chai r i ng a com m ittee to p ut the br akes on cloni ng
t ech n o lo gy. S t em cel l r esear cher Dan L owell is, of cour se, a
k ey o p ponent, but bot h m en have str ange and conf licted
p er so n al i t ies. Wh en But ler contr acts P ar kinso n’s disease, h e
i s f o r ced to enl i st t he ai d of his f or m er enem y. But too-
p r ecip it at e use of t he new advances in the technolo gy has
d i sastr o us consequen ces f or both m en. All of Cook’s best
t h r i ll er s uti l i se m edi cal and scientif ic concepts like t his and
S eizu re sat i sf yi ngl y par leys such ideas into a spr aw ling but
t au t n ar r at ive.

OceanofPDF.com
 F ort issimo Vi ole n ce

Do es anyone gi ve a dam n who actually publishes cr im e

f ict io n ? Joe and Jane P ublic couldn't car e less but
af ici o n ados of t he genr e ar e w ell awar e that cer tain
p u b lishi ng houses boast copper- bottom ed cr im e lists – and
O r io n r ides hi gh i n t hi s par ticular f r ater nity. H aving in your
st ab l e Jam es L ee B ur ke, I an Rankin and Michael Connell y,
t h e co m pany m i ght ( one would have thought) occasionall y
r est o n i ts l aur el s. B ut Or ion publishes another stellar
A m er ican nam e, R ober t Cr ais. I s ther e a r eason f or this ext r a
l ev el o f att en t i on gi ven to a wr iter whose cr itical and
co m m er cial st andi ng i s alr eady assur ed? P er haps ther e is.. .
alt h o u gh T he Sent ry pushes m any of the buttons that Cr ais
ad m ir er s wil l expect , i t ' s actually subtly diff er ent f r om t he
w r it er ' s ear lier wor k – although per haps ‘ subtly’ is not le
m o t j u st e her e.
Cr ais bur st on t he cr im e scene over two decades ago wit h
h i s E lv is C ol e novel s pr o ducing, f ully f or m ed, the m oder n
h eir- appar en t t o t he cl assic har d- bitten pr ivate eye. T hen
C r ais began enr i chi ng his w or k, deliver ing m ulti- layer ed
v i sio n s of th e dar ker si de of A m er ican society, notably in th e
am b iti ous L .A . R equi em . But her e’s T he Sentry , in w hich the
cen t r al char act er i s not th e sar donic Cole but his m assively
t aci tu r n par t ner, Joe P i ke. I t' s a ver y diff er ent book f r om
m o st o f i t s pr edecessor s: the tone her e is jet black, t he
acti o n unr el ent i ng, wi t h f or tissim o levels of violen ce. On a
r ecen t vi si t t o t hese shor es, Cr ais playf ully asked: ‘ do you
t h in k I go over t o t he dar k side w ith this book?’ I t doesn’t
t ak e m any pages t o co m e up with an answ er to that .
Dr ivi ng th r o ugh Venice, Calif or nia, Joe P ike saves a
san d w ich shop owner f r om a par ticular ly savage beating. H is
i n ter v ent i on i s f ol l owed by an encounter w ith the ow ner ’s
n i ece, the al l ur i n g Dr u Rayne, who dr aws P ike into t he
car n ag e of a gang l and battle. Tooled up with his usual lethal
acco u tr em en ts, t h e ex- cop is soon taking on the Mexican
m af i a, vi ci ous Bo li vi an dr ug dealer s and even inter f er ence
f r o m t he L AP D and t he F BI . N eedless to say, in the m iddle
o f th i s m aelst r om t her e is one m an he can r ely on – his
f r i en d and par t ner E l vi s Cole. T he alm ost non- stop acti on
cli m axes i n a bl oody cr escendo on a r idge over looki ng t he
S an F er nando Val l ey.
T h er e ar e t wo ways t o look at T he Sentry. One m ight
r eg r et t he str i ppi ng out of the layer s of com plexity of Rober t
C r ais’ super b m i d- per i od books. O r one m ight sim ply f asten
a m etaphor ical seat bel t f or a wild r ide that allows f ew
p au ses f or br eat h. Whi chever view you take, ther e is one
i n el u ctabl e f act : R ober t Cr ais – and Joe P ike – w ill have yo u
b y t h e thr oat .

