Matt McAvoy Book Review

While a generally pretty easy read, you are certainly going to want to immerse yourself in this book right from the outset, otherwise you risk playing catchup throughout, so involved is the story.  Yet somehow it is also a relatively simple plot.  In some ways the Russian Roma gypsy identity of the story’s narrator seems a little by the bye; whilst this element is explained in some depth, it seems little more than a cultural explanation of the lifestyle choices of the characters; for the most part this is a pretty standard crime caper about an art heist.  Lynn’s writing is articulate and easy to engage, with what I thought to be a formulaic noir-thriller style, led by a first-person narrative and a fair amount of sharply scripted dialogue.  Lynn indulges the events with a sparkly-eyed excitement, and if you become engrossed in the tale, I’m pretty certain you’ll enjoy going on this ride with her.

In some ways not really my cup of tea personally, and I admit that my attention wandered at times.  Additionally, when I wasn’t really following, I decided to rather than try to get myself back on track to simply keep going and attempt to catch up; it just felt to me like one of those books where, after a while, the story eventually just sort of evens out and catches itself up.

If you like mild threat American crime stories, seasoned with old country flavouring, then this might just be right up your street – though don’t expect profound cultural insight or a history lesson; for the most part, The Forty Knots Burn has one priority objective: that is to entertain.  I think it does that, professionally and eloquently, with gloss and style; Lynn is a good writer who knows her craft well.  Engage yourself with her writing very early on, and I think that getting drawn into her world of crime fiction will be a breeze – you can expect a good, fun read over a night or two.