Member Review

Thin Ice by Michael Davies, the third Bill Kemp adventure, sees the former insurance investigator thrust into the lethal world of Cold War espionage, with the possibility of another world war hinged on his survival against a vicious assassin.

Amidst his semi-retired leisure in Dartmouth, Bill receives an anonymous call that a woman whom he used to care for has been kidnapped, and her well-being lies in Bill's following some simple instructions. Without attempting to contact the police, Bill has to travel to Vienna and collect a package. But things don't go as planned, and Bill gets arrested for murder by the Viennese police before being captured by someone from the other side of the Iron Curtain, torturing him for information he doesn't have. Without any clue about what is happening and why, Bill employs all his resourcefulness to keep himself out of captivity while trying to make sense of the happenings. The truth turns out to be his worst nightmare in which he has become the target of a ruthless killer and has no choice but to charge through the winter snowscape of the Austrian and Swiss Alps to put the threat to his life away for good and save the world while he is at it.

Strong and resourceful but naïve and principled, Bill is a fine character, and I enjoyed his adventure in the Australian Outback the last time. Created by the underrated master of action thrillers Desmond Bagley, Bill Kemp's character has been shaped by Michael Davies agreeably. After the intriguing first chapter, the plot begins to drag despite all the action and tension, and the story is as incomprehensible to the reader as to the protagonist. When the secret gets cleared up, what follows is fairly straightforward. Though the action and the landscape are described in vivid detail, the story becomes farfetched, making the reader feel disconnected. Compared to Outback, Thin Ice’s core feels weak and simplistic as the long-drawn buildup of the first half fizzles out. The other characters, especially the females, are well-developed, though the same can’t be said about Bill’s handlers.

While Thin Ice has plenty of action and a solid hero, its farfetched plot and the predictable climax make it somewhat less satisfactory, especially compared to Outback.

I am thankful to HarperCollins UK for the Digital Review Copy of Thin Ice through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.