OceanofPDF.com
 F at h er of t h e Tec h n ot h rill er

As f ar back as West world , the late Michael Cr icht on w as

t h e f i n est pr act i t i oner and, som e w ould argue, vir tual
cr eat o r ) of a par ti cul ar genr e of thr iller : the science- based
n o v el of advent u r e. T he pr em ise was usually this: take a
h i g h ly plausi bl e sci ent i f ic thesis, p ut it into pr actice i n a
clo i ster ed envi r o nm ent … and let things go hor r ibly wr ong
w i th m uch ensui n g bl oodshed. T he f o r m ula has wor ked
t r i u m p hant l y f or m any year s ( the m ur der ous andr oids of t he
t h em e par k i n West w orl d , f or instance, bei ng j udici ously
r ep l aced by t he r am pagi ng dinosaur s of Jurassic P ark and
T h e L o st Worl d ) and r eader s alw ays know that Cr i chton will
d eli v er t he r equi si t e am ount of intelligent thr ills. P rey is a
t au t o ff er i ng f r o m a wr i ter w ho m ay not win any liter ar y
p r izes b ut i s one of t he m ost r eliable pr actitioner s of popul ar
f ict io n at wor k. Her e, we have another high- tech exper im en t
t h at h as pr oduced di sast r ous r esults. I n P rey , the stakes ar e
r aised consider abl y; i t ’s not just a gr oup of individuals on an
i so lated i sl and w ho ar e in danger. I n the Nevada deser t , a
clo u d of m icr or obot s ( called nanopar ticles) is loosed int o th e
atm o sp her e f r om a l abor ator y disaster. T his highly
i n tel ligent and sel f - r epl icating m enace is a vir tual f or m of
l if e an d unf or t unat el y, i ts basic pr o gr am m e is that of a
p r ed at or. T he pr ey of t he title is the hum an r ace and
C r ich t on' s di spar at e gr oup of pr otagonists ( including, of
co u r se his bel oved sci ent ists) ar e obliged to str ain ever y
si n ew t o save hum ani t y. I t goes without saying that a high
b o d y count i s par f or t he cour se as A r m ageddon appr oaches.
R em i n iscent of Cr i cht on' s classic T he A nd romeda Strain ,
t h is i s a wi nner and no doubt the blockbuster m ovie wi ll
f o ll o w shor t l y.
S ta te of F ear was som ethin g diff er ent f or Cr icht on. I f th e
r ead er had been wor r yi ng about global war m ing, or f r etti ng
t h at g aping hol es i n t he ozone layer wer e letting in nast y
u l tr a- v i ol et r ays t hat ar e going to do f or us all, this book
ad d r esses such i ssues. T he m essage? Relax – accor ding to
Mich ael C r i cht on, i t j ust ain’t so. I n f act, the bestsell ing
w r it er ’s hi ghl y cont r over sial pr onouncem ents on these issu es
h ad d o ne som et hi ng t hat have no doubt m ade his publi sher s
v er y h appy indeed – he was pr ojected f r om newspaper book
r ev i ew pages ont o t he new s pages w her e his positio n ( that
m u ch gl obal war m i ng speculation is unnecessar ily al ar m ist )
w as h o tl y debat ed. As f or the f act that he took som e ver y
h eav y cr i t icism f or hi s unf ashionable stance, why should h e
h av e car ed? E ven bef or e S teven S pielberg f ilm ed the novel
Ju ra ssi c P ark , C r i cht on w as an ‘ A’ - list author, a w r iter w h o
m ar r i ed consi der abl e nar r ative skill with a knack f or
t ech n o lo gy- based pl ot ti ng. T his w inning com bination
st o r m ed t he best sel l i ng lists tim e af ter tim e. A nd accusat ion s
t h at h i s posit i on on gl obal war m ing com es acr oss as t he kin d
o f co m pl acency t hat has led George Bush to spur n t he Kyot o
ag r eem ent wi l l do absol utely nothing to hur t the sales of hi s
n o v el, St ate of F ear , which built a highl y com pelling plot
ar o u n d these hi ghl y contentious theses.
I n f act , such sci ent i f ic hooks have been wellspr ings f or
C r ich t on’s novel s f or m ost of his car eer – and it was a lon g
car eer. Back i n t he 60s and 70s, the author ( who died i n
2 0 11 ) m ade hi s m ar k wi th such r azor- shar p thr iller s as T he
A n d ro m eda S t rai n ( wi t h a deadly vir us as its m enace) and
t h e h i g hl y successf ul S F scr eenplay West world . T he latter
i n tr o d uced a br i l l i ant pl ot concept ( a them e par k r esor t i n
w h i ch the m ai n at t r act i ons ar e r ealistic andr oids wh o t ur n
ag ai n st and r end t he hum an visitor s) ; a concept so good, in
f act, that Cr icht on r ecycl ed it in Jurassic P ark , w it h f l esh-
eati n g dinosaur s r epl acin g the r obots. But the author ' s ski ll s
ex ten d to equal l y successf ul non- S F them es: sexual
h ar assm ent in Di scl osure , per iod- set skuldugger y in T he
G rea t Train R obbery. All of these books and their lucr ative
m o v i e v er si ons pol i shed Cr ichton's r eputation and swel led
h i s alr eady consi der abl e bank balance. State of F ear , with
i ts at tendant cont r over sy, had bookshop tills r inging in
si m ilar f ashion par t i cul ar ly as Cr ichton m ade som e l ess-
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 For his Majesty

