Hidden River by
Adrian McKinty
pbk out February 05
(Serpent's Tail)
at £9.99
McKinty is the real McCoy. His first title, Dead I Well May Be, was excellent and
this his second confirms that he's no one trick pony. When his first love, Victoria
Patawasti, is killed in an American burglary, ex-cop and heroin addict Alex Lawson
mourns her along with the rest of her friends. Then the grieving family receive an
anonymous letter saying the man who has been charged is not the murderer. The
Patawastis offer to hire Alex to try and find out whether there is any truth in the claim.
Alex accepts - not least because he is under scrutiny from police who are running an
enquiry into corruption in the RUC, Alex's old force. He turns private detective and
escapes Belfast for Denver USA. Alex is accompanied by his old mate John, an
Americanophile. Their chaotic adventures in the States lead to another death and it
looks as though they will have to flee back to the old country - until Alex gets
warning there's a contract out on him now. A dirty pleasure to read, McKinty's dark
and sassy prose and his hopeless, hapless characters are a winning combination. He
manages to write funnily and honestly about the delusions of addiction and the
attraction of heroin (ketch) and about the pathetic brutality of violence. There's some
predictability about who the real villain of the piece is, we readers get it way ahead of
Alex so no surprises there, but more satisfying is the inventive ways McKinty finds to
resolve the various plots by the end.
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the series creator of TV Blue Murder)
Hidden River by
Adrian McKinty
