Down at heal Newcastle lawyer, Eric Ward, agrees to represent a
protest group against some decidedly dodgy disposal of chemical
waste. At the same time, against his better judgement, he agrees
to represent the Nightwalker a sort of Geordie 'Benjy the
Binman', whose collections of secrets ferreted out of dustbins
are worrying local politicians. Oh, and his marriage is on the
rocks.
Meanwhile a wild
15-year old petty thief and refugee from society has seen
something he should have. You might think that this cocktail of
plot might lead to a stimulating and thrilling novel. Well,
you'd be wrong.
The characters are
as flat and interesting as a leftover pint of Newcastle Brown
and the author fails to make the most of the opportunities which
the plot offers - Ward's marriage problems could have become a
central part of the novel for example. Walker's writing is
competent, if slightly dull, but his sense of place is poor and
the end is one of the most contrived I've come across recently.
Undoubtedly the North East scene is worthy of the attention of a
competent novelist. Sadly this book is not going to encourage
others to follow in its footsteps.
