Krishna
We have reviewed several series of this author earlier : The Arthurian series (Excaliber being the last), the Saxon Stories starting with The Last Kingdom and the Grail Chronicles starting with Harlequin.
This one is set in modern times but is as thrilling as any other.
Nick Sandman got burned in an accident and had to have surgery to reconstruct his thigh and ass. In addition, several surgeries were required to get his spine to even partially give commands to his lower limbs. Many said that he will remain paraphlegic but Nick did not accept his fate.
He manages to walk back. We learn that his father was rich and he has sold the building he lived in. He wants to live in his boat but the new owner of the building has taken his boat and kept inside his compound. Angered, he tries to break in but is beat unconscious by a burly man who took hom to be a thief. He wakes up in a hospital.
The famous TV personality Bannister comes and offers to repair his boat – Sycorax. Nick realizes that the price he has to pay is to agree to a documentary about his own life, to be aired on television – produced by a film company that pays for the boat’s restoration. With no alternative, Nick agrees even though he hates the idea.
He goes to London house, finds the man who had taken his medal and trashes the house slowly until the man gives it back.
He drops the kids off at his wife’s – his conniving, greedy for money wife – and when she tries to grab his medal, threatens to do the same to her house when she angrily returns the medal. She uses the kids as a weapon and tries to take all she can from him, though she is married to a very rich politician and is very well off.
He restores the Sycorax and realizes that the beautiful girlfriend of Bannister is going to cheat her out of all his fees for the restoration of the boat.
The story really takes off when he meets a girl – Jill Beth – on whom he has a crush and realizes that she is way out of her league. What attracts him to her is not just her beauty (as Melissa says to him, Nick is only fond of pale blond beauties and is lusting after Angela but this one is tanned, dark haired and ‘solid’ ) but the fact that she can handle a boat with almost effortless ease.
When he gets invited to Bannister’s party, where the glitterati will attend, he asks if Jill Beth will come and she accepts after hearing who the host is.
He goes to the party and dances with Melissa who is there with her Lord husband. But when he tells Angela that he is not interested in the movie, she explodes on him in front of the entire group, humiliating him. Bannister tries to make peace but to no avail.
When Nick realises that Jill Beth came in late and, furthermore, shows no interest in him, he decides he has had enough of the party and sneaks back to Sycorax to drink alone. When he sees Jill Beth go into Wildtrack moored nearby with Mulder, his misery increases. But shortly thereafter he hears screams and then by throwing beer bottles onto the ship manages to distract Mulder to get Jill Beth onto one of the escape boats of Sycorax and hides as he finds Mulder searching for them with a gun and a speedboat.
He then learns that Jill Beth is an insurance fraud investigator, come to snoop to see if Bannister’s wife’s death on the boat is foul play. The wife Nadezha was insured for a million dollars and Mary Beth works for the insurance moghul Kassouli who is also the father of Bannister’s ex wife Nedeszha.
When he gets back, he goes straight to Bannister and says that he, Bannister, owes him thousand pounds to finish the repairs on Sycorax and he is not interested in making the movie any more, not to mention joining Bannister on the race he plans to induct Nick in. A raging argument ensues with an angry Angela who threatens to repossess Sycorax for breach of contract. He simply walks out and is talking to his friend John on how he can tow away Sycorax before they can make a move on possessing it – when a messenger arrives with an envelope. He opens it in his cabin and finds a first class ticket and an invitation to Boston to meet Kassouli who wishes to thank him for rescuing Jill Beth. He decides to go, even though he had seen Jill Beth’s files (found by Bannister and Mulder) that has notes of him as a gullible romantic who can be used easily.
He goes and meets Kassouli who offers him four hundred and fifty thousand dollars to lead Bannister on a course that he, Kassouli, will specify. He wants Nick to be part of the race.
Nick returns, is confronted by Angela and ends up becoming her lover after an emotional outburst from her. She now allows him to fully repair Wildtrack. When he finds Jill Beth phoning him and wants to meet him to make good his offer, he decides to trap her. He takes a press man friend Matt and wires himself up and talks to Jill Beth.
Matt advises him to take the money as evidence but last minute he refuses to take the money. He finds that Matt is attacked severely and is unconscious. He takes Matt to a hospital. When he comes back to talk to Mulder, he finds that Bannister and Mulder are playing the tape to Angela who is totally devastated at Nick’s betrayal. A police friend rescues Nick from being beaten up.
When Nick decides to flee, he finds Bannister and Mulder in hot pursuit and escapes after threatening to shoot them.
He hides with a boat man and the inspector in charge of the investigation persuades him to travel to see his dad.
His dad is a genius man but is in prison for embezzlement. His dad receives him and reveals what a dope he has been. All that money he was offered was to frame Nick and it is in fact as a red herring that he was to be used.
The real murderer was travelling with Bannister on the race. Nick persuades Angela that he is not the enemy and then goes to intercept the boat to save Bannister. He cannot find Bannister and returns empty handed. However, he suddenly realizes that the murder plot is to be enacted exactly at the place where Nedesza was killed.
He decided to rush there directly, thereby gaining time and manages to find Wildtrack against all odds.
An extremely tense fight and twists and turns ensues at that point.
Angela returns to England and asks him to stay with her, helping her in her career of making films.
The ending is interesting and the story is tense.
Bernard Cornwell in a modern setting is as good as Bernard Cornwell in ancient setting. A good yarn indeed.
7/10
= = Krishna