Tonight we find out.
Undercover cop Chris Sketty became a hero when he almost died trying to stop the most brutal terror attack in UK history. With the suspects either dead or missing, the real motive remains a mystery.
But someone is convinced Sketty is a liar.
A criminal mastermind.
A murderer.
Blackmailed into revealing the truth, Sketty will share a twisting tale of betrayal, deception and murder...with a revelation so shocking that nothing will be the same again.
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I got off to a bad start with Simon Kernick having struggled with one of his early novels, which just didn’t gel with me. It has to be said though that Kernick is in good company - I abandoned the first Lee Child I started and have no idea, having re-read it and others, why… I did enjoy the author’s last novel, KILL A STRANGER and looked forward to GOOD COP, BAD COP. And I was not disappointed.
GOOD COP, BAD COP is a fast moving, high octane undercover cop thriller which hits the ground running and doesn’t let up until the end. The novel tells the story of Chris Sketty, a retired cop who, fifteen years ago, heroically saved the lives of innocents caught up in one of the worst terrorist attacks in the UK. We are introduced to Sketty as he tells his story to Dr Ralph Teller, a man who believes Sketty anything but a hero, and believes he has enough evidence to blackmail Chris into telling the truth. Sketty then narrates his tale, of how he was recruited to work undercover to expose a rogue police officer in London’s Gang Intelligence Unit, and of how things spiralled out of control leading to the terrorist attack on the Villa Amalfi restaurant.
Sketty’s world is a tough one, the men with whom he works, tough men. It is very masculine and the reader is unsure just how truthful Sketty is being; has he been seduced by the violence and criminality? The suspense is intense and Simon Kernick ramps it up even further by the use of short chapters with cliff-hanging, ‘little did I know’ endings. You are encouraged to keep reading to find out what happens. The pace is breathless; even the odd interruption from Teller simply accelerate things as they remind you that this could be a story told by a very good liar.
I am so glad I gave Simon Kernick another chance - it was definitely a case of ‘it’s me, not him’ and I now have a back catalogue to work through. For me GOOD COP, BAD COP is one of the thrillers of the year so far. Thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers, @Tr4cyF3nt0n, @headlineepg, @RandomTTours and, of course, the author @simonkernick for the invitation to the BlogTour.
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