0
0
Miles Flint can’t seem to get it together these days. He works as a watchman for a security agency in London. You could also call him a spy. But his only job is to watch—nothing more—and report back to his superiors. Since he’s not looking for a promotion, it’s the perfect job. But he’s been making some stupid and serious mistakes lately—one of which got a foreign official killed in London when Miles participated in the operation instead of watching like he was supposed to do.
While dealing with personal problems involving his wife, a possible divorce, and an intriguing Irishwoman, Miles launches an investigation into the agency he works for. Bombs are exploding in the streets of London. Things aren’t adding up. Co-workers are acting suspicious and secretive. And Miles is caught in the middle of something he doesn’t understand, which just might get him killed. Then he’s sent to Belfast, and his worst-case scenario becomes reality.
Watchman was a little too slowly paced for me in the beginning, and I felt as if the author spent too much time focusing on Miles Flint’s personal life, rather than on the mystery surrounding him. In fact, I’d read about three quarters of the novel before the plot picked up and the story became more interesting. After that, though, I was glued to the pages, wondering how Miles was going to get out of the mess he ended up in.
All in all, Watchman is a good read if you have the patience to read until the action picks up. I’ve read earlier works by Ian Rankin, and I know he can write a good suspense thriller, but this one doesn’t quite measure up.
