The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett
Buy The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: General Fiction
Reviewer: Louise Laurie
Summary: The year is 1919 in an American city called Evesden - no, I'd never heard of it either. But not all is as it seems as violence, murder as well as mysterious happenings all unsettle some of the inhabitants and also spiral way out of control, until somebody brave steps in.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 480	Date: April 2011
Publisher: Orbit
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1841497921
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The Times says on the front cover that Bennett is clearly a writer to watch so I had high hopes for this novel. We meet two of the central characters, American policeman Garvey and Englishman Hayes. Garvey's working cv is straightforward enough - he carries out police work, some of which is pretty grisly. But what about Hayes? He appears to be all things to all men but at the end of the day well, he's The Company Man which gives the book its title. And so a complex scenario starts to unravel ...

The two men have struck up a working friendship, but more importantly they trust each other. And trust is a precious commodity in this weird and wonderful place called Evesden. And as a body is fished out of a local canal, hard-boiled Garvey can't seem to help himself when he remarks What I would give ... for something simple. A wife that shot her husband in front of the butcher ... Something nice, you know? Charming, I thought but even this early on in the book I couldn't help liking Garvey. I could tell that deep down he was a decent man even with the awful things he sees on a regular basis. But there's only so much a person can take ... Things are about to get a whole lot worse.

Hayes is a walking, talking disaster (and he reminded me of tv's Columbo). And, like Columbo he doesn't seem to miss a trick. Do not be deceived by the bedraggled appearance and red-rimmed eyes seems to be the subliminal message. Here's a terrific line from the world-weary Hayes to the question How long have you been dry? Centuries, it feels like ... Civilizations have risen and fallen in the time I've been dry ...

It all makes for a good read and Bennett's easy flow just helps it all along beautifully. But what I appreciated most was his subtle touch. Not over the top, at all. The dialogue between the characters is natural and completely credible. I particularly took to the human disaster, Hayes.

The suspense element builds up nicely too. We've got this massive and powerful corporation, now a global player and people still asking, how did we get here, how did all this happen. Bennett gives us the interesting background in this own time. And his creativity comes to the fore here. I found the ending particularly good and I have to say that I ended up enjoying this book more than I was expecting, which is always a plus point. It's a riveting read from start to finish. Recommended.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

If this book appeals then try The Brutal Art by Jesse Kellerman.

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