C
A fun but ultimately disappointing shaggy dog story. The plot is a combination of The Final Throw (big business organisation employs professional criminals; substantial portion of book set on Continent, including manhunt through Italy) and The Count of Monte Cristo (hero, presumed dead, returns to UK under alias to wreak revenge on wrong-doers).
It begins by being more entertaining and light-hearted than Throw, but Gilbert seems to lose interest once the scene moves to England. There are irrelevant set-pieces (John’s trap for the Simmons brothers in the morass) and inconsistencies (the corrupt policeman is alternately Thomassen and Ramussen), as well as gratuitous violence. Worst of all is the anti-climax ending: John’s demands have already been met, so he’s only indirectly responsible and so seems futile, and Chervil doesn’t get his comeuppance. Because of this, the book feels unstructured—loose and lacking any sense of urgency, even in the last twenty pages. A lost opportunity.
Nick Fuller.
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