Review: A British mystery thriller that makes me proud to be British!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 15, 2014
It's been a while since I read a British-based Crime Thriller. Being wrapped up in American fiction totally unprepared me for this book. But boy, am I glad.Rock 'n' Roll Suicide is a book that keeps you wanting more. From the first page to the last, the words flow and ebb and the mystery unravels at a decent and sometimes quickening pace. At times it felt like a Hollywood blockbuster directed by Danny Boyle. Other times, the character interaction was so realistic I felt like I was watching a group of people chatting away in a café on the street. The characters are excellent, diverse, multi layered and very real, not least the lead character, Jack Lockwood.Jack Lockwood is an instant, very British hero. Think Jack Bauer with a more stoic stance on life, with more demons and a lot more bad luck. True, everything happens to Bauer in a twenty-four hour timeframe but the escapades that Lockwood gets into throughout the novel push a close second. I've seen reviews that claim this book is unrealistic to that point, that nothing like this could ever happen to one guy in such a short time. Not so, especially in a fiction novel. And when the novel is as entertaining as this, who the hell cares?To keep it simple, Lockwood is a damaged soul. Newly divorced, released from a psychiatric hospital and with his latest book hinging on the facts or fiction of a potential murder conspiracy, one that sends all manner of enemies and femme fatales his way, he's not having a good month. Investigating the murder of a singer who may know something sinister about John Lennon's death, Lockwood begins to realise that things are not what they seem. As he probes further for the sake of research, more and more dodgy people start popping up on his radar. Add to that the fear of a psychopath from Lockwood's past, one he has trouble shaking, and you have a genuine thrill ride for the entire duration of the novel.From the outset, the mystery is dripping from the pages. At every page turn, Lockwood seems to be inevitably in danger. Told from a first-person perspective, entirely from Lockwood's POV, this book takes us on a thrill ride of murder, sex, rock and roll, more murder and enough conspiracy theories to keep the paranoid awake for a week. It never lets up. I was turning the pages so fast I was worried they'd catch fire...mind you, it was on a Kindle so I doubted I was in danger.Which leaves me with a quandary. There's a second Jack Lockwood novel available which I will download immediately after finishing this review. The problem is, there aren't any more. I hope the author writes a third book as soon as possible. After all, with a character this excellent, I want to read more...and more...and more.Five stars. If you like mysteries, this book deserves to be read. If you haven't read a British mystery/any mystery before, pick this up immediately. A great, gripping read!