Midas by Russell Andrews.

From Amazon

Justin Westwood, the detective hero of APHRODITE, is mourning the death of his boss, victim of a terrorist bombing in a local restaurant, when he's called to investigate an air accident: a small plane has crashed on take-off from Hampton Airport. The pilot is dead, but when Justin discovers the body has no ID, the cockpit has been wiped clean of prints and the Federal Air Authority has deleted the aircraft's details he is sure the pilot was murdered. As he tries to get a handle on the man's background he realises there is a link to the bombing, and that the atrocious attack may not have been caused by any terrorist. In fact it looks as though it might have had its origins on Capitol Hill. But what political or financial prize could be worth the slaughter of dozens of innocents? It seems as though Justin may have to sacrifice his own life before he learns the truth.

 

 My thoughts

 

This is the second novel in which we meet Long Island cop Justin Westwood.  The first being, Aphrodite which has apparently received rave reviews.  Sadly, I've not read Aphrodite but this book can be read as a standalone.  

 

I really enjoyed this thriller and it's a while since I've read a thriller.  While the pace started a little slowly to drag you the reader in, once it got going I found that I didn't want to put it down.  

 

Justin Westwood is a cop with a very inquisitive mind and as he starts to solve the connections between a series of deaths and situations, he realises that he isn't sure who he can trust.  Who or what is MIDAS?  I found him to be a cop who doesn't like to give up and is dogged and determined in his investigations.  As he realises that his actions are having an effect on people around him, he becomes more determined to solve the case.  Full of conspiracy theories and lots of twists and turns, you'll be guessing all the way as I was.

 

This is the first book I've read by this Author and I will keep an eye out for others by him.  8/10 for me.

Author info

 

Russell Andrews is a pseudonym for Peter Gethers, author of the bestselling nonfiction trilogy The Cat Who Went to Paris (Random House, 1991), A Cat Abroad (Crown, 1993), and The Cat Who'll Live Forever (Broadway Books, 2001).