King G E O R G E.
 I MMORTAL King of Kings,

Whose favour or whose frown

Monarchs and States to honour brings,

Or turns them upside down;

To thee in danger’s hour

We for our sov’reign cry,

Protect him by thy gracious power,

And set him up on high.

Not by a mighty host

Can he deliver’d be;

Let others in their numbers trust,

We look, O Lord, to thee:

Help to thy servant send,

And strengthen from above,

And still thy minister defend

By thine almighty love.

The spirit of thy grace,

Thy heavenly unction shed,

And hosts of guardian angels place

Around his sacred head:

Confound whoe’er oppose,

Or force them to retire;

Be thou a tower against his foes,

Be thou a wall of fire.

O bring him out of all

His sanctified distress,

And by his name thy servant call,

And fill him with thy peace:

Shew him, almighty Lord,

That thou his Saviour art,

And speak the soul-converting word

My son, give me thy heart!

 A W O R D to a

P R O T E S T A N T.
1. ON’T you call yourself a Protestant? Why so? Do you know
D what the word means? What is a Protestant? I suppose you
mean one that is not a Papist? But what is a Papist? If you
don’t know, say so. Acknowledge you cannot tell. Is not this the
case? You call yourself a Protestant: but you don’t know what a
Protestant is. You talk against Papists: and yet neither do you know
what a Papist is. Why do you pretend then to the knowledge which
you have not? Why do you use words which you don’t understand.

2. Are you desirous to know what these words, Papist and

Protestant mean? A Papist is one who holds the Pope, or bishop of
Rome, (the name papa, that is father, was formerly given to all
bishops) to be head of the whole Christian church: and the church of
Rome, or that which owns the Pope as their head, to be the only
Christian church.

3. In a course of years, many errors crept into this church, of

which good men complained from time to time. At last, about two
hundred years ago, the Pope appointed many bishops and others to
meet at a town in Germany, called Trent. But these, instead of
amending those errors, established them all by a law, and so
delivered them down to all succeeding generations.

