Double Trouble or Double the Fun? (The Double Eagle - James Twining)

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	The Double Eagle - James Twining
Date:	04/06/09 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting, well paced thriller

Disadvantages: Very predictable plot and characters

I have to admit, I didn't exactly approach Double Eagle with an open mind. When I read the plot summary (international art thief forms an uneasy alliance with a disgraced FBI Agent in pursuit of a rare, valuable coin), I groaned. My initial reaction was that the last thing needed in an already overcrowded thriller market was another predictable "quest".

So, it's all credit to Double Eagle that it managed to overcome my initial prejudices. Whilst the charge of predictability remains valid, it emerges as a highly readable, entertaining book.

In one sense, it really is a case of plot by numbers, with all the stuff you would expect from this type of novel: international locations, double-crosses, red herrings, dangerous situations and clichéd characters. Yet, the book rises above these limitations being fun and providing a hugely enjoyable adventure.

Like the plot, the main characters are also pretty uninspired and hackneyed. They could have been taken from pretty much any book in this genre. There is Jennifer Brown, the female FBI agent with "A Past" and Tom Kirk, an international art thief lured into that famous "One Last Job". On one level, this is annoying: lazy, stereotypical characters with obvious character arcs. You just know that initial mistrust will give way to mutual respect.

The rest of the characters are predictable too: bad guys who maybe aren't as bad as they seem; good guys who maybe aren't as good as they seem; jovial surrogate father figures. As if working to some sort of genre check-list, Double Eagle has them all. Yet this actually works in its favour. There is just enough meat on them to make them interesting, without slowing down the pace of the main story. Certainly, both characters have "Issues", but these are never so important as to get in the way of the pacing. The characters are simple enough to allow you to get on with reading and enjoying what is essentially a disposable thriller, without having to remember a complex web of relationships.

The plot is similarly comfortable. The quest for the coin is little more than a glorified treasure hunt, with clues leading to a variety of international locations. There's an obvious bad guy served up, but pretty much right from the start you'll work out who is really behind it all, so the "shocking" conclusion is unlikely to hold many surprises.

Normally, such predictability would annoy, but again, it works in the book's favour. You don't need to overly concentrate on the plot, which makes Double Eagle a nice, easy read. The tale is told at a fairly breathless pace, with events whizzing along so fast that you get caught up in them. You don't mind about the predictable plot or characters. Reading it becomes a pleasure, almost an addiction. You sit down thinking you'll read a couple of chapters, yet each time you reach the end of a chapter, you're tempted to "just read one more". As mindless escapism goes, The Double Eagle is about as good as it gets.

For a debut novelist, James Twining shows a shrewd grasp of thriller writing and has a very readable style. I've already confessed I approached this book with a cynical mind, yet the opening chapters soon destroyed that. Twining's style perfectly complements the disposable tale. He gives enough details and descriptions to make his people and places seem real enough, without bogging them down in so much detail that the prose becomes turgid.

To cater for those who perhaps find this lack of detail frustrating, Twining also puts plenty of background information on his website (the valuable coin at the centre of the plot is a genuine, historical item). This traces the history of the coin and provides the all the background information that Twining uncovered whilst researching this book. This is a nice compromise. This might be a disposable thriller, but Twining has clearly done a lot of research. He could have tried to cram this information into the book to show how clever he had been, which would have had a serious impact on the pace. Instead, he leaves the choice up to the reader: if you want to find out more, you can. If you're happy just reading the book, fine.

Twining writes in fairly short chapters which make you far more tempted to keep reading. If you know the next chapter is only 5-10 pages long, you're more likely to treat yourself to a bit more... and a bit more... and a bit more. You find yourself wanting to get to the end as soon as possible... and experience a slight twinge of disappointment when you do, because that means there is no more. That's always a sign that you're enjoying a book.

There are few criticisms I can lay against this book, other than the fact that it really does add nothing new to the genre. There's nothing to make you pick out this title over the many other similar ones available and competing for your cash in a competitive market is its real challenge. Once Double Eagle has your attention, it knows how to keep it, creating a hugely enjoyable, entertaining thriller.

It's not a book I would necessarily want to pay full price for it, but you see plenty of second hand copies lying around in charity shops, so if you can pick it up cheap, it's well worth a read.

Basic Information
------------------------
The Double Eagle
James Twining
HarperCollins, 2005
ISBN: 978 0-00-719015-8

© Copyright SWSt 2009

Summary: If you can pick it up cheap, it's well worth a read