Harper North paperback edition - 2023
In his latest Ben Hope thriller, the 27th in the series, Scott Mariani is back on form. I agree with at least one other reviewer, that the most recent books perhaps had indulged themselves too much with descriptions and the history of the country Hope found himself in - for instance, Afghanistan. Now, the concentration is on what a thriller writer does best - carry the reader with him on car chases, airplane rides, witnessing helicopter crashes and plenty of gun fights and knife slashings. From John Buchan to the Bourne trilogy, a chase has to feature. No wonder, one of Mariani's favourite sayings appears to be back in the day.
It feels as if this time there are more references inserted relating to Hope's previous adventures. The novel begins with his response to an SoS from Valentina Petrova, the grand niece of Hope's old friend, the multi-billionaire Auguste Kaprisky. The last time the reader came across the pair was in The Moscow Cipher (2018), where Hope had to rescue the then 12 year-old Valentina and her father Yuri (who has died with his wife in an accident by the time of The White Knight); Auguste - the man who never laughs - had by then already helped Hope in an even earlier tale. Now, the old man was critically ill in his private hospital, in a coma and not likely to live. His well guarded chateau had been overcome (an inside job?) and a chess set stolen! Why? That's for Hope to find out. He is alone for the first part of the story, which moves from Miami and the Bahamas to Berlin and Rome. Needing extra support to guard Auguste, Valentina and their home, Ben calls on a vetted team which is accompanied by his old mates Jeff Decker and Tuesday Fletcher, from their tactical training centre base at Le Val. When Jaden Wolf, an old adversary in The Demon Club (2020), but now a fast friend, turns up to help, any long-term reader knows the opposition won't have a chance..
There are further reference to past characters, two of whom were one-time 'flames' of Hope's: Grace Kirk the Scottish policewoman, central to Hope's success in The Pretender's Gold (2020) and who also figured in the next novel, The Demon Club (2020), and whom he suggests he intends to see again at the end of The White Knight; and Abbie Logan, the pilot and charter business owner based in Australia's Northern Territory, who helped Hope in The Silver Serpent (2022). As with all the other Hope girlfriends, they hadn't lasted. At least he seemed to be getting nostalgic (or was that just the author?) This latest story has no romance and features three very different types of woman: the 17 year-old, feisty Valentina, the running scared German Mia Brockhaus, and the ice-cold killer Candi/Miss Voss. Hope helps two and kills one!
As often with a Ben Hope novel, Scott Mariani is alive to, and inserts, today's - often worrying - issues. Hope and the reader learn about the shadowy and deeply evil The Forum, from watching a USB on which Auguste, fearing for his life, had recorded a face to camera monologue. Deeply ashamed of his own early and hesitant involvement, he details the unspeakable crime against humanity about to be unleashed by the 15 members, led by the Englishman, Sir Simon Asquith. Past members include figures from the all-powerful top banking families, members of the nobility and some of the richest and most influential magnates and leaders in the world...including a former British Prime Minister and a United States President...(no guessing who they might be!) The plan? To eliminate fifteen sixteenth of the world's population. Some plan; but we know they can't win against Hope, Decker, Fletcher and Wolf. And they don't.
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