Rating: 2/5
Review:
Not for me
The Bomb Maker has some of the makings of a good thriller,
but didn't think that the writing and characterisation were good enough to
carry it off, I'm afraid.
Set in Los Angeles,
the main thrust of The Bomb Maker is in a battle of wits between a highly
ingenious designer and maker of bombs and the LA Bomb Squad whom he wants to
kill. We get long, intricate
descriptions of both the designing and building processes of the bomber and of
the painstaking work of the Bomb Squad to make them safe. Much of this is actually very interesting and
quite gripping, although it does get a bit much when expressed in such plodding
prose and with rather cardboard characters.
Outside the technical detail, the rest of the story is
pretty poorly done. The main protagonist
is Dick Stahl – heroic, sexy, modest and unflappable. Of course.
We originally meet him as he attempts to rescue a businessman kidnapped
in Mexico, where
he brilliantly and heroically…well, I expect you can guess. He is then called back to head up the Bomb
Squad he used to lead in order to tackle the threat from the eponymous bomb
maker. It's hopelessly implausible both
in characterisation and plot, and the prose is horribly clunky at times. This, for example, as his squad are about to tackle
a very dangerous bomb: "Elliot and Hines stared at Stahl, who seemed deep
in thought. After a moment he looked up
at them and noticed that they looked worried, apprehensive, scared. "Don't worry. We can do this." It's not exactly thrilling, electrifying,
exciting, is it? I'm afraid I found this
throughout and it became very wearing after a while. There is an extremely awkwardly drawn
romantic liaison with dialogue which verges on the embarrassingly bad at times
and which has a faintly ludicrous Pretty Woman feel to it as well. And so on.
So, I'm afraid this one wasn't for me. It's painstakingly researched and has its
moments, but I really can't recommend it.
(I received an ARC via NetGalley.)
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