The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry Arrow Books HK$91
Steve Berry is one of the best thriller writers to have emerged in the wake of Dan Brown. His stories have plenty of action, a modicum of romance, a trillion puzzles and a detailed historical subplot that lends the plot a certain weight (or silliness depending on your point of view). Here, our regular hero - Cotton Malone - is in a spot of bother. Or rather, his best friend Henrik Thorvaldsen is in a spot, and the bother spreads towards Malone in the shape of the mysterious Sam Collins. The reason? Well, in Berry-land this is pretty complex stuff, but here goes. Collins has been sent by Thorvaldsen to ask Malone for help. A nasty man (Lord Graham Ashby) with affiliations to a nasty group (the Paris Club) want Thorvaldsen, Collins and Malone dead. Indeed, they have probably already killed Thorvaldsen's son in a gunfight in Mexico City. Apparently, the Paris Club wants to ruin the world's economy. Before you ask, aren't they a little late?, Malone is whisked into a plot dating back to Napoleon and the vast horde of treasure he amassed. Berry mixes thrills and historical frills in entertaining fashion. If you want a meaty plot with no little brains, he is your man.