4. Among these errors may be numbered, their doctrine of seven

sacraments; of transubstantiation; of communion in one kind only; of
purgatory, and praying for the dead therein; of veneration of relics,
and of indulgences, or pardons granted by the Pope, and to be
bought for money.
 It is thought by some, that these errors, great as they are, do only
defile the purity of Christianity: but it is sure, the following strike at its
very root, and tend to banish true religion out of the world.

5. First, the doctrine of merit. The very foundation of Christianity

is, that a man can merit nothing of God: that we are justified freely by
his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ: not for any
of our works, or of our deservings; but by faith in the blood of the
covenant.

But the Papists hold, that a man may by his works merit or
deserve eternal life; and that we are justified, not by faith in Christ
alone, but by faith and works together.

This doctrine strikes at the root of Christian faith, the only

foundation of true religion.

6. Secondly, the doctrine of praying to saints and worshipping of

images. To the Virgin Mary they pray in these words; “O mother of
God, O queen of heaven, command thy Son to have mercy upon
us.” And, “the right use of images” (says the Council of Trent) “is to
honour them, by bowing down before them.” Session 25. Paragraph
2.

This doctrine strikes at the root of that great commandment,

(which the Papists call part of the first) Thou shalt not bow down to
them, nor worship them, i. e. not any image whatsoever. It is gross,
open, palpable idolatry, such as can neither be denied, nor excused;
and tends directly to destroy the love of God, which is indeed the first
and great commandment.

7. Thirdly, the doctrine of persecution. This has been for many

ages a favourite doctrine of the church of Rome. And the Papists in
general still maintain, that “all heretics, (that is, all who differ from
them) ought to be compelled to receive what they call the true faith;
to be forced into the church, or out of the world.”
 Now this strikes at the root of, and utterly tears up, the second
great commandment. It directly tends to bring in blind, bitter zeal;
anger, hatred, malice, variance; every temper, word and work that is
just contrary to the loving our neighbour as ourselves.

So plain it is, that these grand Popish doctrines of merit, idolatry

and persecution, by destroying both faith and the love of God and of
our neighbour, tend to banish true Christianity out of the world.

8. Well might our forefathers protest against these: and hence it

was that they were called Protestants: even because they publicly
protested, as against all the errors of the Papists, so against these
three in particular: the making void Christian faith, by holding that
man may merit heaven by his own works; the overthrowing the love
of God by idolatry, and the love of our neighbour by persecution.

Are you then a Protestant, truly so called? Do you protest, as

against all the rest, so in particular, against these three grand,
fundamental errors of Popery? Do you publicly protest against all
merit in man? All salvation by your own works? Against all idolatry of
every sort? And against every kind and degree of persecution?

I question not but you do. You publicly protest against all these
horrible errors of Popery. But does your heart agree with your lips?
Do you not inwardly cherish what you outwardly renounce? ’Tis well,
if you, who cry out so much against Papists, are not one yourself.
’Tis well if you are not yourself (as little as you may think of it) a rank
Papist in your heart.
 9. For, first, How do you hope to be saved? “By doing thus and
thus? By doing no harm, and paying every man his own, and saying
your prayers, and going to church and sacrament?” Alas! alas! Now
you have thrown off the mask. This is Popery barefaced. You may
just as well speak plain, and say, “I trust to be saved by the merit of
my own works.” But where is Christ all this time? Why, he is not to
come in, till you get to the end of your prayer. And then you will say,
for Jesus Christ’s sake—because so it stands in your book. O my
friend, your very foundation is Popish. You seek salvation by your
own works. You trample upon the blood of the covenant. And what
can a poor Papist do more?

10. But let us go on. Are you clear of idolatry any more than the
Papists are? It may be indeed, yours is in a different way. But how
little does that signify? They set up their idols in their churches: you
set up yours in your heart. Their idols are only covered with gold or
silver: but yours is solid gold. They worship the picture of the queen
of heaven; you, the picture of the queen or king of England. In
another way, they idolize a dead man or woman; whereas your idol
is yet alive. O how little is the difference before God? How small pre-
eminence has the money-worshipper at London, over the image-
worshipper at Rome? Or the idolizer of a living sinner, over him that
prays to a dead saint?

