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Duncan Falconer is an author who follows the old adage that you should write about what you know. He is a former member of the Special Boat Service and also worked for the SAS in Northern Ireland. His third novel is another outing for Special Services operative John Stratton. In Iraq, Stratton's closest friend is killed, leaving behind a wife, Sally and a child, Josh, who is also Stratton's godson. They move to America, but within a week, Sally is dead and Josh is in state custody. Stratton decides to work outside the law to get Josh back and avenge Sally's death. THE OPERATIVE is a frightening picture of the amount of damage that one man working alone can cause. Stratton's revenge, planned down to the most minute of details, is clever and awe-inspiring. In Stratton, Falconer creates the picture of a hard man who is prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. Nevertheless, Stratton is not portrayed simply as a killing machine. He is human and does have feelings, and his devotion to Josh is heart-warming. Falconer clearly intended to make the book as realistic as possible in terms of the explosives and weaponry used. For this reason, there are pages describing the making of explosives and various technical details. For the lay reader, this can become somewhat oppressive, but Falconer more than makes up for this in his exciting action sequences. Certainly, the final drama comes straight from Hollywood movies, with helicopters, TV cameras, collapsing buildings and much more. Conspiracies theories and terrorist attacks are the staple fodder of movies and novels in this day and age, so that although THE OPERATIVE could be seen as a terrorist thriller, it makes a pleasant change to see a British agent operating on the wrong side of the law in the USA -- the chief ally in the War on Terror. THE OPERATIVE is an action-packed and exciting thriller and will no doubt sell very well indeed.
Reviewed by Luke Croll, February 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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