Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Nobody Walks

Nobody Walks
by Mick Herron
Soho Crime, 2015.  296 pgs.  Mystery

Nobody Walks is as well written a thriller--or book of any kind--that I have read in a long time, and one of the most painful. Tom Bettany has fled his past in England to work anonymously in a meat-packing plant in France, but when he learns of the accidental death of his estranged son Liam, he comes home to investigate. Liam, who fell from a balcony while smoking marijuana, may well have died by accident, or maybe he was pushed. As Tom calls upon all his old skills from his clandestine service days, he runs afoul of some formidable foes and former colleagues and must call upon all his wit and skill to arrive at the surprising discovery of what happened to Liam. I can't tell any more about this fine novel without giving too much away, but be aware that it arrives at difficult conclusions, not that least of which is that Lord Acton was right:  Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

LW

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