Review: A twisting, thrilling romp
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 2, 2014
I liked this. A quality piece of work by an assured hand.Tom's a down on his luck Brighton bookie, pretty much married to gambling, and with a relationship with his brother that could be best termed 'distant.'A chance wandering through London after one of he and his brother's occasional meals together throws Tom headlong into the scene of an attempted kidnap of the world's most famous actress, Melanie Adams, and the cold blooded murder of her assistant and bodyguard. From then on Tom's life blossoms as he becomes a media darling, and his relationships with both his brother, and Melanie grow better than he could ever have hoped. Unfortunately for Tom, the perpetrators of the failed kidnap attempt have friends in very high, and very Irish places, and they've not just got plans for him, but they've plans for a whole lot more.So yeah, I liked it. Quite a lot too. It's got a bit more than your standard thriller. Bill Ward jabs subtle spikes into several media based figures. Cliff Maxwell, the PR guru, for example. He toys with the concept of the most tenuous of means of celebrity as Tom finds himself a highly sought after mouthpiece. The characters are solid, Tom and his previously downtrodden existence finding a new lease of life after his fortuitous, Connor the devious and harsh rapist hit man. The author deals with them all well. Maybe the humourous dialogue between Tom and Melanie as they play getting-to-know-you sometimes feels slightly forced at times, but I can overlook that for the romping twisting thriller that Bill Ward has laid onto the page.Overall, you'd do a hello of a lot worse than to settle down and get involved in Revenge. Recommended reading.