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Thames Valley Mystery #22
Off Track
Research biologist, Piers Egerton, has been working on a top-secret project for a number of years and has finally realized it is something he wants no part of. But the people he works for think he knows too much and he realizes his life is in danger. Lee Barber is a perfectly competent train driver, whose career is seemingly ruined through one simple error. Frustrated and desperate, the two strangers are thrown into each other's paths at a pivotal moment. Bound by the strange occurrence which has brought them together, Egerton and Barber must forge a tentative friendship if either of them is to get through this ordeal alive.As Thames Valley Serious Crimes Squad, headed by Mike Yeadings, investigates the disappearance of one of the men, grim secrets of national importance emerge. Involvement spreads beyond the men's families to a mysterious immigrant couple with a tragic past. And suspicion falls on DS Zyczynski's journalist lover as he is drawn in to counter the threat to a young child's life.
- GenresMystery
331 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2008
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 12, 2015
Apparently, Clare Curzon has been writing for many years and has published more than 40 books, but "Off Track" was the first time I had come across her work. Unfortunately, the experience hasn't really encouraged me to read any of her other books.
Lee Barber is a train driver who has plans until one night he overshoots a station and is reported by a passenger. A few nights later, Lee comes across the man he believes reported him and, his mind muddled by drink, attacks him. It soon transpires, however, that the man he has attacked was instead a disgruntled biological scientist, who is on his way to meet a newspaper reporter to tell the world what he's really been working on.
This reporter is the partner of a Thames Valley police detective, who is called in to investigate the report of the missing man. They are also involved when the daughter of the Barber family is snatched, possibly by people looking to get their hands on his research, one of whom has ended up dead after breaking into the Barber home. Suspicion falls on this stranger in their house, as for their own reasons, neither wants to tell the truth about how they met.
The plot is very much like the game "Six Degrees of Separation", in that everything and everyone is linked to everything else in some way. It makes things rather confusing and just a little too coincidental for my taste. I accept that some suspension of disbelief is required whenever you're reading fiction, but this seems to require a little too much of it. It's made worse by being set in real towns and there are references to actual events to help act as a comparison and set a time frame.
Many of the individual plot points share this lack of realism as well. Lee's actions in this first instance and his reaction afterwards don't seem like human nature. His wife's suspicion is more realistic, but her acceptance of things as events concerning her children distract her spoils this effect. The nosey neighbour is a nice touch, as are the family members on different sides of a legal argument, but these aren't enough to offset events which seem just one step short of being ridiculous, especially all thrown in together.
You would think that with so much going on that this would be a swift moving thriller, but it doesn't work out that way. Admittedly, it is an easy read and the pages pass very quickly, although some of this may be down to the quite large print as much as the pace of events. For all that was going on, it was never an addictive read and I never managed to lose myself in events.
Part of this may have been because I never settled with the lack of reality, but with so much going on in such a short space of time, it didn't leave a lot of room for character building. There was little that made any of the more innocent characters seem better than anyone else and the less savoury character flaws that made the bad characters the worst of them were largely glossed over which didn't make them seem quite so bad. There was also a distinct lack of emotion for the most part, so it was tough to sympathise with characters who didn't seem to feel the impact of what was going on.
For all the connection between characters, the plot didn't seem quite so closely connected; seeming to appear as a random set of events that were all forced to link together somehow. The abduction of the Barber's daughter didn't initially seem to have any point to it until a little later on and introduced new characters who also didn't seem linked into the plot and even the nosy neighbour, for all his involvement early on, just seemed in the end to be a way to advance the later investigation and vanished soon afterwards. Even the ending kept up this feeling, as it seemed to get to a point and then stop, as if Curzon had lost interest and was tying things up in a rush.
Admittedly, my opinion here may have been coloured by having read the latest Mark Billingham directly before I read "Off Track". Billingham writes so realistically that I could have been expecting a little too much from Clare Curzon. This isn't a bad book as it's readable enough without ever being compelling and it's simply written which makes it an untaxing read if you can look past the lack of reality. If like me, however, you prefer and are used to something a little more gripping, it does suffer greatly by comparison.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
Lee Barber is a train driver who has plans until one night he overshoots a station and is reported by a passenger. A few nights later, Lee comes across the man he believes reported him and, his mind muddled by drink, attacks him. It soon transpires, however, that the man he has attacked was instead a disgruntled biological scientist, who is on his way to meet a newspaper reporter to tell the world what he's really been working on.
This reporter is the partner of a Thames Valley police detective, who is called in to investigate the report of the missing man. They are also involved when the daughter of the Barber family is snatched, possibly by people looking to get their hands on his research, one of whom has ended up dead after breaking into the Barber home. Suspicion falls on this stranger in their house, as for their own reasons, neither wants to tell the truth about how they met.
