In Plain Sight
There's nothing prissy, genteel, or insincere in Mike Knowles' work prose so spare it flirts with cruelty, that cuts scalpel-clean and just as precise, and crackles with the kind of talent and energy that not only makes it difficult to put down, but that sends you frantically looking for his next book. Hard-boiled, hard-edged, hard-core, but never once crossing into parody or pastiche. There is power here, and Knowles knows how to use it.
— Greg Rucka, author of the Atticus Kodiak crime fiction series
Think Canadian crime fiction is soft? Mike Knowles proves otherwise, in this tense, terse, bloody-knuckled thriller. Knowles doesnt do nice and his antihero, Wilson, makes Mike Hammer look like a well-adjusted pacifist. In Plain Sight is a kick in the nuts with steel-toed boots.
— Sean Chercover, author of Trigger City and Big City, Bad Blood
“You set me loose. Everything that happened was because you saw fit to use me as bait. And what was I on the hook for? You just wanted a bust you could attach your name to so you could get ahead. Dont try to pretend that youre Dudley Do-Right. Youre just an opportunist with a badge.”
They should have known better than to look for him. Wilson had been gone for two years until his old boss forced him to come home to be a grinder again. Wilson did the job he was blackmailed into doing and settled things, his way, with everyone. He was free — for two minutes.
A random car accident destroys everything and puts Wilson into the crosshairs again, but this time the gun is in the hands of a cop. Justice isnt blind in the city; its as bent as the tip of a bullet. Dirty cops are using Wilson as bait and the only way for him to stay out of cuffs is to help put someone worse in them. Wilson picks a fight with the Russian mob and lures both cops and robbers into his own trap. Everyone is crooked in the city, but not everyone is a survivor.
In Plain Sight is the third book featuring reluctant mob-enforcer Wilson, following Darwins Nightmare (2008) and Grinder (2009).
“Readers who like their mean streets really mean will be thoroughly satisfied.&rdquo
— Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Grinder
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I have to admit, I'm having a difficult time finding something positive to say about this book, and not because it's not the type of book I normally read. I'm not against this kind of thing at all and I do watch movies and have read a few other crime novels.
Keeping in mind this is a galley copy I'm reviewing, I find myself still hard-pressed to like anything about the writing. The entire thing would have to be rewritten to reflect good writing, in my opinion, never mind typos and such, which are a given in an uncorrected proof. It's the style that suffers, that lacks skill. I also found myself rather confused as to what was going on at times or who was what. The story itself seems to drag on as the character gives a relentless play-by-play, and much of it seems cliché, as though Knowles has watched too many mafia movies. As short as this book was, I found myself struggling through almost every paragraph, wanting to put it down to pick up something more skilfully written, more gripping.
Admittedly, there is something compelling about the book, which is how I managed to finish it. I think it might be atmosphere. I'm perhaps drawn further into the story than someone else might be because I lived in Hamilton for a few years and am familiar with many of the places Knowles mentions, which is always cool.
Unfortunately, because I struggled through this so much, I can't recommend it. I'm very curious, however, to see what the final version looks like and if perhaps I would thus change my mind enough to say that fans of this kind of story might like In Plain Sight as a quick perhaps entertaining read while on the subway or train.
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Mike Knowles’ In Plain Sight is a quick and easy read. The story is tremendously fast-paced and addictive, and makes you want to keep turning pages until 3:00am. The narrator is a very flawed character, but it is his flaws that make you start to love him, and even scarier, start to think like him.
My only complaint is with Knowles’ writing style. Something about it seems very rough and unpolished, and not in the good way either. Many times throughout the book I found it difficult to understand what was going on due to awkward sentence structure and phrasing. Nevertheless, I still finished the book in two days.
If you can get passed the few awkward writing moments, this is a good read.