11. Take one step farther. Does the Papist abroad persecute?
Does he force another man’s conscience? So does the Papist at
home, as far as he can; for all he calls himself a Protestant. Will the
man in Italy tolerate no opinion but his own? No more, if he could
help it, would the man in England. Would you? Don’t you think the
government much overseen, in bearing with any but those of the
church? Don’t you wish, they would put down such and such
people? You know what you would do, if you was in their place.—
And by the very same spirit you would continue the inquisition at
Rome, and rekindle the fires in Smithfield.
 12. It is because our nation is over-run with such Protestants,
who are full of their own good-deservings, as well as of abominable
idolatry, and of blind, fiery zeal of the whole spirit of persecution; that
the sword of God, the great, the just, the jealous God, is even now
drawn in our land: that the armies of the aliens are hovering over it,
as a vulture over his prey; and that the open Papists are on the very
point of swallowing up the pretended Protestants. ¹

¹ This was wrote during the late rebellion.

13. Do you desire to escape the scourge of God? Then I entreat

you, first, Be a real Protestant. By the Spirit of God assisting you (for
without him you know you can do nothing) cast away all that trust in
your own righteousness, all hope of being saved by your own works.
Own, your merit is everlasting damnation; that you deserve the
damnation of hell. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.
Lie in the dust. Let your mouth be stopt. And let all your confidence
be in the blood of sprinkling; all your hope in Jesus Christ the
righteous; all your faith in him that justifieth the ungodly, thro’ the
redemption that is in Jesus.

O put away your idols out of your heart. Love not the world,
neither the things of the world. Having food to eat and raiment to put
on, be content: desire nothing more but God. To-day, hear his voice,
who continually cries, My son, give me thy heart. Give yourself to
him, who gave himself for you. May you love God, as he has loved
us! Let him be your desire, your delight, your joy, your portion, in
time and in eternity.

And if you love God, you will love your brother also: you will be
ready to lay down your life for his sake: so far from any desire to take
away his life, or hurt a hair of his head. You will then leave his
conscience uncontrolled; you will no more think of forcing him into
your own opinions, as neither can he force you, to judge by his
conscience. But each shall give an account of himself to God.
 14. It is true, if his conscience be misinformed, you should
endeavour to inform him better. But whatever you do, let it be done
in charity, in love and meekness of wisdom. Be zealous for God: but
remember, that the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of
God: that angry zeal, though opposing sin, is the servant of sin; that
true zeal is only the flame of love. Let this be your truly Protestant
zeal: while you abhor every kind and degree of persecution, let your
heart burn with love to all mankind, to friends and enemies,
neighbours and strangers; to Christians, Heathens, Jews, Turks,
Papists, Heretics; to every soul which God hath made. Let this your
light shine before men, that they may glorify your Father which is in
heaven.
H Y M N S.

H Y M N I.
1. HERE have I been so long
WFast bound in sin and night,
Mix’d with the blind self righteous throng

Who hate the sons of light?

2. O how shall I presume,

Jesus, to call on thee,

Sunk in the lowest dregs of Rome,

The worst idolatry!

3. A stranger to thy grace,

Long have I labour’d, Lord,

To ’stablish my own righteousness,

And been what I abhor’d.

4. Foe to the Popish boast

No merit was in me!

Yet in my works I put my trust,

And not alone in thee.

5. For works that I had wrought

I look’d to be forgiven,

And by my virtuous tempers thought

At last to purchase heaven.

6. Or if I needed still

The help of grace divine,

Thy merits should come in to fill

The small defects of mine.

7. Alas! I knew not then

Thou only didst atone

For all the sinful sons of men,

And purge our guilt alone.

8. Didst shed thy blood to pay

The all-sufficient price,

And take the world’s offence away

By thy great sacrifice.

