EDGE
Jeffery Deaver
Hodder & Stoughton
Even a devoted Jeffery Deaver fan would have to acknowledge that his recent books featuring handicapped hero Lincoln Rhyme had lost their way, while the less written about Roadside Crosses (2009) the better.
Thus it was with no sense of anticipation that I started reading Edge, especially as it started with a prologue, a device so often dismally done.
In Edge, Deaver demonstrates exactly how a good prologue can grip, while giving the reader vital information relevant to the rest of the thriller.
That first section takes place in 2004, then Deaver moves forward six years to introduce Protection Officer Corte, who tries to remain so low-key that he doesn't use his Christian name, even with colleagues.
Corte is assigned as a "shepherd" to protect Washington DC cop Ryan Kessler and his family for a few days until the risk of Ryan being killed is over.
The "lifter" employed to kill is Henry Loving, a man with whom Corte has a score to settle.
While his teenage daughter is sent to stay with a family friend, Ryan, his wife, Joanne, and her sister, Maree, are taken to a safe house.
There, relationships between the three become strained, a situation exacerbated when it seems one of the women, not Ryan, may be Loving's target.
Alongside the family's falling out, Corte juggles his need to determine who is Loving's "principal", the person who has employed him to kill, for once he is identified, the contract will end and the killer pull out.
In typical Deaver style, the main action takes place over a few days and there are enough shootings and car chases to satisfy most readers. Although it is not difficult to work out who is behind Loving, that does not detract from the tale and the ending is splendid, probably Deaver's best.
- Gillian Vine is a Dunedin writer.
