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I have, in previous reviews of Colin Harrison's books, remarked upon his attention to detail. I must say I was very relieved, when reading his latest, that he did not give a breath by breath description of the final moments of two young Mexican women, office cleaners, who are killed in their little car. The sunroof is broken into and a pipe shoved through. Then sewage flows through the hose, filling the car and drowning the young women. Ironically, their boss, Jin Li, is saved from the same fate because she has left the car and is obeying a call of nature. Jin Li is the local boss of a company that shreds sensitive documents. Of course, the companies that employ her company would be less than pleased if they realised that the documents are inspected prior to their intended destruction and that an unspecified number are saved. Jin Li passes any useful information on to her brother in Shanghai, who then uses it to turn a handsome profit on the stock exchange. Ray Grant is a former New York fireman. His peace of mind was, like so many others, ruined when the Twin Towers came down. He has since indulged in adventurous activities but his father's soon-to-be fatal illness calls him back to New York. As he is taking care of his father's interests, he mixes business with a trifle of pleasure and whilst he is about this, he is kidnapped by some large, intimidating Chinese men who take him to meet Chen, the brother of Ray's former girlfriend, Jin Li. Chen is desperate to find his sister in order to restore his profitable enterprise. Ray must find the woman, as both his safety and that of his dying father hang in the balance. Harrison writes a mean action thriller. His attention to detail always imbues his work with a tremendous sense of reality (which is the reason for my rejoicing at his not having subjected the reader to an overly-detailed a description of the death of the Mexican women.) The characterisation is splendid in this work. Not only do the main people spring seemingly effortlessly to life, but so do the ancillary characters - such as a particularly nasty Russian bloke who attempts to persuade a fugitive Jin Li of the delights possible congress with him would hold. I doubt that the author will resurrect these particular characters in future works, which is a shame, as I was rather taken with Grant. Not to worry. Harrison always seems to invent interesting and plausible people.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, June 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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