The Game
""If you’re a fan of crime action thrillers and you haven’t read Tom Wood, then you’re missing out. Big time." "
Synopsis:
In the sweltering heat of Algiers, ultra-efficient hitman Victor executes a fellow assassin. When the CIA come calling he ends up posing as his victim in order to identify the dead man's intended target.
His mission takes across Europe, culminating on the bloody streets of Rome. Infiltrating a gang of vicious mercenaries, Victor is left with an impossible decision: does he do what's right, or save the only thing he cares about … his own life?
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Review:
This third instalment of Victor's story from Wood, is a fine addition to a must read series. Like all good authors he is pushing himself ever further, even if the majority of the suffering for his art is done by his lead character. He has progressed Victor from a lone hitman into a reluctant tool of the CIA. The tired old plot of infiltrating a terrorist/criminal gang is given a dust off and a thorough updating to give Victor his own “Bond” style mission. When you throw in Wood's logic laden tradecraft as seen through Victor's eyes, you are left with a mix of Bond and Reacher. Can it get any better? Of course it can, despite the main plot line being older than the author's grandparents; 'The Game' is a rollicking tale of a bad good guy taking down the bad guys. Infused with modern details and more thrills than Alton Towers the story rockets you along to a most satisfying conclusion. Victor is developing nicely as a series character, despite everything his author puts him through. Leeson, Coughlin and Kooi all play their parts well, but for me it is Francesca – a finely drawn femme fatale, whose allegiance is never clear until the final chapters – who is the only one who can begin to compete with Victor. All in all, 'The Game' mixes the best points of two of the genres finest to create a cracking read full of spills, thrills and enough action to leave the reader breathless. The way Wood has taken a much used plot and updated it into this fine novel, shows his skill as an author. If you're a fan of crime action thrillers and you haven't read Tom Wood, then you're missing out. Big time.