Reviews: Who says politics is boring?

Who says politics is boring?
As New Zealand Book Month makes a welcome return in this election year, reviewer Craig Sisterson takes a look at a couple of political thrillers, one old, one new

As we said in the latest issue of NZLawyer extra (edition 20, 4 March 2011), during the month of March we will be supporting the celebration of all things books and reading that is New Zealand Book Month by reviewing a variety of locally-penned books. After all, if Kiwis won’t hit the bookstores and libraries around the country to support our local writers, how can we expect international readers to? All of us who are keen readers need to do our part to try a few local tales, perhaps in the genres or styles we each prefer, so we can see for ourselves that our writers can match, even better, the quality storytelling we often devour from their international peers.

One genre that’s been wildly popular since the dawn of storytelling is thrillers. As Lee Child told NZLawyer last year, thrillers date back to Greek Tragedies and beyond - in fact, the first stories cavemen told around the campfire were probably of heroic battles with or escapes from wild animals and other prehistoric dangers. Nowadays the thriller genre encompasses a diverse range of keep-you-up-at-night tales, including action-adventure, crime, spy, psychological, heist, domestic, conspiracy, and political.

Recently I read a couple of local novels of the latter flavour; one old, one new. A POLITICAL AFFAIR (Kinglake Publishing, 2010) won Dunedin playwright and short story writer Andrew Porteous a UK-based unpublished author competition. Part Maori detective Lachlan Doyle’s career is already in jeopardy when he’s assigned to quickly and quietly close a high-profile ‘accidental death’ case; an attractive assistant to the Prime Minister is found dead at the PM’s private house. With pressure mounting from many directions, Doyle begins to suspect that the nighttime ‘fall down the stairs’ may have actually been a push, and that powerful forces, political and otherwise, are massing to keep the truth from coming out. But who pushed, and why?

At 118 pages A POLITICAL AFFAIR is more novella than a novel, but it’s an enjoyable debut read from a new voice in Kiwi thriller writing. The story flows well, there’s a nice touch of intrigue to keep you wondering, and Doyle is a likeable hero - hemmed in by forces outside his control and understanding- that you want to follow as the pages turn. Hopefully there may be more to come from Porteous and Detective Doyle.

Going back a little further in publishing time is Michael Wall’s FRIENDLY FIRE (Penguin, 1998), which is no longer in print, but can still be found in libraries and some secondhand bookstores. As I discovered, it’s a terrific locally-set political thriller well worth digging out. Renowned expat journalist Erin Florian returns to Wellington from Europe to become Press Secretary for the new Prime Minister, after finding her French husband in bed with someone else. She quickly finds herself caught up in the political world, including plenty of intrigue caused by the new MMP system, and the Government’s junior partner undergoing a leadership coup.

When the new leader starts making outrageous demands, Erin has to dampen media speculation that the Government is coming apart at the seams. But why is the new leader so sure that Erin’s boss will eventually succumb to what seems like a poisoned chalice? Erin witnesses a killing, which is covered up, then finds herself under scrutiny from the secretive SIS, and the lesser-known but even more powerful and dangerous GSCB. More deaths, hidden conspiracies, and the country nears the brink of political and economic meltdown.

Before he became a novelist, Wall was himself a Press Secretary for a New Zealand Prime Minister (Jim Bolger in the early 1990s), and he certainly brings all that experience and inside knowledge to bear in what is a fantastic thriller, full of twists, intrigue, interesting characters, and more. Global economics, the Waihopai base and intelligence services, international relations, and the place of the media are all issues canvassed in FRIENDLY FIRE, woven into a cracking plot that keeps the pages whirring.

The best political thriller I’ve read in years, set right here in New Zealand.

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This article was published in the 11 March 2011 issue of NZLawyer, and is republished here with permission.

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Have you read A POLITICAL AFFAIR or FRIENDLY FIRE? Do you enjoy mixing some politics into your crime and thriller reading? Thoughts and comments welcome.

F is for FRIENDLY FIRE by Michael Wall

It's that time of the week again, as the Crime Fiction Alphabet rolls on and our intrepid book bloggers out there around the blogosphere (and the globe) now find themselves frantically tapping away at their keyboards in creation of fantastic posts related to the letter 'F'. Fantastic, fun times.

For my second go around at the Crime Fiction Alphabet (read my 2010 posts here), I've set myself the very challenging task of focusing not only just on New Zealand-themed posts, but just on Kiwi crime fiction books (ie I won't do any author profiles etc this time around) - although sometimes it may be the author's name that is relevant to the letter of the week.

So this week I'm featuring FRIENDLY FIRE, a fast-paced thriller by Kiwi author Michael Wall, who wrote several thrillers, getting some pretty good reviews, back in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Wall is a former Chief Press Secretary for the New Zealand Government. He also worked in the Office of the Prime Minister, for Jim Bolger (New Zealand Prime Minister from 1990-1997). He had previously been offered a job by David Lange (New Zealand Prime Minister 1984--1989), but turned him down.

Wall later moved to Te Ore Ore in the Wairarapa where he wrote, and bred sports horses. He was also Deputy Chair of the Tourism Board. He has written a series of thriller novels, including Museum Street, Friendly Fire, The Cassino Legacy, The Temptations of Frederick Weld, and Cardinal Sins. He has also written other books, including the non-fiction book Wairarapa: A Place Apart. Although his books are no longer in print, they can be found online from secondhand dealers and auction websites.

FRIENDLY FIRE was his second political thriller - a type of book that although very popular overseas hasn't seen many exponents in New Zealand. For a time he was also rumoured to be the author of SPIN, a highly-politicised thriller written by 'Anonymous', although Wall denied this and had his own suspicions of who else within the inner circle may have written that book.

Here's the blurb for FRIENDLY FIRE:

"Journalist Erin Florian returns home from Europe seeking silence and solitude, only to be sucked into a whirlwind of passion, political intrigue and sudden death on the windy streets. FRIENDLY FIRE is an incandescent novel.

In this stylish, fast-paced thriller the author of the best-selling MUSEUM STREET writes of teh dangerous world of MMP politics... fills his capital with a cast that is evil, brutal, ruthless, funny and lethal... and gives us a 'behind the bullet-proof doors' insight into the shadowy world of New Zealand's secret services and the sinister power they wield over our political mistresses and masters."

Sounds intriguing, that's for sure (especially being a Kiwi, to read a political thriller set in our otherwise-rather-benign democracy). I've got my hands on a copy of FRIENDLY FIRE, and am looking forward to reading it.

Are you taking part in the Crime Fiction Alphabet series? What do you think of my 'Kiwi crime only' challenge-within-a-challenge? Do you like political thrillers? Have you read any of Michael Wall's novels? Comments welcome.