16 June 2015

Are Thrillers Supposed to Be this Depressing? and This Predictable?

No Good Deed - M. P. McDonald


Thriller novels? Let’s see: the hero is supposed to undergo trials and tribulations and nevertheless triumph. Isn’t that about the size of it? Well, if all you want is a plot in which a hero undergoes trials and tribulations and nevertheless triumphs, then feel free to pick up a copy of M. P. McDonald’s No Good Deed. If, on the other hand, you want something well-written; I advise you to look elsewhere: this is the sort of novel on which self-publication has built a regrettably shoddy reputation.

Mark Taylor’s a Chicago-based photographer, and a damned good one. Not only does he do kiddie portraits and weddings, he also does arty stuff. That’s how he got in trouble: while taking photos in Afghanistan for a buddy’s book on the plight of Afghan women he found an old camera in a bazaar. Little did he know the camera had special powers: the first time he developed photos taken with the camera (yeah, film), some shots he hadn’t taken appeared: photos of airplanes crashing into twin towers.