Matt McAvoy Book Review

It’s always nice to read a book which has a slightly different character edge to it, and the more realistic the better, I think.  This is particularly satisfying when applied to a common, standard premise.  That pretty much describes Will Chisholm, the hero of B.C. Howard’s Sexy Erotic Lingerie.  It is an otherwise formulaic noir action thriller, perhaps with more focus on plot development than actual action; the character twist in this case being that the primary protagonist is addicted to porn, and not in a healthy way – a quirk which has put him in heaps of trouble, in more ways than one.  When he is framed for the serial murders of several strippers, he sets out like a one-man force, trying to clear his name and catch the killer.

It's a pretty entertaining book, and Howard is a good thriller writer.  Chisholm is also an intriguing character – a thinking tough guy, who trusts no one, but womanizes much more than is good for him.  I will say at this stage that personally I would have liked to see a little bit more action; it is a very slow-building plot, the narrative heavily investigative in nature, with a strong leaning toward character dialogue driving the plot.  It is also very long, and I think it feels it at times.  But the action, when it does come, is well choreographed, slick and smart; in my opinion there just isn’t enough of it.  Veteran and former cop Chisholm is your archetypal, all-round tough guy, who brought to mind a lot Jack Reacher (Lee Child’s version, not Tom Cruise’s).  He calculates his fights and goes into every situation with his hackles up.  If you like slow-burning, talky thrillers, scattered with the odd decent action sequence, this will definitely be up your street and is well worth a read.

However, for me the worst was to come.  I hate to spoil a book, and I won’t do it now, but be warned: the questions in this book aren’t answered; infuriatingly, it takes over 100,000 words to realize this.  If you can accept that, and are willing to commit to a series, or just aren’t bothered about resolving a progressive story arc, in favour of tough-talking, porn-watching, action-spattered, noir suspense, then this will definitely be up your street, and I would recommend it to you.  If you don’t know whether or not you want to commit, and expect answers to be wrapped up in a nice single-instalment narrative, you will be frustrated by the end.  My personal recommendation, if this book ticks your boxes, is go for it, because it’s a good entry into what promises to be a quality series.