OUTSIDE THE WHITE LINES

CHRIS SIMMS

Hutchinson £15.99hbk Rel: March 2003 pbk January 2004

Reviewed by

Ali Karim

I wish some published authors could read Chris Simm’s debut novel as they might learn a little about the importance of lean editing. This 200-page thriller is perfect for an afternoon when you want to be held entranced by thriller that for a while removes you from your problems.

It has a simple concept. A serial killer of sorts is murdering people who have broken down in their cars on the ‘hard shoulder’ of British motorways. The murders are brutal and the police have no leads in this grisly case. Advanced road-rage seems to be the reason for the murders, but why? Enter young rookie motorway cop Andy Seer, who on a routine patrol may have seen the killer, if not for his cynical older partner Ray Walker who decides to head off for coffee. Then add a mysterious shadowy figure who hunts along the road verges and edges, sifting the detritus in his own personal ‘hunt’ and you have the ingredients for a fast-paced road novel.

The alternating viewpoints could have really confused me, but a couple of chapters in, and I’m racing through the pages with my foot on the accelerator. Another interesting facet is the banality of the killer, and how his character is shaped by the roads that snake his deluded mind. Chris Simms is a copy-editor and he has really brought his skill to bear, as he has stripped any excess padding from his thriller, so that it is a stark and fast-paced read. Anyone reading this will do so in one sitting, not just because it’s lean, and short, but because it is so well composed. This is one not to be read before a long drive and graphic in its violence. Simms is a name to really watch out for, as his second novel ‘Pecking Order’ looks seriously damaging too.