Unsolicited Reviews

The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson

The first of Wilson’s very popular “Repairman Jack” series. Jack is a repairman who fixes things for people—but not gadgets, appliances or cars. He fixes situations, making things right. Been ripped off, robbed, harassed? Owed money? Think you’re being followed? Jack can help. He works outside the law, outside the system, relying on his own considerable resources and ingenuity to find a workable solution, even if it means getting rough.

In The Tomb Jack helps out the mysterious Indian Kusum and his wildly exotic sister Kolobati, returning an item they thought gone forever. But Jack then becomes involved in an increasingly dark and awful connection with the Indian, one that threatens someone very close. Repairman Jack must “fix” a seemingly impossible and horrific situation…

This is the best F. Paul book I’ve yet read. Far superior to Midnight Mass and better than the excellent The Keep, The Tomb introduces a set of well-sketched, likeable and very human characters. Jack lives a very out-there lifestyle but you somehow feel it’s real or at least could be. His girlfriend Gia and her daughter Vicky are very real, warm people with whom we form an immediate rapport. The plot moves at a cracking pace and is never less than interesting. In fact it’s better than that, it’s one of the few books I stayed up to finish. Literally couldn’t put it down.

It’s nothing hugely revolutionary but it is very well done. It’s a cross between a detective novel and a horror story. This I like; though set in the real world, the strong horror theme gives it an air of fantasy, like the fabulous novels of John Connolly. A great read.

Also, kudos to my local library system for buying the book because they didn’t have it in.

Permalink |