Review of The Abrupt Physics of Dying by Paul Hardisty (2015, Orenda)

Since his time in the South African army Claymore Straker has been drifting, trying to forget his actions in skirmishes with communists in Angola. Years later he’s working as an environmental and social agent for an oil company in Yemen, testing for pollution and liaising with locals. Petro-Tex is run by a Russian brother and sister who specialise in extracting oil in unstable regions. And Yemen is teetering on the edge of civil war between North and South, with Al Qaeda in the mix. Straker and his driver are captured by the latter. Their leader orders Straker to find out what is killing the children of Al Urush, near to Petro-Tex’s facility, or his driver will be killed. He agrees to do some testing in the area. What he finds is a landscape transformed, with the water drying up, and very sick children. His bosses at Petro-Tex order him to forget the driver and resume his normal work doing minimal testing and bribing local chiefs. Straker is determined to save his friend and also discover what is going on, even if that means getting embroiled in a complex mess of disaster capitalism and the ruthless games different factions will play to realise their ambition. He’s aided by a troubled French journalist, Rania, and Islamic terrorists and opposing military intelligence, and soon finds a price put on his head.

The Abrupt Physics of Dying is a thriller tale focused on the disaster capitalism of the oil industry and the environmental and social collateral damage of drilling in a politically unstable region. The tale is mostly set in Yemen at the point where the country is teetering on the edge of civil war. The protagonist is Clay Straker, a man with a troubled past from his time in the South African army, who has been drifting since his discharge. Trying to regain some stability he’s set up his own company doing environmental testing and social liaison work with local communities for oil companies. He’s been hired by Petro-Tex, a company owned by a couple of Russian billionaires, whose deposit in Yemen is running out and is seeking new sources. Straker and his driver are kidnapped, with the driver held hostage only to be released if Straker discovers why children are dying in a village near to Petro-Tex’s facility. Straker’s investigation places in confrontation with his bosses and also Yemeni military intelligence. Unwilling to sacrifice his driver, or the local villagers dying, Straker sets out to discover the truth, unsure who to trust, given just about everyone wants him to fail. Hardisty spins out a decent thriller, keeping the pace and tension high, with plenty of action and twists, and threading through a love interest in the form of Rania, an investigative journalist. While the tale has the usual credibility issues of thrillers, what elevates the book above the pack is the context and setting in Yemen, and the spotlight on the environment, social and political consequences of oil industry. Overall, an engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking read.

Review of Thumbprint by Friedrich Glauser (1936, German; 2004 Bitter Lemon Press)

Sergeant Studer tracks down and arrests a former convict who is suspected of murdering a travelling salesman. After dropping the man off at prison and leaving, Studer returns as something is nagging at his subconscious. He finds his suspect hanging in his cell and manages to revive him. It suggests the man was guilty of the crime, but Studer is not convinced. He returns the village where the victim was shot and starts to hunt around. It’s clear that all is not well among a set of Gerzenstein’s citizens and Studer’s presence is not wanted. When his initial suspect confesses, the case seems to be closed. But the canny sergeant is a master at solving difficult cases.

Published in 1936 Thumbprint was the first in five Sergeant Studer novels written by the troubled Fredrich Glauser, who spent much of his life as an addict and in-and-out of prison or psychiatric wards, plus a couple of years in the French Foreign Legion. His unsettled personal life, however, is not evident in this assured and well-plotted tale of murder and conspiracy. Sergeant Studer used to be a promising inspector until he refused to drop a politically charged case. Now he works in the canton of Bern as an ordinary policeman, but he’s still blessed with good observational and deductive reasoning skills. And he knows how to unsettle people and prompt them into acting rashly – though sometimes they don’t respond as expected, which is almost the undoing of his investigation in this case. In this outing, Studer is investigating what seems like an open-and-shut case involving the death of a travelling salesman from a village. Despite the evidence he has an inkling that something is awry and seeks to find the truth and the real killer. As well as Studer, the strength of the tale is the quite complex puzzle and the show-not-tell voice. An interesting story that has aged well.