Sidharta Books & Print

Sidharta Books & Print

Book Publishers

Icing The Cake - SMH 31 Jan 04. Spectrum section.

Graham Williams

This first novel starts promisingly, as the wisecracking narrator unwittingly obtains possession of a valuable diamond that some nasty people want to reclaim. It ends with a well-constructed sting whereby the narrator lucratively avoids the worst of the fates on offer. In between are two sections of a different book, the chequered history of the diamond and how it made its way to the pocket of accidental detective Sam Scott. These stories are sometimes clumsily told, with much reliance on imagined conversations and actions from the past. Worse, they disrupt the promising naarative line of the developing sting. Despite this awkwardness, the writing is well paced, the central characters of Sam and his girlfriend, Kirsty, are engagingly developed, and the overall effect is more entertaining than the structure threatens. Certainly, there's enough talent to make a second venture welcome.