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Crime syndicate

An anthology of stories pits the best-known characters of crime fiction against each other.

Crime syndicate

The sculptures were all on sadomasochistic themes: nude women being whipped, bound, beaten. Just what you need to add that extra spark to your living room

? Jeffery Deaver and John Sandford

IN AN unprecedented collaboration, 23 of the world?s best-selling and critically-acclaimed thriller writers have paired their series characters, including Harry Bosch, Jack Reacher and Lincoln Rhyme, in an 11-story anthology curated by the International Thriller Writers (ITW).

A clever concept distinguishes this anthology, as each of the 11 stories pairs well-known series characters created by different authors, sometimes in adversarial but more often in collegial ways, and almost always effectively. Antonymous heroes include John Lescroart?s Wyatt Hunt and T Jefferson Parker?s Joe Trona, who share an adventure in Silent Hunt. Others, far-from-obvious matches include Jeffery Deaver?s Lincoln Rhyme and John Sandford?s Lucas Davenport, who join forces in the longest entry, Rhymes with Prey. Steve Martini?s prosecutor Paul Madriani and Linda Fairstein?s defence attorney cross swords in Surfing the Panther, but end up exerting their weapons for the same cause. The strangest pairing is in Gaslighted, featuring RL Stine?s ventriloquist dummy, Slappy, and Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child?s FBI agent, Aloysius Pendergast. Similar celebrated duos include Lee Child?s Jack Reacher with Joseph Finder?s Nick Heller in Good and Valuable Consideration; MJ Rose?s Malachai Samuels and Lisa Gardner?s DD Warren in The Laughing Buddha; and Ian Rankin?s John Rebus with Peter James?s Roy Grace in In the Nick of Time. The idea is good and demands a sequel, perhaps one that reaches beyond the US, the UK and Canada for conferrers.

The book is edited by David Baldacci, who has written an introduction to each of the 11 short stories included in the volume. The idea was to pair each author?s iconic protagonist with that of another, cooperating in the plot to solve a crime or mystery. Some of the stories are engrossing, while others less so.

A face-off in hockey occurs when two opposing players face each other in a circle or at centre-ice and attempt to direct the puck to a teammate when the referee tosses it between them. In other circumstances, a face-off implies one or more forces facing each other, usually in opposition. So at the very least, this book (the third to be published on behalf of the ITW), comprising some of the best-known authors of the thriller-mystery genre and whose proceeds fund the organisation, is a misnomer.

Rhymes with Prey, the most intriguing entry of the lot, features Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs from Jeffery Deaver?s Lincoln Rhyme series and Lucas Davenport from John Sandford?s Prey series. The authors were able to provide just the right amount of background into each character to make them familiar to the reader, though having read quite a few Lincoln Rhymes books in the past, the characters needed no introduction. As with the other stories in the anthology, it is a fast-paced and imperious story. Lucas Davenport has been asked to come to New York to assist his friend, NYPD officer Lily Rothenburg, in an investigation of a series of murders. Lily fears that these drug-related murders of Latino women may be affiliated with one of the NYPD?s narcotics squad. Since she isn?t quite sure who she can trust in-house, she has requested Lucas to assist. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs have been dealing with the forensic evidence from these murders. This two-pronged approach to the investigation quickly reveals that there may be an artistic link to the murders, in addition to the possible police link. All four are pushed to race against the clock, as political pressure is applied to the department to quickly solve the case. Can they bring in a suspect, the right suspect, and close the case before the investigation becomes a witch hunt?

In facing off, they work together, sometimes even beyond the law or ethical boundaries. Rhymes with Prey makes an amazing read. It is practically impossible to tell where one writer left off and the other began.

Among the many problems in developing stories under this concept includes working out where the two lead characters will operate, since most were domiciled in separate locations, sometimes on opposite sides of the country. Needless to say, the writing and creativity are the result of the top writers in the field. It?s just too bad their hands were tied up by the premise. One would think with the best minds in the business, a better idea could have been developed.

If you love your series characters, or have wished that one could interact with another, then this one is for you without a doubt.

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First published on: 03-08-2014 at 01:09 IST
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