If you build a better mousetrap, you will catch better mice (The Better Mousetrap - Tom Holt)

Member Name: dididave

Product:	The Better Mousetrap - Tom Holt
Date:	27/03/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast paced, interesting characters and a great plot.

Disadvantages: Poor ending as it always is with Holt.

Emily Spitzer falls out of a tree that mysteriously disappears and breaks her neck, falls of a roof and then she gets her head bitten off by a giant spider. However, death is somehow only temporary for her thanks to Frank Carpenter and his "Portable Door". Showing up to save her minutes before these events reoccur he is able to trump the supposedly infalibe "Better Mousetrap". Emily is rapidly getting sick of dying which leaves her with the question. Who is setting the trap?

"The Better Mousetrap" is the latest in a long line of Holt novels that explore the magical realms of an office environment. What would happen if the ultimate in bank security was a dragon sitting in the vault? Holt is perhaps one of few authors who attempts to answer this. His strange mix of office comedy mixed with fantasy has worked remarkable well and is now a well-established realm in its own right. It is very easy to believe that the cutthroat world of office politics is run by trolls, goblins and master magicians and this novel succeeds early on in making me believe in Holt's world.

Despite a certain amount of knowing references to previous novels being hastily explained in a few pages, "The Better Mousetrap" is a very good standalone effort. Previous novels have been very much hit and miss and this is largely down to Holt's obession with Arthur Dentian type heroes. Fortunately, "The Better Mousetrap" gives us a set of more complicated devious characters and even our hero and heroine Frank and Emily are somewhat self-serving. This makes this a far more interesting story than the useless hapless hero tale Holt tends to lumber me with.

Holt borrows heavily in all his work from other great writers such as Terry Prachett and Douglas Adams but he perhaps surpasses both of these in terms of writing exciting and pacy stories. Holt's writing is often simplistic and despite being a book for adults often reads like it is aimed at teens. However, this does allow his books to fly by. "The Better Mousetrap" is a perfect example of this and is a great bit of escapist reading. Death, magic, office politics and subterfuge all weave there way seamlessly into a compelling tale. This does mean there is not a lot of time for scene setting but when the action is this exciting it is not really required.

As nice as it is to see Holt sticking to his magical Machiavellian world he has also stuck to his bloody awful conclusions. As good as a writer as he can be I have never known anyone to so consistently fail to bring things to a satisfying conclusion. "The Better Mousetrap" is unfortunately, no exception. This is a shame as this is one of Holt's better efforts but his inability to tie up loose ends is what perhaps makes him a good rather than great author.

Nonetheless, "The Better Mousetrap" is definitely worth a read. It is fast paced and fun and will inevitably entertain you with tales of daring do.

Summary: One of Holt's best.