Simon Kernick - Last Ten Seconds

review by Brian Lowen live on bookshow 1st Nov 2012 It is not quite clear which are the last 10 seconds but I suppose it must be when Alpha, the mysterious fixer for the renowned gangster, Paul Wise, is finally cornered, beaten up and taken into custody. There are two heroes in this story – Tina Boyd, a Detective Inspector on the Serious Crime Squad, and Sean Egan, working separately, as an undercover cop who infiltrates a local group of gangsters, one of whom he believes murdered his brother in cold blood. Tina is searching for a serial killer who has so far attacked and murdered five girls in their own homes. He has become known as the Night Creeper as he always works at night and manages to get into their properties without making a forced entry. The inquiry leads Tina to suspect a self- employed alarm installer who they discover has recently installed a new alarm system in each of the properties where the murders have been committed. They track him down and capture him only for him to be sprung from the clutches of the law by the gangsters, including Sean Egan who is now a trusted member. Now things get really complicated, but you can still follow the story until it reaches its dramatic finale in Tina’s own flat. Another rollicking, fast-paced yarn from Simon Kernick that compares well with other books by S K : The Business of Dying The Crime Trade Severed and what I still think is his best book – Relentless I can recommend them all.