Crusher by Niall Leonard - review Jul 21st 2013, 14:00
'Trust no one, Leonard implies. Because, at the end of the day, we are only human—slaves of our passions and inner desires'
Upon receiving this book, I have to admit that I didn't think much of it. Having heard that this book was written in a month by E L James' husband as a challenge, I thought it would be a shallow, typical thriller. To my surprise, I later discovered that nothing could be further from the truth.
The main plot begins as a dyslexic 17-year-old boy named Finn discovers his divorced stepfather, a not-so-successful screenwriter, who likes to pretend he has a job, brutally bludgeoned to death. As a result, his lousy life takes an unexpected, 180-degree turn, as he embarks on a quest to find his father's murderer.
Alright, let's pause here for a second. It sounds corny, doesn't it? Reading it through to the end will prove to you that it is not nearly as stereotypical as it sounds. The novel actually revolves around two plots, since, in trying to solve his father's murder, Finn gets caught up in a child trafficking ring, which he also helps bust. The murderer of his father is not revealed until the very end of the story, and the revelation is nothing short of unexpected.
The cover, title and description can be somewhat misleading. The action scenes were but a few, though I wouldn't go so far as to brand it merely as a mystery novel, for they are pretty intense and gory and last plenty of pages when they occur. The descriptions are something more than adequate, however the complexity of them may be the cause of confusion and boredom. This is the only occasion you may find yourself yawning while reading this book.
The plot also includes a romantic relationship, which is thankfully far from soppy, and is quite realistic, with just the right amount of sexual innuendo. And while the murder is ultimately solved, the story itself, contrary to what one would have expected, does not have a happy ending, rather more of a fresh start for our hero.
Related and intertwined with the plot is a wealth of secondary characters, each and every one of which having their own distinctive personalities, hidden agendas and potentially deadly secrets, plagued and tormented by their inner demons.
With regard to the writer himself, Niall Leonard, I have to say that he is actually incredibly talented, something that is conspicuous even from the first few pages of the book, as he deftly taps into the mindset of a 17-year-old. He inserts witty remarks with every chance he gets, in a successful attempt to make the book harder to put down.
And down to the final point, the message that Leonard covertly seeks to convey is one of a cynical nature. "Trust no one", he implies, by exposing everyone's deepest secrets and agendas. Because, at the end of the day, we are only human—slaves of our passions and inner desires. It is our ability to control them instead of letting them control us that defines us as good or evil people.
The book is, all in all, a decent, fast-paced and hard-to-put-down book, that can be easily read in a single session.
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