9. But O! my dying God,

By thee convinced at last,

My soul on that atoning blood,

On that alone I cast.

10. I dare no longer trust

On ought I do, or feel,

But own, while humbled in the dust,

My whole desert is hell.

11. My works of righteousness

I cast them all away;

Me, Lord, thou frankly must release,

For I have nought to pay:

12. Not one good word or thought

I to thy merits join,

But gladly take the gift unbought

Of righteousness divine.
13. My faith is all in thee,

My only hope thou art,

The pardon thou hast bought for me,

Engrave it on my heart:

14. The blood by faith applied

O let it now take place,

And speak me freely justified,

And fully sav’d by grace.

H Y M N II.
1. ORGIVE me, O thou jealous God,
FA wretch, who on thy laws have trod,
And robb’d thee of thy right,

A sinner to myself unknown,

’Gainst thee I have transgress’d and done,

This evil in thy sight.

2. My body I disdain’d to incline

Or worship at an idol’s shrine

With gross idolatry:

But Oh! my soul hath baser prov’d,

Honour’d, and fear’d, and serv’d, and lov’d

The creature more than thee.

3. Let the blind sons of Rome bow down

To images of wood and stone;

But I with subtler art,

Safe from the letter of thy word,

My idols secretly ador’d,

Set up within my heart.

4. But Oh! suffice the season past:

My idols now away I cast,

Pleasure, and wealth and fame,

The world, and all its goods I leave,

To thee alone resolv’d to give

Whate’er I have or am.

5. Lo! in a thankful, loving heart

I render thee whate’er thou art,

I give myself to thee;

And thee my whole delight I own,

My joy, my glory, and my crown

To all eternity.

H Y M N III.
1. THOU who seest what is in man,
OAnd shew’st myself to me,
Suffer a sinner to complain

And groan his griefs to thee.

2. A sinner, that has cloak’d his shame

With self-deceiving art,

Thy worshipper reform’d in name,

But unrenew’d in heart.

3. The servants most unlike their Lord,

How oft did I condemn;

The persecuting church abhorr’d,

Nor saw myself in them!

4. The ♦spirit of my foes I caught,

The angry bitter zeal,

And fierce for my own party fought,

And breath’d the fire of hell

5. Threatning I did and slaughter breathe,

(The flail of heresy)

And doom the sects to bonds, or death,

That did not think with me.

6. To propagate the truth, I fought

With fury and despight,

And in my zeal for Israel fought,

To slay the Gibeonite.

7. “The temple of the Lord are we!”

And all who dared deny,

I would not have their conscience free,

But force them to comply.

8. With wholsome discipline severe

To conquer them I strove,

And drive into the pale thro’ fear,

Who would not come thro’ love.

9. How vainly then the zealots blind

Of Rome did I disclaim?

Still to the church of Satan join’d,

And differing but in name.

10. How could I, Lord, myself deceive

While unreform’d within,

Protest against their creed, and cleave

The closer to their sin?

11. Their foulest sin my own I made,

(And humbly now confess)

While by my anger I essay’d

To work thy righteousness.

12. A murtherer convict I come

My vileness to bewail,

By nature born a son of Rome,

A child of wrath and hell,

13. Lord, I at last recant, reject,

Thro’ thy great strength alone,

The madness of the Romish sect,

The madness of my own.

14. Lord, I abhor, renounce, abjure

The fiery spirit unclean,

The persecuting zeal impure,

The sin-opposing sin.

15. Let others draw with fierce despight,

Th’ eradicating sword,

And with the devil’s weapons fight

The battles of the Lord:

16. But Oh! my gracious God, to me

A better spirit impart,

The gentle mind that was in thee,

The meekly loving heart:

17. The heart whose charity o’erflows

To all, far off, and near,

True charity to friends and foes,

Impartially sincere.

18. Heathens, and Jews, and Turks, may I

And Heretics embrace,

Nor ev’n to Rome the love deny

I owe to all the race.

♦ “sprit” replaced with “spirit”