Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The Intruders, by Michael Marshall

(hb; 2007)

From the inside flap:

"For Jack Whalen, it all starts with a visit from a childhood friend, now a lawyer, who asks for his help on an odd case.  The family members of a scientist have been brutally murdered and the scientist - who may have had something to hide - is nowhere to be found.

"But Jack has more pressing matters on his mind.  His wife has told him that she's on a routine business trip to Seattle, yet she hasn't checked into her hotel.  Calls to her cell phone go unanswered, and when Jack travels to Seattle to investigate, she's vanished.

"And in Oregon a little girl goes missing.  She's found miles away, but it soon becomes clear that she's not an innocent victim, and is far from defenseless.

"Unusual events, all leading to the same place.  As a former patrol cop who left the force under difficult circumstances, Jack is determined to find some answers.  Yet the more he digs, the more the intrigue grows.  Searching into the dark secrets of a past that still haunts him, Jack discovers the truth has roots deeper and far more evil than he ever feared."


Review:

Intruders is a mostly solid, intimate conspiracy thriller - slick, (often) nuanced in its tone and insinuations, entertaining (in a mainstream way) and lots of plot-pertinent action in this one. 

What kept this novel from getting higher marks with me was that its action and plot points, for the most part, were predictable.  Also, its ending, while obvious, wasn't effectively foreshadowed (when compared to the nuanced tone of the rest of the book) - its last "twist" was clumsy at best, forced.  

Marshall is a talented genre writer, no doubt about that.  That said, check this one out from the library or pick it up for a few bucks (at most).



The resulting BBC America television series, Intruders, began airing on August 23, 2014. 

John Simm played Jack Whalen.  Mira Sorvino played Amy Whalen.  Tory Kittles played Gary Fischer.  Millie Bobby Brown played Madison O'Donnell.  Sonya Salomaa played Allison O'Donnell.  

James Frain played Richard Shepherd.  Robert Forster played Frank Shepherd.  Daryl Shuttleworth played Detective Ron Blanchard.   Tom Butler played Brud Zimmerman.  Karin Konoval played Bobbi Zimmerman. 

Andrew Airlie played Todd Crane.  Shanae Tomasevich played Paige Crane.  David Dalmalchian played Oz Turner.  Alex Diakun played Marcus Fox.

No comments: