The Payback: (Dennis Milne: book 3): a punchy, race-against-time thriller from bestselling author Simon Kernick (Dennis Milne, 3)

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High up amongst the penthouse suites, a skilled and dangerous killer is hunting a quarry who's eluded him for far too long. Oh, totally. I don’t think crime fiction can be realistic. It can be authentic, but that’s very different. I like to think that my books are authentic insofar as I give the reader the correct information about police procedures. However with my books – and a lot of other crime books – everything is summed up very neatly at the end. Your main detective protagonist solves the crime and catches the killer. It’s always a killer who isn’t very easy to spot, whereas the reality is totally different. Usually with police work, who you think did it usually did do it, and when you get them in the interview room, rather than spilling the beans Hercule Poirot style, they call for their lawyer and say nothing but a litany of ‘no comment’s. And when you finally do get the case before a court, months and reams of paperwork later, the lawyers often get them off! Without giving away any spoilers it's a kidnapping procedural with a difference and brings its apparently disparate plots together in an intriguing way.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for an advance copy of The First 48 Hours, a stand-alone thriller set in London. Tell me about your next book, Tell No One by Harlan Coben, which sounds like a very tense thriller and is all about a doctor losing (or is it finding) his wife? There are some good twists along the way that worked well for me - some of the recent 'twist masters'' works have felt like they just want to add one after another after another to the point you find them so contrived it's spoils the story. Here, they're relevant, appropriate and germane to the overall plot. What none of them know is that a group of ruthless gunmen are about to burst into the Stanhope, shooting indiscriminately, and seizing hostages.

Simon Kernick Book Releases 2023/2024

It is the first of his books that I have come across, but I trust it will not be the last. Read it if you enjoy complicated storylines well-handled, multiple plot twists, continuous tension, and a satisfying ending without annoying plot devices that involve reaching too far.

I enjoyed The First 48 Hours as it is a clever novel with plenty of twists and turns. I did not find it as gripping as I thought it would be and that is due, I think, to the continually changing point of view. The majority of the novel is told in the first person from the first person perspective of a morally ambiguous detective, Fish with the lawyer, the couple and some other characters making contributions as and when required.

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There are very few redeeming qualities among the array of characters that feature in the story. Many of the characters come across as caricatures of criminals, their driving force is self-preservation and they are more than willing to double-cross each other if that means they'll escape. The First 48 Hours” is a verd thriller where three enthralling storylines are connected by secrets, danger, and a constant race against time. A committed detective is assigned the task of solving a chilling murder case. The second storyline features a mother who is defending her own child accused of murder and thirdly a couple planning what they believe to be the perfect crime. Once again, I was treated to an excellent, gritty and gripping plot filled with twists, turns and tension that had me reading way into the night with anticipation as to how it was all going to end. The pacing of the story is perfect with each chapter moving the story on at speed.