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For all that Martyn Waites considers his latest thriller, THE MERCY SEAT, to be "quite light in a way", I must say that I found it, in the world of hardboiled crime fiction, extremely violent. Themes which engage him include abused children and those whose lives have been stunted. The actor-turned-writer has had plenty of encounters with both convicted criminals and deprived and abused children as he has twice been writer-in-residence in a prison and also taught drama to young former offenders. He calls upon his experience to good effect in this novel, the first of a series to feature investigative journalist Joe Donovan. The prologue depicts a scene of violence and torture, wherein the reader is introduced to some very nasty characters indeed. The name of Joe Donovan is given to the torturers as someone who might be of interest to them since he has taken it upon himself to investigate the men who call themselves Mephisto, Faustus and Hammer. Fourteen-year-old Jamal is a black teenage hustler. He steals a minidisk and is pursued by someone who seems intent not only on recovering the disk but also removing Jamal from life. Jamal, in an effort to escape, boards a train bound for Newcastle and is befriended (if that is the word) by a man travelling north. Jamal listens to the minidisk and decides it is his path to fortune if used correctly. The lad bargains with the Herald, offering to sell them the minidisk but insists he will deal only with Joe Donovan. Donovan is a damaged man. His six-year-old son disappeared two years previously and since then he has fallen to pieces, becoming suicidal. His friend Maria, now editor of the paper, accompanied by Francis Sharkey, the paper's lawyer, seek him out, telling him that his replacement has disappeared and that his help is needed to obtain the minidisk and possibly help locate Gary Myers, the journalist. As bait, Sharkey implies he has information on Donovan's son. To say the novel is dark is a great understatement. It is brimful of corruption, violence, danger and death. Waites artfully introduces various threads, increasing suspense by not disclosing how they are plaited. All of his characters seem damaged and flawed in many ways. He manages, at one stage, to find excuses for one of his chief villains so that the reader might begin to understand what drives him. Others are left, mercifully, unexplained. Waites brings to life the seedy side of Liverpool. The reader speeds through the streets seeing what might be familiar places in a wholly new light. Unpleasant characters manipulate their helpless victims although sometimes one of those unfortunates fights back. One particularly loathsome villain is one who could be seen as a natural inheritor of Fagin's mantle in a modern setting, a man who, in the guise of a benefactor, lures and corrupts runaway children. Altogether, despite the repulsive aspects of the tale, the reader will find THE MERCY SEAT a fascinating read and will doubtless be left wondering what next will happen in the life of Joe Donovan.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, February 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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