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| Page 1 | Book Reviews - Fiction |
January 2008 |
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| Page 1 | Book Reviews - Fiction |
January 2008 |
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Borderless
Deceit Foreign Affairs
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By Alidë Kohlhaas When I began to read Adrian de Hoog's second mystery novel, its plot seemed a bit farfetched. Then I learned that, given the right circumstances, what he sets out in Borderless Deceit could happen—theoretically—but is highly unlikely. I learned this from a friend during a conversation about this story. He has more knowledge about the world of computers, and how the Internet works, than most people can acquire in several lifetimes. He assured me, though, that it could happen only under very specific circumstances, and needs far more than the perpetrator in this novel had at his command. Still, there is a bit of a thrill knowing that when reading Borderless Deceit, de Hoog did not go beyond the possible. His book is not science fiction as such, though fiction it is, and the science of computers and cyberspace has been stretched just a bit. The book's story, in a nutshell, is about a virus that destroys the global communications network of the Canadian diplomatic service. The novel's protagonist is Carson Pryce, an intelligence analyst, who also happens to be obsessed with Rachel Dunn, a diplomat with a track record of humanitarian work. Pryce's obsession is not a sinister one, but one that in cyberspace could have consequences. De Hoog, himself an ex-diplomat, takes his readers on quite a journey in this book. While the seat of events is Ottawa, we also find ourselves in San Francisco, Vienna, Berlin, Egypt, Transylvania, Kenya, and Costa Rica, to mention a few places. There is plenty of intrigue, much diplomatic wrangling, and even some love interest in this tale, aside from the world of computers. One enjoys the great monikers de Hook hangs onto the various players in this diplomatic-cum-civil-service-world. Carson Pryce's most obnoxious civil service opponent is known as the Czar by his colleagues, a character one hopes will get his comeuppance somewhere along the story. Borderless Deceit makes is a good, easy and fast read. It is perfect for a wintry weekend snuggled up to a nice wood-burning fireplace. I am glad de Hoog has come back for a second novel after his Berlin Assignment. There must be something in the air in Ottawa that inspires diplomats and civil servants to sit down to write mystery novels. Nick Wilkshire, when not writing, is a lawyer with the Department of Justice in Ottawa. His first novel is Foreign Affairs, with an emphasis on the word affairs. This murder mystery traps a young Canadian diplomat in a web of murder and deceit of which he is wholly unaware until his is implicated in a murder in France. Having just come to the end of his assignment in that country, Karl Roy returns to Canada, where he is suddenly arrested. Extradited to France, he is found guilty of a crime he did not commit. His lawyer, Peter Verdun, doesn't take long to realize that there is more to the case than appears on the surface. A reporter in Montreal comes to a similar conclusion while covering the French trial, and suddenly a lot of lives seem to be in danger. This is a fine first thriller. My only complaint, or more of a question is this, 'why do writers always have the French smoke Gauloises?' You never read anyone smoking Gigantes, and what's more, Malboroughs, which for quite some time have overtaken these two French brands. It is time writers look a little closer at contemporary French habits when they write about this country's citizens. I am sure Wilkshire, while writing his thriller, didn't realize that neither cigaret is now manufactured in France. High taxes and a loss of clientele have forced the closure of the last Gauloise factory in France in 2005. They are now made in Spain, and the Gigantes are made in the Netherlands. So, while I had fun reading Foreign Affairs, which like Borderless Deceit is a perfectly entertaining, fast read for a wintry day or evening, I find myself looking for a bit more authenticity. A good mystery must have that element, and a Gauloises-smoking 'M'sieur Malle' sitting at an outside table at a café in Aix-en-Provence in the 21st century just doesn't sound quite right. As for the plot, it seems very plausible, and so does its resolve. Perhaps we'll get to read more of Wilkshire's work in the future when he has honed his writing skills a bit more. The Naked Island by Bryna Wasserman has been moved to Archives For an interview with Bryna Wasserman, click here |
Copyright © 2008 CamKohl Arts Productions |
