Rubicon by Ian Patrick -Blog Tour Review.

About the Book

Two cops, both on different sides of the law – both with the same gangland boss in their sights. Sam Batford is a corrupt undercover officer with the Metropolitan Police who will stop at nothing to get his hands on fearsome crime-lord Vincenzo Guardino’s drug supply. DCI Klara Winter runs a team on the National Crime Agency, she’s also chasing down Guardino, but unlike Sam Batford she’s determined to bring the gangster to justice and get his drugs off the streets. Set in a time of austerity and police cuts where opportunities for corruption are rife, Rubicon is a tense, dark thriller that is definitely not for the faint hearted.

My Review

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. Rubicon is one of those novels that takes over your life. From the opening chapter I could see immediately that this would be a novel that I would struggle to put down. It was very fast paced with some very unlikable characters.
The characters who feature are either members of the police, from a variety of departments, none of whom really want to work together or criminals. There is at least one who is both. I had my suspicions about more. Sam Batford is one of them, and unlike the others he admits to being corrupt from the beginning.
You get to know him quite well. When I first read about his nightmares I felt very unsettled, mainly because I hadn’t realised what was happening. But that, and his other nightmares explain a lot about the way he is. They made me realise that even though he was a corrupt officer it wasn’t only for his gain. He noticed a lot more than I did.
I read a huge amount of crime fiction and thought I had seen it all. But this book contains murders that are among the most gruesome that I’ve read. I think that when this book makes it to the TV screen, it has been optioned by the BBC, I will be hiding behind a cushion.
A great debut, I just wonder what will be next.