Location: United Kingdom
Member Since:
Nov. 18, 2010
Carol Devine
Smashwords book reviews by Carol Devine
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The Defector
on Nov. 18, 2010
Drug smuggling? Chilling violence? Sordid rape? This is not the sort of book I would ordinarily pick up, preferring to have my sensibilities tested by no more than the angst of a good romance; but I’m glad I did. A riveting page-turner that takes you from the oppressive fear-soaked bars of Bangkok to the sailing world of Sydney and the beautiful but treacherous pirate-ridden Coral Sea. Martin Cormac is a man already running from some bad decisions when he fatefully encounters the monstrous villain Janac. But now the decisions he is forced to make become life-changing and against increasingly terrifying odds. Tempted initially by his gambler’s instincts, but then persistently presented with more unsavoury choices, Cormac becomes a sort of unwilling Dice Man, only without the luxury of a die. At the heart of the book is a twisted game and the ultimate dilemma; can Cormac do the right thing and still survive? A chancer by nature, what price is he willing to pay to prove his integrity to himself and to the woman he loves? From a disquieting and original beginning, the pace of action does not stop, and in Janac we have the kind of relentless psychopath who will make your palms sweat with foreboding. And the question lingers, what would you do in Cormac’s position? Co-operate, or defect? I couldn’t put this book down and have already begun the follow up, The Wrecking Crew. Highly recommended.