Friday, October 9, 2009

The Nothing Job - Book #94


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Title The Nothing Job
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Author Nick Oldham
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Genre Fiction Mystery
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Pages 218
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Publisher Severn House
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Copyright 2009
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Synopsis (from web-site)
Reluctantly agreeing to track down and arrest three wanted and very dangerous criminals, DCI Henry Christie's philosophy is that anything that keeps him at the cutting edge of coppering can't be all bad. His efforts to trace these felons take him from the north of England, across the Mediterranean and then back again. But then he is unexpectedly asked to close down the investigation into a fatal police shooting in an adjoining force where a low-level gangster suspected of murder has been shot dead during a police raid. It should be a fairly straightforward job but, Henry being Henry, he never accepts anything at face value. As he delves into the
shooting, ruffling feathers as he goes, he uncovers a number of worrying connections. Failing to heed warnings to watch his back, Henry charges headlong into the midst of a terrifying conspiracy and finds himself much closer to the cutting edge than even he could have wanted...

Why I read It
I picked it off the shelf because the author’s name sounded British. The blurb on the front cover said this book belongs with any fan of British police procedurals. So it was a mystery about a British police officer – all my favorites.

The Good
The writing had good flow and the mystery was okay.

The Bad
About three quarters into the book it seemed the author was all over the place with three separate plots. In the last bit he manages to bring everything together in a contrived way. It seems he had the several plots in mind and just couldn’t pick one. The other problem, and this is just me here, it is one of an ongoing series. I really need to read the earlier works to understand the characters.

The Ugly (my opinion)
As stories go, Meh. That said I do enjoy the British police procedurals and the writing was decent. I will definitely go back and read one or two of the earlier books before passing final judgment on the author.

Mormon Mentions
None.

Author Biography

Born on 26th April 1956 in what was then the tiny village of Belthorn (actually in 65 Belthorn Road – mums were very hardy in those days), up on the moors high above Blackburn, Lancashire, Nick is the well-reviewed author of ten highly regarded crime novels featuring DCI Henry Christie, such as Nightmare City, Dead Heat, Psycho Alley and Critical Threat.

After a depressing year in a bank after leaving college, Nick joined Lancashire Constabulary at the age of 19 and served in many operational postings around the county before retiring in 2005.

He lives with his partner, Belinda, on the outskirts of Preston.

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