Book review: Edge

By Jeffery Deaver
Reviewed by Natazzz

Jeffery Deaver is an international bestselling author of crime novels, having written over 25 books in the last 20 years. Yet somehow I'd never read any of his novels, let alone heard of him. After finishing Edge (2010), I wish I'd discovered him sooner. Edge is a crime novel, which, at first glance, looks kind of average and run of the mill. However, once I started reading I could not stop and it had me interested and intrigued throughout.

Edge tells the story of Corte, a protection officer whose job it is to protect a family targeted by a lifter named Henry Loving. The last time Corte came across the man, he ended up killing one of his mentors. Needless to say, Corte is very determined to catch Loving and not let him hurt anyone else every again. The members of the family he is protecting aren't making his job easier with all their personal drama, but in order to find out who hired Loving he does have to delve deep into their lives.

Luckily he has the most brilliant assistant who can find out just about anything about anyone. Corte is also very good at analysing situations and anticipate possible moves that Loving might make next. He keeps comparing this to playing board games, one of his hobbies. I thought this was going to be boring or tiring, but I actually found these analyses of the situation very interesting. Novels like these often give you an insight only into the (often twisted) psyches of the main characters, but not so much about the actual work involved in catching the bad guys. This was a refreshing change.

The storyline was also not predictable, which is always a plus. I had no idea who was behind it all until the very end. The book also had a nice twist at the end, which made me shout out in surprise. The novel is well written and fast paced and a joy to read. If you're looking for a good crime novel, this is it.