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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Loch Ness Legacy (Tyler Locke #4) in Books

Nov 20, 2019

The Loch Ness Legacy (Tyler Locke #4)

Boyd Morrison | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

When Tyler Locke foils an attack on a summit of Middle Eastern leaders at the Eiffel Tower he suspects there is more going on than meets the eye. He is soon proved correct as delegates at the summit start to die of a mysterious disease and an old enemy breaks out of prison bent on revenge. In a race for survival Locke and his friends must find out the truth and prevent all out war.

This book immediately gripped me. I have picked up many adventure thriller type books from many authors and few have impressed me. However Boyd Morrison manages to avoid the usual pitfalls. His characters are likeable and share realistic dialogue and act according to their motivations - even the main villain who is just ever so slightly over the top but still manages to be realistic as a character.

The action scenes - and there are plenty featuring more chases and fight scenes than a whole franchise of movies - are extremely well handled. People tire during fight scenes, nobody is a crack shot with a gun, injuries are realistic.

The plot cracks along as Locke and his team uncover the secrets one at a time. There are clues to solve and the whole time they are racing to beat the terrorists who always seem to be one step ahead.

I feel I must make special mention of the dialogue of the English and Scottish characters. A lot of American authors tend to assume everyone in the UK is either a 'cor blimey guv'nor' cockney or an 'I say old chap' aristocrat and so to my ears the dialogue always sounds phoney. Morrison does not fall into this trap and that really did enhance the immersion in the story.

Yes ultimately this is a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster but really that's just a McGuffin to drive the plot, and an ingenious one at that. I'm not aware of anyone else using Nessie in this kind of book and Morrison handles it well.

Overall a terrific book, well worth a read and would make a terrific holiday book. I've already got the first Tyle Locke novel lined up to read and am looking forward to it immensely. Morrison has immediately become on of my favourite authors. I noticed that he is credited as co-writer on the latest Clive Cussler Oregon Files book (Piranha) and will need to read that too, I suspect that he will inject some energy into the franchise and is a good choice as this book reads like one of Cussler's first novels - in fact I'd say even better.