By Danny Kemp
Reviewed by R. Murry
“Me, being the irrepressible confident soul that I am,
I figuratively dived into the ruck and went searching for the ball.” is a quote
of the Honourable Harry Paterson at the beginning of this character-driven
suspense who-done-it novel. Moreover, it
was not the butler who did it, as in many an English murder story alludes. As you can see by the spelling of honorable,
I had to use an Oxford dictionary to read this book. Just kidding, the story is
written that any non-Englishman could follow without trouble.
For those Americans, like myself, “Diving into the
ruck” is a rugby term meaning getting down and dirty, taking the ball and running
with it, which Harry attempts to do in the investigation into the murder of his
father. However, he is sidetracked by
his chauvinistic ways.
The other main character in this novel interwoven with
killings, espionage, money laundering, family lineages, is Judith Meadows. She is the unlikely government investigator
brought in to solve the central crime, which turns into unraveling a book of
offenses that crisscrosses international boundaries. So it may seem.
Who is the instigator of the crime? That is what Judy and H. are spending their
brain power on trying to figure out.
They become familiar with their communications to the point that H.
thinks he is falling in love. Mr. Kemp’s
dialog between these two leads one to believe that we have a love story in the
making. His characters fit well together
– their wit and sarcasm have you expecting a marriage in the making.
Things are more complicated in Mr. Kemp’s tales of the
haves against the have-nots in politics, money, power, and greed. You have to
be quick of mind to follow the plot and all the intriguing individuals that
make up this journey through a world of decadence and corruption. The effort is well worth spent.
The novel ends with a surprise that not even Lord
Harry Peterson or Judith Meadows would have conjured up. The enemy is closer than you think.
Nice review! I am one of Mr. Kemp's followers on Twitter, and have always been intrigued by this soon-to-be-a-movie title.
ReplyDeleteHi, nice to 'meet' you. I found you on the Book Writers group on LinkedIn and I'm your newest follower!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWOOHOO!!! I love Daniel!!! He's a great twitter pal!!! He and I get along real well ever since I cleared up that issue about me NOT going to London to kick his ass. :-D
ReplyDeleteLOLOLOL Was one of those things where ya had to be there to know this is FUNNY!!! LOLOLOLOL
:-D