MIKE KNOWLES - IN PLAIN SIGHT (2010)

Synopsis/blurb.....

Wilson thought he had acquired freedom from being a gritty, gruesome criminal when a car accident puts him back in the cross hairs. This time, dirty cops use him as bait, telling him the only way to stay out of cuffs is to put someone worse in them. Knowing that justice isn't blind in the city, Wilson picks a fight with the Russian mob to lure both the corrupt cops and brutal robbers into a trap, scavenging once again for his freedom. Full of gory conflict, this latest in the Wilson Mystery series offers nonstop action and savage violence.

The third and last for now, Mike Knowles-Wilson novel, In Plain Sight was another enjoyable holiday read - coming quickly after Darwin's Nightmare and Grinder.

Not one for the faint-hearted - it's harsh, bloody and brutal. Our man Wilson wakes up in hospital chained to the bed. An uneasy pact with a Maori cop is the key to his freedom.

I kind of know what to expect from these books now, not that I would class them as formulaic. Wilson is a loner, an outsider, bereft of family and with only one person he can count on as a friend, though by extension he get his friend's wife thrown in for free - a second reluctant one. It isn't the kind of normal friendship that involves meals out or concerts and cinema trips. More the last port of call when the chips are down and you need a favour. I find that quite sad really and it's not an existence I would ever envy. He isn't motivated by greed or a sense of justice. He doesn't dream of a quiet life in suburbia with a wife and 2.4 children. Survival and a life lived on his own terms appears to be motivation enough.

In the course of the book, Wilson sets up an old enemy, one we are familiar with from a previous encounter, all the while planning and plotting how to get out from under the hold of a loose cannon cop.

A month on - details, events, names from the book are all a bit fuzzy. Wilson does his thing and does it well. Blood is spilled, plans come to fruition, curve-balls are negotiated, enemies are put in their place and we live to fight another day.

Pace, plot, setting, character, outcome - all plusses.

No real downside as such, maybe a bit of jadedness at so much time spent in the company of the same guy in such a short space of time. I'll be curious to see what happens in the next outing - Never Play Another Man's Game - but I'll save that for a few month's time.

4 from 5

Read - September, 2019
Published - 2012
Page count - 203
Source - owned copy
Format - omnibus paperback edition