British radio reporter Sam Ridley is on his way to Australia to visit his son. He has not seen Simon for six months because the boys mother, Mary, decided her employment opportunities were better half a world away. On the plane, Sam makes the acquaintance of Michelle ODonnell, an attractive Australian, who seems eager to get to know him better.
On his arrival in Sydney, the fates seem to be conspiring against Sam. First, his luggage is lost. Then, he receives a phone call from his ex-wife saying that she and Simon are stranded on an island off the Great Barrier Reef due to a storm, and wont make it back to Sydney for a few days. Sam is disconsolate, wondering what to do next, when Michelle appears and offers to take him to her home to get cleaned up and then out to dinner.
Not knowing quite what else to do, Sam accepts her invitation. After dinner, Michelle insists on extending the evening by dancing and more drinking. The night finally ends with Sam accompanying Michelle back to her home. There is more drinking and the inevitable tumbling into bed with each other. Sam awakens at some point during the night sure that he is going to be sick. He heads for the bathroom and ends up passing out on the bathroom floor, overcome by the combination of jet lag and too much alcohol.
Run Time by Chris Niles
(Berkley, $5.99, V) ISBN 0-425-17119-1
British radio reporter Sam Ridley is on his way to Australia to visit his son. He has not seen Simon for six months because the boys mother, Mary, decided her employment opportunities were better half a world away. On the plane, Sam makes the acquaintance of Michelle ODonnell, an attractive Australian, who seems eager to get to know him better.
On his arrival in Sydney, the fates seem to be conspiring against Sam. First, his luggage is lost. Then, he receives a phone call from his ex-wife saying that she and Simon are stranded on an island off the Great Barrier Reef due to a storm, and wont make it back to Sydney for a few days. Sam is disconsolate, wondering what to do next, when Michelle appears and offers to take him to her home to get cleaned up and then out to dinner.
Not knowing quite what else to do, Sam accepts her invitation. After dinner, Michelle insists on extending the evening by dancing and more drinking. The night finally ends with Sam accompanying Michelle back to her home. There is more drinking and the inevitable tumbling into bed with each other. Sam awakens at some point during the night sure that he is going to be sick. He heads for the bathroom and ends up passing out on the bathroom floor, overcome by the combination of jet lag and too much alcohol.
The next morning, Sam stumbles to the kitchen and makes coffee. As he enters the bedroom to give Michelle a cup, he finds she had been bludgeoned to death. Now he has a real problem. Reporting Michelles death to the police doesnt seem wise since Sam is the most likely candidate for her murderer, yet trying to conduct an investigation on his own with little local knowledge seems an insurmountable task.
Run Time really lives up to its name. Poor Sam Ridley is on the move constantly as he tries to evade the police and simultaneously unravel the mystery surrounding Michelles death. There is no shortage of action and, from Sams viewpoint, at every turn something happens which makes the situation worse. It is tempting to say that there are too many hard-to-believe circumstances that lead to disastrous results for Sam, yet there is a logical explanation for every event.
The characters, with the exception of Sam, are not particularly well developed. The reader does not learn enough about any of them to predict their actions in a strange situation. And they all seem to be stereotypical. There is the body guard/chauffeur tough guy, the hustler/land developer that has eyes bigger than his check book, the mother of a long dead murder victim, who is tougher and more clever than she first appears, as well as the requisite reporter, and private detective.
What saves Sam from being a stereotypical character is his wit. Sam has a unique perspective on almost anything. No matter how grim the situation, Sam lightens the tone with an appropriately offbeat comment. Does Michelle have any enemies? Decency and common sense. is the reply. Sams description of the bachelor private investigators abode is another gem. The cooker had stains dating back to the Paleolithic era. I felt right at home.
Although Run Time is probably not destined to be mentioned in the same breath as the works of masters of the mystery genre, it is an enjoyable read. The authors witticisms make it well worth the cover price.
- Credit TheMysteryReader.com
The next morning, Sam stumbles to the kitchen and makes coffee. As he enters the bedroom to give Michelle a cup, he finds she had been bludgeoned to death. Now he has a real problem. Reporting Michelles death to the police doesnt seem wise since Sam is the most likely candidate for her murderer, yet trying to conduct an investigation on his own with little local knowledge seems an insurmountable task.
