Fatal Flaw

THIS thriller wouldn't have had a more comprehensive cast of killers if it was set in the middle of Long Bay jail. 

BETWEEN the homicidal maniac who's out for revenge, the international terrorist who's plotting the murder of thousands, the P-plate hit man seeking to make a name for himself and the five school friends covering up a decades-old crime, this thriller wouldn't have had a more comprehensive cast of killers if it was set in the middle of Long Bay jail.

As it is, the fact there are still people alive by page 257 speaks either to an incredible amount of luck on the part of the victims or an equal amount of incompetence on the part of the criminals - ultimately it's hard to say which.

In any case, the action opens with a particularly gruesome scene involving a toddler, a knife and a forced suicide.

For a while proceedings are a struggle to follow, thanks to the sheer number of characters being introduced, axes being ground and murders being planned, but it's worth hanging in there because, once the smoke clears, a pretty compelling storyline opens up.

The plot surrounds security operative Mark Talbot, whose burgeoning relationship with an old school friend, Julie Evans, is threatened by: (a) her father's willingness to deliver her up to terrorists; (b) the frequency with which his life is threatened; and (c) the number of people around her who are being bumped off.

Ultimately their romance seems doomed, if only because his house is being burnt down right around the same time as she's being wooed by a psychopath and her teenage son is being kidnapped. In the face of all this carnage, it's hard to envisage a happy ending for all and it's fair to say that anyone hoping for one is likely to be disappointed.

Crime lovers, though, will be more than satisfied.

VERDICT: Watch your back.

Fatal Flaw, Sandy Curtis, Clan Destine Press, $24.95.