Mike Wingate is a hard-working property developer who has done well for himself after being abandoned by his parents and growing up in a foster home. Then a couple of goons start making threats to him and his family. He can't work out what it is they want from him, and as the threats become more serious, and the police seem uninterested, he has to take matters into his own hands...

This story is a bit Harlan Coben - Mike is stuck in a nightmarish situation which has its origins in a past secret that he has no knowledge of, and he has to go "off the grid" and team up with friends who have links to the criminal fraternity in order to take the fight to the people who are out to get him.

For a fair amount of the story, Mike is running around with his 8(?) year-old daughter, which constrains what he can do and where he can stay. And this was pretty irritating because it felt like the main story was being put on hold in deference to the feelings of the little girl: he has to find somewhere safe to stay; has to find stuff for her to eat; has to find places for her to play. But it's quite a long book and so after he parked his daughter somewhere (relatively) safe, there was plenty of time for him to do his own thing.

The story was OK, and (apart from the annoying girl) quite listenable, but it was much too long (I think it was about 15 hours). You started getting a bit fed up when there's yet another episode where Mike is caught by the baddies and escapes. And you know he is going to escape certain death, because there's about 6 hours of story left.

So would have been better if it had been shorter. Actually I just checked to see if he's written anything else and it turns out this is his most recent novel and he's done about ten more, which is a surprise: I would have thought that this was a first novel (based on the impression that he hasn't learned yet that less is more).

Probably would read another by this author though.

Completed : 10-Aug-2012 (audiobook)