REVIEW: WORLD OF TROUBLE / AUTHOR: BEN H. WINTERS / PUBLISHER: QUIRK BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 15TH
Following on from The Last Policeman and Countdown City, World of Trouble is the final instalment in Ben H. Winters’ Edgar Award-winning Last Policeman trilogy.
With just two weeks until a giant asteroid collides with Earth, Hank Palace leaves the safety of the country home he’s been sharing with a handful of other law enforcers and their families, and sets out to find his sister Nico, with a little help from Houdini the dog and his unlikely sidekick, Cortez. Along the way they meet a handful of people, all preparing for the end of the world in their own way, but as he slowly tracks Nico down there is no way that he could prepare himself for what he will find and no way he can predict where he will spend his final day.
After two emotional investigations with Hank you cannot help but tear into this novel, dying to know how it will all end but slowing in the final pages to make the most of it. Hank is the classic American cop and good guy, keeping to his word and sticking to the law. This finale is obviously a little bit more philosophical and heartfelt than the previous two novels as the main storyline is based around what is left of his family, Nico and the small amount of time he has left to find her. As always, he has to throw himself into some tricky situations to discover the truth, leaving him beaten by a horse, locked in a barn and tasered, although not shot this time. Full of twists, turns and surprises it is hard to give any plot details without spoilers but Hank is a great hero and World of Trouble really delivers the gripping story that you would be expecting after the previous excellent books. There are no easy ways out, happy endings or ‘it was all a dream,’ Winters full on faces his character’s predicament with refreshing logic and realism.
The entire Last Policeman trilogy is excellent and World of Trouble is no exception. We can but hope Ben H. Winters has another character just as great coming in the future to replace the lovable Hank Palace.
