Nick Stone - Mr Clarinet

Malcolm Martlands review of Mr. Clarinet on the bookshow on 25th Sept 2008:
Nick Stone is a British thriller writer. His father is the famous and frequently controversial historian Norman Stone and his mother descends from one of Haiti's oldest families, the Aubrys. Her uncle was the first finance minister to Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haiti's infamous dictator, but he fell foul of the regime when he openly criticised its murderous ways, and was imprisoned and tortured in Fort Dimanche, Haiti's notorious prison. Published in January 2006, 'Mr Clarinet' became a critical and commercial success in the UK, reaching number 12 on the paperback bestseller lists.

Judging by other reviews this one looks like a "love it or hate it" book. Unfortunately I am firmly on the fence. It was all ok and reasonably enjoyable but didn't really get going at any point and suffered from a complete lack of originality and an ending that anyone who has read crime fiction will see coming. Let's hope the next one is a bit better.

This is a big, ambitious thriller which relies heavily on the author's obvious familiarity with Haiti. For the first half, it is well-paced and engrossing. The main character - Max Mingus - is about as believable as a chocolate firework, but no matter. Interest is maintained. He has the kind of back-story you just don't get out of serial killer novels - dead wife, execution of suspects. Max is offered millions to find a child who has been abducted - apparently by a ghostly French Drummer boy - on the island of Haiti. The strengths of the story are the pacing of the first half and the setting; the weaknesses are the sudden pulling together of the story at the end and the disappearance of the main female character in the last few chapters. The author spent some time building her up and suddenly she's gone. I thought the book had echoes of the John Connolly books and the plot owed a lot to Greg Iles work. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think the writer was better at atmosphere rather than plot.