Derailed Book

As is increasingly typical these days, James Siegel's Derailed comes garnished with praise from such bestselling practitioners of the thriller genre as Lee Child and James Patterson. So should we be swayed by this fact? The answer, in this case, is a resounding yes, as Siegel manages to match machine-tooled plotting with a storytelling ability that takes the reader instantly by the throat. Admittedly, he starts with a sure-fire premise--the ordinary man torn from a boring, quotidian existence and plunged into a nightmare. This scenario has served many artists well (think John Buchan's The 39 Steps or Hitchcock's North by Northwest), but this is one of the most assured treatments of the theme. Charles Schine is on his way to work, conscious that his life moves along well-oiled tracks. But then he encounters the beautiful and enigmatic Lucinda Harris, and his association with her not only pulls apart the well-ordered fabric of his day-to-day routine, it threatens his very life. Charles has to learn (and very quickly) some basic survival tactics, not to mention the niceties of dealing with some very dangerous people. And it's in the latter area that Siegel really shines--his villains (from petty thugs to more urbane and dangerous éminences grises) are drawn with a very varied and imaginative skill, with street language rendered quite as plausibly as the exchanges involving top-level corruption. The first-person narrative is a particularly nice touch, making it very easy for the reader to identify with the hapless Charles. Siegel is good, too, at the various set-pieces that maintain the interest, and as Charles is catapulted from one dangerous situation to another, we find ourselves forced to make exactly the same tough decisions as he does. Siegel, on the strength of Derailed, is a name to watch. --Barry ForshawRead More