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Astrological Baby Names (2000)

by Anne Matthews(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0733626319 (ISBN13: 9780733626319)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

review 1: This is the story of Londoner Sami MacBeth, who is spectacularly unlucky in life. He is an intelligent, compassionate young man, at whom Fate throws bucket-loads of misfortune. Despite a terrible family background, Sami has a deep attachment to his sister Nadia, who herself has had lots of misfortune visit her. His devotion to Nadia is what keeps him going during nearly 3 years in prison, and what sets him on the path of his latest spate of disastrous happenings. On the eve of his parole from 'the Scrubs', Nadia has disappeared. Hoping to live with her until he could get back on his feet, Sami can't find her when he gets out, and goes in search of her. This leads him very quickly into the seamy criminal underbelly of London, and we are introduced to a colourful array of... more pimps, corrupt cops, musclemen, drug dealers, nightclub owners and seemingly respectable businessmen who are really gun-runners and drug lords running prostitution rackets and all sorts of associated nefarious activities.Within 48 hours of his release Sami is brandishing a gun and holding four people hostage in a Chinese restaurant in Soho. This incident is at the centre of a rather tangled web of intrigue which is visited on Sami by forces totally beyond his control. He is 'an innocent abroad' and he gets sucked into the evil machinations of some very bad men without realising what he's dealing with. He staggers from one terrible situation to another, clinging tenaciously to his goal of being reunited with his beloved sister. She too is enmeshed in this grimy underworld, another victim of ruthless men who manipulate others to save their fortunes, their reputations and their own lives in what becomes a bloody power struggle. Into this nasty underworld limps the familiar figure of Vincent Ruiz, retired detective, sometime private eye, and ex-husband of Miranda Wallace, Sami's parole officer. The story starts off fairly slowly, as we get to know a little of Sami and reasons for his dedication to Nadia, then the narrative turns quite complicated, as all the baddies show their true colours and the body count begins to rise. There's not a great deal of character development, and characters like Nadia are rather sketchy, which is a shame, given her significance to Sami. Ruiz, who appears in a number of Michael Robotham's novels, is somewhat incidental to the plot, rather than a key player. In my mind this was a disappointment, as I wanted Vincent to be the hero. The final quarter of the book picks up momentum and speeds towards a cracking pacy finale. So, after a slow and rather confusing start, this book began to grow on me. I loved the climax in which the fate of certain characters was determined, getting their just deserts. As things emerge, it is Sami himself who is both his own worst enemy and his own salvation.
review 2: Sami MacBeth is making a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's served 3 years in goal for a crime he didn't do just because he was found sitting in a van full of stolen jewels that he didn't know were there. Now out of goal he's trying to find his younger sister and rebuild his life, but has been caught in a dangerous and intricate net woven by two gangs of criminals. Somehow whatever Sami does, he only seems to make things worse and it looks like nothing can save him from either a long prison sentence or a violent death.Fast paced with frequent bursts of violence, the story is often funny and almost farcical as Sami digs himself deeper into trouble. It highlights the paranoia and fear that can develop in a society following a terrorist attack such as the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005 and can escalate a heist gone wrong into a suspected terrorist attack and total city lockdown. less

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