Rating: 4/5
Review:
Good, but tails off a little
This is a good, readable novel. It promises to be excellent in the first half, but works less well later on.
Set in a near-ish future, the story itself is, at heart, a pretty well-worn idea of a cynical hit-man who is hired to kill a young woman, finds he has some scruples and feelings and ends up protecting her and tackling a Sinister Conspiracy Of The Powerful. However, the book is lifted well above the ordinary by the excellent narrative voice which is sharp, pacy and very engaging.
Adam Sternbergh also paints a convincing picture of a dystopian, New York following some devastating attacks on the city and creates a very good (if not entirely original) idea of a virtual reality into which people retreat more and more. This doesn't dominate the story, but provides both interesting context and important plot elements. I found the character of the hit-man narrator convincing and surprisingly engaging, and other characters are well drawn, if a little familiar form similar books, and all this kept me very engrossed for at least the first half of the book. However, I thought the plot wasn't well structured enough to really hold me once the initial impact of style and setting wore off. It became a bit disjointed and less convincing and the rather obvious set-up for the next in the series rang a little false.
Nevertheless, I can recommend this as an exciting and enjoyable novel and I will certainly read the next one. It's not a brilliant book but it's a good one and well worth reading.
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