On his arrival in Sydney, the fates seem to be conspiring against Sam. First, his luggage is lost. Then, he receives a phone call from his ex-wife saying that she and Simon are stranded on an island off the Great Barrier Reef due to a storm, and wont make it back to Sydney for a few days. Sam is disconsolate, wondering what to do next, when Michelle appears and offers to take him to her home to get cleaned up and then out to dinner.
Not knowing quite what else to do, Sam accepts her invitation. After dinner, Michelle insists on extending the evening by dancing and more drinking. The night finally ends with Sam accompanying Michelle back to her home. There is more drinking and the inevitable tumbling into bed with each other. Sam awakens at some point during the night sure that he is going to be sick. He heads for the bathroom and ends up passing out on the bathroom floor, overcome by the combination of jet lag and too much alcohol.
Run Time by Chris Niles
(Berkley, $5.99, V) ISBN 0-425-17119-1
British radio reporter Sam Ridley is on his way to Australia to visit his son. He has not seen Simon for six months because the boys mother, Mary, decided her employment opportunities were better half a world away. On the plane, Sam makes the acquaintance of Michelle ODonnell, an attractive Australian, who seems eager to get to know him better.
On his arrival in Sydney, the fates seem to be conspiring against Sam. First, his luggage is lost. Then, he receives a phone call from his ex-wife saying that she and Simon are stranded on an island off the Great Barrier Reef due to a storm, and wont make it back to Sydney for a few days. Sam is disconsolate, wondering what to do next, when Michelle appears and offers to take him to her home to get cleaned up and then out to dinner.
Not knowing quite what else to do, Sam accepts her invitation. After dinner, Michelle insists on extending the evening by dancing and more drinking. The night finally ends with Sam accompanying Michelle back to her home. There is more drinking and the inevitable tumbling into bed with each other. Sam awakens at some point during the night sure that he is going to be sick. He heads for the bathroom and ends up passing out on the bathroom floor, overcome by the combination of jet lag and too much alcohol.
The next morning, Sam stumbles to the kitchen and makes coffee. As he enters the bedroom to give Michelle a cup, he finds she had been bludgeoned to death. Now he has a real problem. Reporting Michelles death to the police doesnt seem wise since Sam is the most likely candidate for her murderer, yet trying to conduct an investigation on his own with little local knowledge seems an insurmountable task.
Run Time really lives up to its name. Poor Sam Ridley is on the move constantly as he tries to evade the police and simultaneously unravel the mystery surrounding Michelles death. There is no shortage of action and, from Sams viewpoint, at every turn something happens which makes the situation worse. It is tempting to say that there are too many hard-to-believe circumstances that lead to disastrous results for Sam, yet there is a logical explanation for every event.
The characters, with the exception of Sam, are not particularly well developed. The reader does not learn enough about any of them to predict their actions in a strange situation. And they all seem to be stereotypical. There is the body guard/chauffeur tough guy, the hustler/land developer that has eyes bigger than his check book, the mother of a long dead murder victim, who is tougher and more clever than she first appears, as well as the requisite reporter, and private detective.
What saves Sam from being a stereotypical character is his wit. Sam has a unique perspective on almost anything. No matter how grim the situation, Sam lightens the tone with an appropriately offbeat comment. Does Michelle have any enemies? Decency and common sense. is the reply. Sams description of the bachelor private investigators abode is another gem. The cooker had stains dating back to the Paleolithic era. I felt right at home.
Although Run Time is probably not destined to be mentioned in the same breath as the works of masters of the mystery genre, it is an enjoyable read. The authors witticisms make it well worth the cover price.
- Credit TheMysteryReader.com
The next morning, Sam stumbles to the kitchen and makes coffee. As he enters the bedroom to give Michelle a cup, he finds she had been bludgeoned to death. Now he has a real problem. Reporting Michelles death to the police doesnt seem wise since Sam is the most likely candidate for her murderer, yet trying to conduct an investigation on his own with little local knowledge seems an insurmountable task.
