In Review

09 January 2009 13:09 BST

Fallen Angel by Kevin Lewis

Published by Penguin, out now, paperback, 377 pp, £6.99.

In a nutshell...

Paint by numbers thriller.

What's it all about?

The kidknapping and brutal murder of a young boy sparks maverick DI Stacey Collins into a manhunt for the killer – a man with OCD and horrific scarring. When another boy is kidnapped later that week, the race is really on – they have less than 48 hours before he will be dead. Along the way, Collins relies on an underworld boss, a wonder hacker working for the police and a do-it-by-the-book Detective Chief Inspector who is running the whole show. All the while, Collins attempts to balance her working life with that of a single mum who is never home to look after her teenage daughter. Will she catch the killer and cover herself in glory? Will her daughter go off the rails in rebellion? And what will the huge twist be at the end?

Who's it by?

Kevin Lewis – this is his fifth novel, but the third fiction novel. His two main bestsellers are autobiographical, The Kid and The Kid Move On, documenting his life growing up on London's tough council estates. He often came in contact with criminals and eventually life led him to bare knuckle boxing. He is now married with two children in a fantastic turnaround.

As an example...

"Hanging from the rafters was a body. Apart from the bare feet, which pointed listlessly at the stone floor, it was fully clothed. The face had been horrifically disfigured with deep, diagonal slashes. One hand was missing, and the mouth hung open as if emitting a desperate, silent scream.

But it was none of these things that made Father Connelly turn to one side and retch over the wooden pews. It was not the death, or the blood, or the disfigurement that unsettled him so. It was the fact that the corpse hanging there so dreadfully above him was that of a child."

Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster

It's not likely to be a film, but it smacks of BBC serialisation.

What the others say

"Harrowing, chilling... with passages of heartbreaking frankness. By the end, your heart is overwhelmed." – Daily Telegraph

So is it any good?

I often like to use my reviews as a chance to confess. I'm rubbish with thrillers. I never ever get the twists. Ever. And here's one of my deepest darkest secrets – I didn't guess the twist at the end of Sixth Sense. That's how rubbish I am.

That said, I got the twist at the end of this one after all the protagonists were introduced. This is as paint by numbers a paint by numbers thriller as I've ever come across. It's really not that gripping, and suffers from the old Godzilla complex of once the monster is revealed, he's really not that monstrous anymore. Just a little bit sad.

Most annoyingly, none of the characters, including the lead, are particularly well'defined so it is hard to have any sympathy or empathy for them or what they're going through. And the end leaves a hell of a lot to be desired, just casually dropping in a new character ready for the next book (which I don't feel this one deserves), and like most poor thrillers, losing interest in a well built up storyline and finishing with a whimper.

That said, it's a fine read. It's not spectacular and it's not challenging, so for those that like John Grisham or Martina Cole novels, this is a light version of one of their stories. It's tough to say it's non-offensive, as there are some passages like the one above which are pretty graphic to say the least, but it's certainly not taxing.

Personally, I'd be giving this one a miss. There's far better thriller novels out there. Check out the aforementioned Grisham or Cole, or even Michael Crichton if you want a clever thriller. Leave this one on the shelf and go for the big guns.

3/10

Rob Wheatley