11:59pm on Valentine’s night and radio talk show host Marc Niven receives a call from a man named Hassan who wishes to send love to his widow, Amina.
Is it a message from beyond the grave?
Niven misses the significance of the call and is soon brought to task by his employers. Finding himself suspended and alone following a recent break-up he sets about solving the mystery of the call.
This triggers a series of events that sees Niven involved with pimps, prostitutes, murder and terrorists. Aided only by his loyal superfan, the eccentric Ollie, Niven attempts to beat the bad guys and reclaim his status as a local celebrity.
The main character is a fantastic hapless hero type who navigates all manner of dangerous situations with more luck than guile. I often found myself laughing out loud, even during some particularly dodgy scenarios.
There is a fine cast of colourful characters including Niven himself, the surprisingly clued-up Ollie who is often dismissed as a dim-wit, the snide radio station boss, the young hooker, the terrifying pimp and the influential estranged partner Sam.
Despite the finale involving a terrorist plot being a little too much of a stretch of the imagination I absolutely loved this one. Full of seedy goings-on and laced with dark humour it had me looking forward to resuming the story every time.
Can’t wait to see what Williams comes up with next.
Ric’s Rating: 86%
Is it a message from beyond the grave?
Niven misses the significance of the call and is soon brought to task by his employers. Finding himself suspended and alone following a recent break-up he sets about solving the mystery of the call.
This triggers a series of events that sees Niven involved with pimps, prostitutes, murder and terrorists. Aided only by his loyal superfan, the eccentric Ollie, Niven attempts to beat the bad guys and reclaim his status as a local celebrity.
The main character is a fantastic hapless hero type who navigates all manner of dangerous situations with more luck than guile. I often found myself laughing out loud, even during some particularly dodgy scenarios.
There is a fine cast of colourful characters including Niven himself, the surprisingly clued-up Ollie who is often dismissed as a dim-wit, the snide radio station boss, the young hooker, the terrifying pimp and the influential estranged partner Sam.
Despite the finale involving a terrorist plot being a little too much of a stretch of the imagination I absolutely loved this one. Full of seedy goings-on and laced with dark humour it had me looking forward to resuming the story every time.
Can’t wait to see what Williams comes up with next.
Ric’s Rating: 86%
Is this his first book?
ReplyDeleteYep, he's done lots of other writing but this is his forst novel.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting book. Not often do you come across a plot that is even remotely like this. I would be interested in reading it, just to find out the ending!
ReplyDeleteSara
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteIt's a great read and it's going cheap on Kindle if you have one.