The plot is very much like the game "Six Degrees of Separation", in that everything and everyone is linked to everything else in some way. It makes things rather confusing and just a little too coincidental for my taste. I accept that some suspension of disbelief is required whenever you're reading fiction, but this seems to require a little too much of it. It's made worse by being set in real towns and there are references to actual events to help act as a comparison and set a time frame.
Many of the individual plot points share this lack of realism as well. Lee's actions in this first instance and his reaction afterwards don't seem like human nature. His wife's suspicion is more realistic, but her acceptance of things as events concerning her children distract her spoils this effect. The nosey neighbour is a nice touch, as are the family members on different sides of a legal argument, but these aren't enough to offset events which seem just one step short of being ridiculous, especially all thrown in together.
You would think that with so much going on that this would be a swift moving thriller, but it doesn't work out that way. Admittedly, it is an easy read and the pages pass very quickly, although some of this may be down to the quite large print as much as the pace of events. For all that was going on, it was never an addictive read and I never managed to lose myself in events.
Part of this may have been because I never settled with the lack of reality, but with so much going on in such a short space of time, it didn't leave a lot of room for character building. There was little that made any of the more innocent characters seem better than anyone else and the less savoury character flaws that made the bad characters the worst of them were largely glossed over which didn't make them seem quite so bad. There was also a distinct lack of emotion for the most part, so it was tough to sympathise with characters who didn't seem to feel the impact of what was going on.
For all the connection between characters, the plot didn't seem quite so closely connected; seeming to appear as a random set of events that were all forced to link together somehow. The abduction of the Barber's daughter didn't initially seem to have any point to it until a little later on and introduced new characters who also didn't seem linked into the plot and even the nosy neighbour, for all his involvement early on, just seemed in the end to be a way to advance the later investigation and vanished soon afterwards. Even the ending kept up this feeling, as it seemed to get to a point and then stop, as if Curzon had lost interest and was tying things up in a rush.
Admittedly, my opinion here may have been coloured by having read the latest Mark Billingham directly before I read "Off Track". Billingham writes so realistically that I could have been expecting a little too much from Clare Curzon. This isn't a bad book as it's readable enough without ever being compelling and it's simply written which makes it an untaxing read if you can look past the lack of reality. If like me, however, you prefer and are used to something a little more gripping, it does suffer greatly by comparison.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
April 17, 2009
Clare Curzon began writing in the 1960s and has published over forty novels under a variety of pseudonyms, with twenty or so of these in the Superintendent Mike Yeadings series. OFF TRACK is the first time I've come across this series.
It has been a long while since I struggled for months to finish a book, but reading OFF TRACK turned out to be a very disconcerting experience. The basic plot is that Lee Barber, a train driver, leads a perfectly normal life until one night he overshoots a station and a passenger reports him. When a drunk Lee then comes across the man he decides has reported him, he attacks him. The hapless passenger isn't anything to do with the report, but he does turn out to be a disgruntled biological scientist, Piers Egerton, on his way to tell a newspaper reporter the dreadful secret of his work.
The reporter is, in turn, the partner of a Thames Valley police detective, who reports the scientist missing. When the daughter of the train driver is also snatched, the Thames Valley Serious Crimes Squad is involved in the search for two missing people (the daughter and the scientist), and ultimately, the death of a stranger who dies after breaking into the Barber home. At some point in the middle of all of this, the scientist and the train driver (the attempted killer and the victim that is) join forces, but to be perfectly honest, that was the point at which I completely lost the plot.
Whilst I don't have a problem with a certain level of co-incidence, and a reasonable suspension of disbelief I struggled from very early on with the level that was required to get involved with OFF TRACK. Not just the idea that the Egerton would be so willing to throw his lot in with the maniac (or sad loser) that just tried to kill him, there was simply too much unrealistic behaviour going on. Why you'd suddenly turn a simple report of a driver incident into a killing vendetta was never adequately supported by the rest of Barber's behaviour; the supposedly discontented Egerton - he of the explosive potential secret, just didn't feel right - tense or even reflective of his position; Barber's wife did manage to raise a little suspicion about her husband's behaviour, but then she becomes so disconnected from events around her children she lost all credibility.
Whilst there are a few in the supporting cast that came across as a little more believable, the general feeling of unreality made it almost impossible to find anybody to sympathise with. The complications of the plot seemed to slow the whole story down, rather than create a tense thrilling experience, and the combination of both didn't help make the book engaging or interesting. Add to that some plot points, that despite the interconnected nature of everything else in the book, just seem to lob out of left field and hang around forever, and the book just didn't work for me on any level.
