An apt title for this one…..  **

This novel starts out well. Somewhat – gripping, interesting characters, multiple viewpoints. Then it begins to drag, the characters multiply a bit too much and become hard to keep straight, and then it just becomes unbelievable in regards to what the characters do.

Michael Robotham has a knack for writing good and not so good novels. This would be one of the not so good. His two main characters, Vincent Ruiz and Joe O’Loughlin, are back and as we expect save the day. It is the how that adds to the unbelievable aspect.

The settings jump between Baghdad, London, Luton, Istanbul, and Washington. The chapters are short and the characters are exposed only a little at a time, making the story somewhat confusing. Fortunately, each chapter heading lets the reader know where they are, otherwise it would be more confusing than it is.

One of the threads that weaves through the story is around a character known only as The Courier. He is a ruthless killer who lets nothing get in his way nor leaves anyone alive in his wake. I realize the heroes Ruiz and O’Loughlin have to survive to continue the series, but for both to encounter The Courier and not die was a bit much. This is not just a weakness in Robotham’s novel, but a problem in most thrillers – when a killer hesitates when confronted by the protagonist or leaves them bound and gagged instead of dead.

The most unbelievable scene, however, is when Ruiz interrupts a dinner meeting between the CIA and the bankers involved in the story. Ruiz would have never been able to even get close to the table, much less sit down as if he belonged.

This one gets two stars as I move on to the next Robotham novel, hoping for a good one.