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In case there is an oblivious reader out there who has missed the fanfare, Orion released books by nine neophyte novelists in March, at a price (£9.99 in the UK, $24.95 in Australia) somewhat lower than usual. The cognoscenti may approach new writers with a degree of caution, but at that price one is not risking bankruptcy in order to sample the new menu. Steve Mosby's book is unusual. Although the New Blood releases are touted as 'a fresh new injection of crime talent' it soon becomes apparent that THE THIRD PERSON trespasses beyond that genre boundary. Mosby admits to coming from the horror genre. He has written novels in that genre although admits they are not good enough to have been published. He has in the works another crime novel for Orion which could prove interesting. Jason is seeking his girlfriend, Amy. She left him some time previously, promising that the separation would not be for long. She has not returned, however, and Jason is attempting to follow her footsteps in cyberspace. A slip by someone named Kareem, a cyber-rapist he has met on the Net, gives Jason a clue as to where Amy may have disappeared. Jason has been disinclined to work because of Amy's disappearance and, although his employer wants him back, he draws his pay yet continues his all-consuming search. When a co-worker, who seems more than a little in love with him, arranges to meet him, Jason decides to introduce some real-life action into the search. Jason is set upon by someone working for a wealthy collector, Walter Hughes. He feels sure that Hughes is somehow connected to Amy's disappearance. Hughes collects the writing of one particular writer/artist and the text of this author is so vivid that Jason finds himself compelled to track down more of the work of the man. Friends of Jason also, unwillingly, become embroiled in the search. Strangely. clues to the disappearance of Amy seem to be even more intimately bound up in cyberspace than Jason had first suspected. His attempts to track down a mysterious attachment to an e-mail, one that somehow became detached, threaten him with dangers that may become physical. The ending has been described as unguessable. That could be an accurate description but I would prefer to describe it as weak. As a narrative, the melding of genres is interesting. It is not, unfortunately, particularly to my taste, but that is just the word of one rather squeamish reviewer.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, April 2004
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