The Bottom Line: This nearly perfect summer beach read is a riveting tale of over-the-top revenge and murder on the high seas.
Will it ever be safe to take a cruise again?
[easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”left” asin=”B007IB4U00″ cloaking=”default” height=”500″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”//ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OlWKxcXOL.jpg” tag=”bestthricom-20″ width=”375″]Real-world headlines about the dangers of cruise ships pale in comparison to the problems suffered by Camelot Cruise Line in Common Enemy. Nine attractive young women have disappeared from the company’s ships.
The clever twist is established early on by author Richard David Bach: Camelot’s billionaire owner, Viktor Viken, already knows why the women are dying.
When Viken receives a threatening video from a self-described serial killer, he doesn’t go to the police. Doing so would destroy the company’s business. Instead, he turns to talented fixer Raam Commoner. Raam naturally wonders what he can do that the company’s security team can’t, but Viken wields his significant leverage and convinces him to take the case.
The killer’s motive – revenge on Viken – is clear from the get-go. But can he find the killer before more people die?
Enter Kayman Karl, a tall detective so hot that Raam’s testosterone is sent into overdrive. He’s constantly in awe of her aggressive disposition and intellect, not to mention her looks. Since most of the book is told from Raam’s point of view, her effect on him is highly entertaining.
The genius of Common Enemy is that the book actually features not one villain, but two. The billionaire Viken is himself a morally objectionable character, although nowhere near the degree of his main adversary. And of course, as in all good thrillers, the fun starts when the hunters – Kayman and Raam – become the hunted. Will the experts Viken employs become the killers’ 10th and 11th victims?
Take Common Enemy to the beach – or better yet, your next cruise – and find out.
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