Panic at the Bookstore (Panic - Jeff Abbott)

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	Panic - Jeff Abbott
Date:	21/08/08 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Poorly written, flawed, wet characters

Chase me, chase me. Sounds exciting doesn't it? Perhaps you are conjuring up images of a lovely lady running through a field of fresh flowers (I know I am), or perhaps a handsome man? Other people may be reminded of dubious 70s comedies that had camp man asking to be chased - even in this case it's somewhat exciting. Unfortunately, imagining a chase or seeing one on film or TV is very different from reading about one. I have read several books that are essentially chase novels that see one person on the run being followed closely. It worked in 'The Fugitive', but on paper it can fail easily. To make a chase thriller exciting you need a talented author who can describe the moments of energy and inertia that drive the story forwards. In the hands of a lesser writer you end up with a silly mess and as a reader you question why the hero did not go to the police at some point. What is Jeff Abbott? Put it this way the book gets one star.

Evan Casher wakes up one morning to a phone call from his mother urging him to get to her house as soon as possible. Despite his haste it appears that Evan was too late because his mother has been brutally murdered and if the two men stringing him up have anything to do with it he will be next. Evan manages to survive this first attack, but it is only the beginning of his life going out of control as he is chased by unknown forces. Why are these people after him and who were his parents really? Evan must discover these facts before he is erased.

From its incredibly poor title to its end 'Panic' was one of the most shambolic books I have read in a long time. For the life of me I do not understand why authors such as Abbott and Dean Koontz think that poorly written chase fiction is what people want to read. From the get go you are aware how stupid the concept is with a man trusting a complete stranger rather than going straight to the police. Taking an everyman and putting him in dangerous situations should work, but Abbott makes Evan a miracle worker as he escapes from overblown set piece to overblown set piece. In reality the wet lettuce that is Evan would have fallen in the very first gun fight. Evan is not a likable man as he fumbles through the book irritating you at every turn.

With a stupid concept the book is not helped by the poor writing. Abbott is an author who writes in short sentences and keeps it fast. This means that you feel like you are constantly being rushed and perhaps a little patronised. I know that thrillers are typically light airport fiction, but this was so wafer thin it could have floated away. Abbott seemed to be over excited in his descriptions and it gave the book a boys own adventure feel that was more apt for 12 year olds rather than an adult market. For all its speed there is actually no real destination and you feel cheated when the book concludes.

With a poor plot, bad writing and wet characters things are even worse when the entire book is based on a flawed concept. The following is perhaps a small spoiler, but if this puts you off reading this book, please continue. Evan is being chased by a covert group of freelance spies who work without the likes of MI6 and the CIA knowing. If this was true then this must be a brilliantly skilful and powerful group as being undetected by these people is near impossible. If this is the case why does Abbott have them led by an idiot and have a psychotic henchman? Call me old fashioned but there are better ways to stay incognito than killing a police officer and a witness at the same time. Abbott throws any sense of reason out at this early point in the book and you know then that you are reading rubbish.

'Panic' is the very worst kind of mindless fiction. It feels like a piece of work that Abbott has churned out in 2 weeks to try and meet some lowest common denominator points. There is nothing original or fun about this book. Most readers will find some of the writing embarrassing and the storyline a joke. I suggest that thriller fans avoid this. If you are looking for something similar, but a lot better, the Lee Child 'Jack Reacher' novels are action packed and very exciting - the opposite of 'Panic'.

Sammy Stinker

Author: Jeff Abbott
Year: 2005
Price: amazon uk - £0.01 - only second hand and not worth that!

Summary: A mess of a thriller