Book Review - The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris

I finally got round to reading this after seeing some links and publicity for the book in the summer. The short write up intrigued me and the plot line was quite catchy, so I thought it worth a try.

Detective Nick Belsey is a habitual gambler, drunkard and occasional drug user. He’s flat broke, lost his house and nowhere to stay as he’s been chucked out of his crappy B&B. He doesn’t endear himself to his superiors after taking the Borough Commander’s drunken wife home, dressing up in the Commander’s masonic regalia, stealing some cash and urinating in his bath. Belsey’s colleague tells him flat “you’re out of control”.

Belsey realises that there’s only one thing for him to do – disappear and a missing person’s report for wealthy Alex Devereux provides just the opportunity. Belsey’s soon trying to work out how to stay one step ahead of professional standards and at the same time get hold of Devereux’s money so he can vanish. Of course the plan is never as simple as it first seems.

I found the writing style took a little getting used to at first, but the character and plot kept me hooked. I had a couple of very late nights where I was promising myself I’d turn the light off at the end of the next chapter and failing spectacularly. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot, with some neat surprises along the way, one in particular, when he finally gets access to Devereux’s account and finds the balance made me laugh out loud, even though it was nearly 1am. Belsey himself is really engaging and you soon realise he’s a very talented detective, despite his myriad of personal faults. He’s a real Houdini and all along you keep asking – can he get out of this one then?

For a first book it’s a cracker and I hope we see more from Oliver Harris.

Romancrimeblogger