Somalia

There's something about the combination of a big threat thriller and fundamentalist based threats that makes me twitch badly. ROTTEN GODS is therefore a book that I stupidly put aside for a tad too long.

There is, however, something particularly compelling about the idea that a humanitarian man, a decent person, could be pushed to take extreme action in the face of international disregard for the economic and ecological meltdown happening everywhere around us. The idea that he would form an alliance with a group that seems to have similar concerns, although much more extreme methods, is also not that unlikely. The possibility of taking the leaders of most of the world government's hostage, and turn the security of their location against them wasn't that tricky to accept. In fact, there were some quite chilling, and rather discomforting aspects to much of the action in ROTTEN GODS.

But of course, it's a thriller, so there are some aspects that may not be quite so believable - in this case the way that lowly intelligence officer Marika Hartmann could head off on a disputed and somewhat unlikely pursuit in the middle of a major crisis, and then basically run her own show, on the ground in Somalia. The way that she managed to just not get blown away stretched credibility a few times, until, at some stage it really didn't matter how unlikely her situation was, you kind of ended up barracking a lot for her anyway.

There's a real bravery in the way that ROTTEN GODS unfolds - mostly because of the nature of the subject's that Barron's willing to tackle. There's a none too subtle political message at the core of this book that's going to get up some reader's noses, but really, what's wrong with a thriller that makes you uncomfortable or makes you think a bit. My only complaint is that possibly the book is a bit too long. There were also some plot-lines (such as the interference with tunnel digging) that just seemed to disappear in the run up to the conclusion, whilst other characters seemed to suddenly get chucked into the mix to be the hero of the day. A couple of these things did unbalance what was, in the main, a very thought-provoking and discomforting (in a good way) modern day thriller.

THE SIREN'S STING is the second Stevie Duveen novel from Miranda Darling, following on from THE TROIKA DOLLS.

These books are thrillers, featuring Stevie who works as a risk assessor in the personal / company protection game.  Starting off much where the first book ended, Stevie has been assigned to mind a temperamental opera star travelling on a luxury cruise near Somalia when pirates strike.  Helping drive off this attack, there's something a little odd about how easily the pirates withdraw.  But there's not a lot of time to consider that until later, as Stevie undertakes her next job - working on a threat assessment for the young son of her bosses ex Clémence Krok and her now husband Vaughan.

Stevie has very little trouble posing as a jet-setting party girl friend of Clémence, cruising around on the Krok's luxury yacht, surrounded by a suitably threatening cast of arms dealers, aristocrats and billionaires.  To say nothing of love interest Henning and his very glamorous mother.

Needless to say there's going to be a connection between all this luxurious sailing around, Krok's mercenary army and arms dealing, the pirates and just about everybody in this circle, even including the glamorous opera star and the Greek billionaire she picks up on the original voyage.

THE SIREN'S STING takes what was originally more than just a tad of James Bond type scenarios and settings in the first book and slathers that on plus some.  There's glorious women, sinister men, arms-dealing, money, diamonds, luxury yachts, fancy speedboats and all sorts of elaborate machinery and gadgets.  There is a plot as well, and whilst there doesn't seem to be quite as much action from Stevie as there was in the first book she's not above a bit of combat, and her own life is under real threat at a few points.  There's also an interesting twist with another female character who starts out being one of the villains and comes across to the good side just when she's needed.

It really has to be remembered that both of these books are thrillers - they are entertaining, slightly frenetic, often borderline unbelievable and fast paced.  The plot in THE SIREN'S STING is made up of quite a few elements, which you know are going to come together (it's a thriller after all!) but there's some nice twists and turns along the way.  There's a sprinkle of romantic tension, there's a fair bit of sightseeing around glamorous locations and there is a particularly big twist at the end, telegraphing book 3 in the series.  Undoubtedly there's some aspects of this ending that are a risky undertaking for an author.  It's either going to excite some readers with the possibility of what's to come, or disappoint other readers who hate that sort of "and in our next episode" closing.

Either way, I really liked the first book in this series (THE TROIKA DOLLS).  In THE SIREN'S STING Stevie did feel a little more subdued, but really, for a reader like me who wouldn't recognise a "Brand" if she fell over it, who breaks out in an allergic reaction at all that "socialite" stuff and gags at the sight of too much romantic twaddle, I was hugely entertained and happy to spend some time with Stevie Duveen.  As far as I'm concerned - bring on the third book.