Dene Mazkenzie reviews the latests thrillers to hit the shelves.
It was not strange because of the content, but because southern readers are suddenly confronted with the main character being born in Milton, a town that apparently boasted just 500 people in 1946.
Other South Otago towns get a mention, giving something of an unfamiliar feel to a book that quickly moves to banking fraud, incarceration in a high-security Australian prison, an offer the main character cannot refuse, and a plunge into the depths of the Mexican drug trade.
At first, the book seemed tedious and unlikely to be finished.
Suddenly, at the turn of a page, it became a gripping and cleverly written read.
Bulfin was born in New Zealand, working in the finance industry in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
While in the Australian investment banking trade as a share and mortgage broker in the 1980s, he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud over the valuations of Lasseter's Casino and Dreamworld.
He spent three years in a maximum-security prison, and this book is his life.
It is probably better after a second reading, once the reader understands the background of the author.
It has some nail-biting and believable descriptions of love, trust and betrayal.
A power struggle to replace China's ageing premier is under way between two very different leaders.
One is a hardliner, determined to take back what he sees as China's rightful territories - including Korea and Vietnam.
The other is a Confucian, more aligned to moving the country towards real democracy.
Intrigue surrounds why the Government will not allow anyone to open the tomb of China's first emperor, which is guarded by an army of terracotta warriors.
The tomb has remained sealed for 2200 years.
Former United States Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is faced with solving this mystery when he receives an anonymous note carrying an unfamiliar address.
As the two aspiring Chinese leaders struggle to claim a valuable lamp from the tomb, it emerges that the term "peak oil" night never need to be used if the test results of old and new oil are as suspected.
A kidnapping, old wounds festering between Malone and a Russian agent-for-hire, a love interest and some exciting plot twists make this book an ideal summer read.
Exploring the powerful world of Chinese eunuchs and how they controlled past governments is an added bonus, particularly when it is revealed in the plot that the practice of castration of politically motivated Chinese males is still very much alive.
Along with a recent trend, Berry gives readers a happy ending but with lots of pain, blood and physical recovery.
The Flaming Sword (Penguin, $30, pbk), the latest in the "Death or Glory" series.
The novel picks up from the The Last Commando with Lieutenant Tom Caine leading a squad of SAS men on a desperate mission into hostile territory.
Caine, as in other books, suffers fools not at all, particularly if they are wearing the uniforms of officers and/or attended one of Britain's elite schools.
This thriller needs more concentration than readers would probably expect but it is worth making the effort as Asher weaves several minor plots into the overall story.
Sabotage, espionage and reunions make for powerful themes and there is still something captivating about books written in the period of World War 2.
The heroes and villains are there, including a very nasty stereotypical German officer, a plummy British officer, a band of nomads forced to leave an Italian African colony - and a gorgeous female spy.
A word of warning: the story is filled with violence and death.
Crescent Dawn (Penguin, $60, hbk) by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler is a read of a different era but it is just as violent but perhaps more intriguing as it is set in 2012, when Muslim extremists are planning to restore the Ottoman empire to its former glory.
This Dirk Pitt novel wanders the world widely and includes appearances by Pitt's wife - a United States legislator - and his two children.
A seriously wealthy brother and sister are obsessed with bringing back to Turkey the antiquities which they believe were stolen when their grandfather was expelled from the country.
Pitt and his family appear to be involved in two different adventures, but the Cusslers do an outstanding job of bringing the threads together.
Even though it appears obvious throughout the book how the two adventures are linked, do not take anything for granted.
This is a big book and seemingly impossible to read held in one hand while the other holds a glass of a favourite summer beverage.
• Dene Mackenzie is a Dunedin journalist.
