''The Patriots' Club' by Christopher Reich

Interesting thriller, and with a novel climax that appears a bit too stretched out. Still, a good read if you're into this genre. One of the things I hate about most thrillers is that the build-up doesn't quite lead to an equally brilliant climax. Whether you pick up Clancy, Nelson Demille, or Grisham these days, nothing quite matches up to the kind of climax one sees in 'The Eye of the Needle' by Ken Follett - well, yes, not even Follett himself quite comes up to that level anymore.

Most potboilers don't just stop at belonging to one genre, and mix in everything they can to cater to a wider audience. And in this process, they leave the purety and elegance of refined fiction like Sherlock Holmes. I know these two are quite different genres altogether - still literary qualities alone make up for quite a lot here and this is what makes one wish we had better stuff coming out.

The Patriots' Club is a well-written thriller that 'almost' rises above other contemporary works and does so with a page-turning provocation that has been missing in quite a number of other bestsellers. Characterization is better, plot a little more outrageous, and pace never slackens, except just near the end when there are too many 'coincidences' to digest in one book. Overall, a good read on a winter night in your warm quilt.

Rate 4 Stars ****