organized crime

Crisis by Frank Gardner – Book Review

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Crisis by Frank Gardner – Book Cover

Raise your hand if you think British intelligence is heavily involved in anti-drug operations in Colombia. No one? Well, that makes sense—Colombia is too far away, and beside, it’s more of an American issue—let them deal with it. Completely understandable… Wait a minute, I see someone raising their hand after all. Yes, it’s Frank Gardner, and guess what? He’s written a hefty thriller titled Crisis based on this rather unlikely premise…

Frank Gardner in Frederick Forsyth’s Shoes

If you’ve read Frederick Forsyth’s last book, the leisurely-paced The Fox, you know that from one of the greatest thriller writers of all time, there’s not much left to expect. Frank Gardner seems to have thought it was time to fill the void Forsyth left behind.

The Crisis is an action-packed spy novel that feels almost as if Frederick Forsyth himself had written it. Almost. (Though, to be fair, The Fox was also only “almost” the same.)

Crisis showcases an impressive depth of knowledge. But that’s no surprise, given that the author spent many years working as a journalist.

Frank Gardner’s deep understanding of the world of British intelligence—from organizational structures to operational execution—means that his book will likely captivate even the most seasoned spy novel fans with its technical details.

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City on Fire by Don Winslow – Book Review

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City on Fire by Don Winslow – Book Cover

The Godfather – in Miniature

Don Winslow’s mafia novel, City on Fire, is essentially a watered-down version of The Godfather. Most of the motifs present in that classic novel appear here as well, such as:

• Mafia family wars over territory
• The unifying strength of family and blood ties
• The issue of succession, where the heir is, of course, not the most suitable candidate
• The drug trade as the path to big money, with the promise of big downfall

Since The Godfather is such a magnificent and unparalleled novel, you might be inclined to settle for even a reduced version, especially when it comes from the pen of Don Winslow, the author of the monumental The Power of the Dog trilogy. This time, with Irish and Italian mobsters clashing.

Small-Town Gangsters

Okay, but still. The fact that City on Fire is set in Providence, Rhode Island, also known as Dogtown, somehow diminishes initial expectations. Providence, squeezed between New York and Boston, is small and insignificant in comparison. Prostitution, gambling, and the docks are the main sources of money around there.

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Cari Mora by Thomas Harris – Book Review

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Cari Mora by Thomas Harris – Book Cover

Cari Mora isn’t just tough, but sexy too

Thomas Harris’s protagonist, Cari Mora, a former child soldier from Colombia and current Miami Beach hottie, is the caretaker of Pablo Escobar’s old villa. The meticulous and careful Pablo once hid $25 million worth of gold in the mansion. The mafia and a despicable German psychopath, whose hobby is organ trafficking, are both vying for the gold. (Cari Mora has no such plans; she simply wants to be a veterinarian.)

Thomas Harris has returned with a renewed style of novel – as you’ll gather from the blurb. As for why, only God knows, because there was nothing wrong with the old style: The Silence of the Lambs was almost as good in book form as the brilliant film made from it. This new style means the whole thing is a bit flatter and more superficial. And faster-paced – perhaps due to changing reader preferences or maybe because it’s much easier to write a book this way.

Thomas Harris seems to have forgotten how to write a good novel

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The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Söderberg – Book Review

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The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Söderberg - Book Cover

If you’re expecting some intensely emotional Latin romance with a touch of heated love quarrels just from the title*, then you’re out of luck. The Andalucian Friend is actually just a simple, not very fast-paced thriller, with almost no love to be found—mathematically speaking, exactly: 0.

It gets even worse if you’re waiting for a special blend of gloomy Scandinavian crime with Mediterranean vibes. These two, it seems, completely cancel each other out. So, in the debut book of the Sophie Brinkmann Trilogy, you won’t really find much of a classic crime (whodunit) plot.

What you’ll be following instead is the power struggle between two criminal groups, along with a rather uneventful investigation of one of them by the police. And to top it off, there are just too many characters at the start, making it hard to keep track of the parallel events.

Change the bandage on my backside, sweetheart!

Another issue with The Andalucian Friend is that it’s hard to connect with the main characters, as they all seem a bit bland. Sophie Brinkmann, for instance, is far from a typical protagonist. She’s an ordinary, run-of-the-mill single mom. Söderberg completely wastes the potential MILF-factor! Sophie is jaded, indifferent, just swept along by the events happening around her.

But the most lackluster character of all is Hector Guzmán—the titular Andalucian friend. Alexander Söderberg likely envisioned the following traits when creating the title character: charismatic, intelligent, charming, and mysterious. Instead, Hector turned out to be THIS: bored, impatient, irritable—and slightly overweight.

Hector Guzmán feels like an ordinary, not-so-liked side character from a generic TV show—the kind the protagonists occasionally bump into in the stairwell and reluctantly stop to chat with about the weather.

So yeah, Söderberg probably should have put a little more effort into developing his characters…

Crime doesn’t pay!

It sure doesn’t! Not if you’re bad at it!

Hector Guzmán doesn’t seem to be very good at it. Business just isn’t going well, you see. Sure, having a rival crime syndicate and the police both trying to take you down at the same time is understandably unpleasant, but hey, that’s just the usual course of business in the criminal world. Ever since The Godfather, everyone knows how to handle these situations: bribe the cops and mow down your competitors with machine guns! No need for whining!

Something is rotten in the state of Swedenmark

In the second half of The Andalucian Friend, the focus shifts, and for some strange reason, the least likable characters take center stage. The police, too, start handling the investigation in increasingly bizarre ways, making you watch their actions with understandable suspicion: any cop who isn’t entirely mentally unhinged seems utterly unfit for the job.

Several storylines just vanish into thin air (for example, Jens, one of the best characters), and if you pay close attention, you might notice that some characters’ motivations are, to put it mildly, highly questionable. Most notably, Hector’s decisions regarding Sophie are completely inexplicable. I’m telling you, Sophie Brinkmann would definitely be better off staying in healthcare!

However, if you don’t pay closer attention, you’ll end up with just a nearly average crime novel. And if you make it to the end, you might (though not necessarily) care enough about the characters’ fates to maybe pick up the next installment.

Rating: 6.6/10

The Andalucian Friend (Sophie Brinkmann Trilogy #1) by Alexander Söderberg
464 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2014 by Vintage
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Review of the sequel:
The Other Son by Alexander Söderberg
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The Hunting Dogs by Jorn Lier Horst

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* The Andalusian Friend was published in Hungary as Andalusian Lover.