Kate is the head of the SIU, a secret black-ops organization that gathers intelligence across the globe. Her cover story is that she fronts the human resources department of the international catering conglomerate Global Cuisine founded by her cousin Lord Charles St George. Representing a global company allows Kate the opportunity to travel freely and meet her network of spies and informants without raising suspicion. Sometimes though, Kate travels to assist in important events for Global Cuisine. As the novel opens, she finds herself in the province of Chiang Rai, Thailand overseeing the catering at a corporate retreat. After attending a speech at a temple, Kate and her associates are enjoying a meal when Peter, the son of a former spy colleague, begins convulsing along with other nearby diners. Within moments Peter is dead. After an autopsy has revealed the Peter had been poisoned by contaminated bamboo shoots, the SIU use their contacts to disguise the fact that Kate, or any westerners at all, were at the temple. Back in London, Kate is coming to terms with what happened when another deadly poisoning occurs and this time it’s even closer to home. Kate’s job is to find out how the cases are linked and stop the killer before he strikes again.
KILLER IN THE PHOTO, the debut novel by husband and wife writing team Annette Mark, is a convincing and engaging mainstream thriller. The lead character is well developed and if her cover story initially seems a little unlikely, the writers manage to override any misgivings a reader may have by establishing a convincing world of subterfuge and counter intelligence. The writers are particularly good at evoking a sense of place in both the descriptions of the busy streets of London and of the more exotic locales. Though the opening passage, which details the killer’s actions at the temple, has the effect of rather dulling the mystery as to how the initial poisoning may have occurred, the authors propel the reader through 59 short chapters to a satisfying conclusion. If, on occasion, there is a tendency to explain the back story of Kate’s unit in some rather long-winded passages that could have benefited from a tighter edit, as a debut novel KILLER IN THE PHOTO shows a lot of promise.
Smartly paced, easy to follow and peopled with well-drawn characters, KILLER IN THE PHOTO is an engaging and entertaining global thriller told in short punchy chapters.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader