BOOK REVIEW - The Tunnel Rats - Stephen Leather - Audiobook - 4*

 

BOOK REVIEW

The Tunnel Rats - Stephen Leather (released 1997)

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This was recommended to me, well over a year ago, by a friend at work after I asked what everyone's favourite books of all time were. It's taken me far too long to get around to reading it, but I am really pleased that I eventually downloaded it. It's quite a long listen, at 15 hours but is filled with rich visuals

and character development. Thanks, Sam for the great recommendation, you were right! 

 

BLURB

Two murders, thousands of miles apart: one in London, one in Bangkok. The bodies brutally mutilated: an ace of spades impaled upon their chests. 

In Washington, a US senator receives photographs of their corpses. And realises that his past has come back to haunt him. 

Nick Wright is the detective trying to solve the mystery of the double killing. His hunt for a motive takes him to the tunnels in Vietnam, where the American tunnel rats fought the dirtiest battle of the war against the Viet Cong. But there is a killer protecting the secrets of the tunnels. At whatever cost...

 

AUTHOR

Stephen Leather is a successful author with a myriad of books in his repertoire. He started his career as a journalist (after a drunken journalist inspired him when he was a bartender in Bath, resulting in him changing his path entirely from biochemistry to journalism, quite a switcheroo!) effectively writing books on the side before he took his career full-time. 

His website is filled with interesting anecdotes about the books he's written, his process, and his experiences of the changing nature of publishing (he rode the train from traditional physical publishing to the more recent surge in digital content). He has a page for each of his books, with a little behind-the-scenes nuggets of information. This book for example, he started writing when he was in Thailand, completing it when he was back in Dublin. It was a really interesting insight and a level of depth that is sometimes missing from author websites. Check it out here.

PLOT/STORYLINE

This book is primarily a police procedural style book, delving into the nitty gritty of crime investigation. We start with a gnarly death in a railway tunnel in London. Cue the entry of the British Transport Police, and Nick Wright. There's also a theme of warfare and commentary on some of the travesties of the Vietnam War. In the UK, our only real exposure to the Vietnam War is through the mediums of film and books and I have studied some of the events of the war as part of my psychology studies. The psychological impact of war and military service do fascinate me and I enjoy reading fiction that draws on true events to create the backdrop.  

Nick learns of a similar murder in Bangkok and off he pops, over to Bangkok, to find the common denominator between the deaths. 

His investigation uncovers some pretty deep, dark secrets with conspiracies and cover-ups galore. He teams up with an FBI agent and ends up in the tunnels of Vietnam, trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. 

I did have to suspend belief a little, as I tried to get my head around how an officer in the British Transport Police would be allowed to go off and investigate a murder in another country, alone, without an absolute wad of red tape and hoops to jump through. I generally don't mind things being a bit "out there" in books that I read, but when they present as being true to life, and realistic, it can be a struggle. Once I was past that slight frustration, I was ready to enjoy the ride! 

The book is pretty much in two parts, the investigation before Nick gets into the Vietnam tunnels, and the adventurous, traumatic, intense story within the tunnels themselves. The tunnel story was incredible. I felt every claustrophobic, stomach-churning, creep-crawly moment, and was on the edge of my seat (metaphorically, it was an audiobook so I was driving!) the entire time. It was incredibly well done. 

The book also switches to other perspectives and viewpoints throughout, the main focus towards the end being Nick's colleague back in London continuing to work the case, adding intensity and intrigue while Nick was in the tunnels, which gave a unique storytelling element. Often, when there are few characters for a large portion of the book, dialogue can be unnatural as the author uses conversation to move the story forward. Like in an action movie when the bad guy spends twenty minutes describing his past, motives, and future plans...By having a character separate from the tunnel story, Stephen Leather moved the plot, twists, and narrative forward without an overreliance on dialogue. 

CHARACTERS

Nick Wright is the main man. He's the British Transport Detective who believes there's more to these crimes than meets the eye. I enjoyed his character, he's in the middle of a brutal break-up, involving custody battles and toxic conversations so his life isn't quite panning out how he'd hoped. He's becoming jaded, having too many drinks after (and during) shifts, but his sense of justice and desire to do the right thing starts to shine through. He's a good guy, but not a perfect guy, he has flaws, and he has some rubbish personality traits, but he wants to do well. I like seeing the humanity in characters, not the perfect, chiseled, morally superior way protagonists can be depicted.  

I enjoyed Wright's journey, his fear of the tunnels is palpable, and I enjoyed the arc that his character went through. I disliked him at first but by the end, I was rooting for him!

As this is a bit of a mystery-solving book, most other characters are borderline in terms of morals and personality. allowing for suspicion to seep in. Some of the characters felt a little redundant however, a couple were portrayed like they would have a bigger part to play and then just faded into nothing, with no real outcome (I'm talking to you, Mr. U.S. senator!)

 It was also quite character-heavy in the first part of the book, I was listening on audiobook and had a few moments where I really couldn't differentiate between some of the characters. 

OVERALL REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

SPICE: 🔥(some crude mentions of body parts and acts)

This was a brilliant book, I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I was much more engaged with the second part of the book, in the tunnels than the investigation part. The slow build-up got me bogged down with unnecessary explanation and background but things did pick up in the latter stages. I didn't see the twist coming until the exact moment the author wanted me to, it had me dumbfounded! 

The way that the tunnels, and Wright's experiences in them, were described were excellent, I felt claustrophobic and had intense feelings of trepidation, imagining the dark, cramped spaces and the loss of control that Wright was experiencing. 

There's no spice, but the nature of some of the incidents is graphic and descriptive, and involve body parts and acts that aren't necessarily for the faint of heart. It's gritty that's for sure, but it's a book about warfare and murder, so not entirely out of the realms of expectation!

 

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?

If you enjoy a police procedural, or historical fiction that draws from true events, particularly wartime, this might be a good book to add to your TBR. It's not historical fiction as it's contemporarily written, but definitely has some themes that would appeal if that's your usual genre. It's gritty and intense, has thriller serial killer elements really all just wrapped up in a bow. 

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