Not having read any of the other Mike Yeardings books, it would be unfair to judge the entire series based on this single entry. Any series that has twenty or so entries in it just must have something going for it. Perhaps it would be best to start out somewhere else and get to know the main characters properly before giving OFF TRACK a go.
It has been a long while since I struggled for months to finish a book, but reading OFF TRACK turned out to be a very disconcerting experience. The basic plot is that Lee Barber, a train driver, leads a perfectly normal life until one night he overshoots a station and a passenger reports him. When a drunk Lee then comes across the man he decides has reported him, he attacks him. The hapless passenger isn't anything to do with the report, but he does turn out to be a disgruntled biological scientist, Piers Egerton, on his way to tell a newspaper reporter the dreadful secret of his work.
The reporter is, in turn, the partner of a Thames Valley police detective, who reports the scientist missing. When the daughter of the train driver is also snatched, the Thames Valley Serious Crimes Squad is involved in the search for two missing people (the daughter and the scientist), and ultimately, the death of a stranger who dies after breaking into the Barber home. At some point in the middle of all of this, the scientist and the train driver (the attempted killer and the victim that is) join forces, but to be perfectly honest, that was the point at which I completely lost the plot.
Whilst I don't have a problem with a certain level of co-incidence, and a reasonable suspension of disbelief I struggled from very early on with the level that was required to get involved with OFF TRACK. Not just the idea that the Egerton would be so willing to throw his lot in with the maniac (or sad loser) that just tried to kill him, there was simply too much unrealistic behaviour going on. Why you'd suddenly turn a simple report of a driver incident into a killing vendetta was never adequately supported by the rest of Barber's behaviour; the supposedly discontented Egerton - he of the explosive potential secret, just didn't feel right - tense or even reflective of his position; Barber's wife did manage to raise a little suspicion about her husband's behaviour, but then she becomes so disconnected from events around her children she lost all credibility.
Whilst there are a few in the supporting cast that came across as a little more believable, the general feeling of unreality made it almost impossible to find anybody to sympathise with. The complications of the plot seemed to slow the whole story down, rather than create a tense thrilling experience, and the combination of both didn't help make the book engaging or interesting. Add to that some plot points, that despite the interconnected nature of everything else in the book, just seem to lob out of left field and hang around forever, and the book just didn't work for me on any level.
Not having read any of the other Mike Yeardings books, it would be unfair to judge the entire series based on this single entry. Any series that has twenty or so entries in it just must have something going for it. Perhaps it would be best to start out somewhere else and get to know the main characters properly before giving OFF TRACK a go.
March 27, 2010
An appropriate title, certainly, as this thing is off the rails--the weirdest mystery I've encountered. The lady has written a massive amount of books, perhaps she's lost it.
A researcher for a bioweapons lab in Britain decides to blow the whistle. On his way to meet a reporter, he's attacked on a train by an engineer who mistakes him for someone else. The engineer is surprised to find the man alive when he opens his car boot to chop up the body. The engineer and the guy he tried to kill become friends, then the engineer's son is mysteriously sick and daughter kidnapped.
Meanwhile, coincidence again!, the reporter the bioweapons guy was going to meet just happens to be partners with a cop who works under Yeadings (purportedly this is a Mike Yeading mystery but we don't meet him until page 90 or so).
Bizarre, written as if you already know the characters and what is happening in their lives. I quit, no mystery why.
A researcher for a bioweapons lab in Britain decides to blow the whistle. On his way to meet a reporter, he's attacked on a train by an engineer who mistakes him for someone else. The engineer is surprised to find the man alive when he opens his car boot to chop up the body. The engineer and the guy he tried to kill become friends, then the engineer's son is mysteriously sick and daughter kidnapped.
Meanwhile, coincidence again!, the reporter the bioweapons guy was going to meet just happens to be partners with a cop who works under Yeadings (purportedly this is a Mike Yeading mystery but we don't meet him until page 90 or so).
Bizarre, written as if you already know the characters and what is happening in their lives. I quit, no mystery why.
April 26, 2010
Train driver Lee Barber is angry that a passenger reported one of his errors. When he gets drunk and meets someone he assumes is the passenger, violence ensures. But Lee doesn't know what he's getting into--every aspect of his life changes, and it doesn't look as though even the work of Mike Yeadings and his police team will be able to fix what's wrong. The plot is so complex that any more detail would give too much away. Curzon's work is usually stronger than this one.
June 12, 2010
ok for reading at bedtime
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews