Passable Plot, Poor Treatment

Among the masters of the thriller genre, Colin Forbes ranks much lower in the popularity charts compared to Forsyth, Le Carre, etc. But his style is quite appealing. Especially in his earlier works. His debut story Tramp in Armour, was a memorable tale of a British troop trapped in a tunnel just before the Second World War. When they dig their way out of the tunnel, the borders have changed and the troop has to wend its way home out of enemy territory. How they do it is one of the most gripping stories one has read. Though he could never match his debut effort, Forbes has been continuously turning out some racy reads.

 

After the first new novels which were very different, Forbes found a winning formula and since then has stuck to it with little deviation. All his later tales revolve around one powerful enemy force about to cause massive destruction. Around this there is usually a sub plot -- a murderer on the loose whose identity is a suspense till the end. Forbes team of detectives led by the non-descript looking Tweed, journalist-turned-best selling author, Bob Newman and Paul Grey, the attractive and courageous agent usually succeed in cracking both cases.

The Cauldron, his latest effort, follows the same formula but it is a very disappointing effort. Forbes, who according to the blurb, writes a book a year, appears to be running out of steam. The story flags, there are several loose ends, and absolutely no suspense. Unlike his other books where much of the action is in Europe, especially Austria, Germany and Switzerland, here Forbes ventures into new territory the US. Perhaps he should have played safe and stuck to familiar grounds, so forced is the tale. Also, the lack of a convincing enemy in the absence of the Russians is clearly telling.

Here is one man, Vincent Bernard Moloch, the creator of one of the worlds largest conglomerates, AMBECO who is causing the British and the American governments sleepless nights. The old familiar team of Tweed, Grey, Newman and Marler have been given the task of not only checking Moloch but also finding out the identity of The Accountant, an assassin who has been killing Molochs girlfriends one by one. Once he starts investigating the magnate, Tweed discovers to his horror that Molochs activities are much more explosive than any one could have imagined he is apparently trying to create an earthquake around San Francisco by causing an eruption in the ocean. Although his business headquarters is America, Moloch has always made his hatred for Americans very clear. Making Tweeds task all the more difficult is that Moloch has a mysterious spy planted who has succeeded in getting quite close to the English detectives. Who would it be?

Meanwhile, The Accountant has been busy. Linda Standish, a private investigator hired by Moloch, is the latest victim, garrotted to death in her tiny apartment. Tweeds assistant, Paula Grey, is the next target with The Accountant stalking her.

The plot is passable but the treatment is not. There are senseless killings and the end is a big letdown. One knows that in this genre, reviewers are not supposed to reveal the end, but since ones biggest complaint is the finale, one has to reveal it. The earthquake actually happens Tweed and his cronies are unable to prevent that. The San Moreno earthquake, caused by Molochs men, devastates Los Angeles with hundreds of lives lost. Now, that goes against the very grain of this genre. After all, arent the good guys supposed to save this earth, even if they have to do implausible stunts to achieve that. Of course, Moloch and his cronies do get their just end but the damage is done. The final action takes place in the English coast of Cornwall as Tweed and his team unmask Molochs mysterious spy.

Forbes previous book, which was also partly set in America, was much better. Hopefully, he will recover his form by the next one. Otherwise, he should take a years break before embarking on his next project.