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SPIES, LIES 'N' 'DED-Heads'
by David Fleming
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Sunday Tasmanian, March 15, 2009
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ONE of the many joys of being an avid reader is finding an author whose work you enjoy, then pouncing on each new offering as it hits the bookshops. For this reviewer, one of those special authors is Sydney-based Geoff McGeachin. After bursting on to the national literary scene with the unforgettable Fat, Fifty and F***ed, McGeachin followed up with two hilarious novels featuring the highly engaging photographer/spy Alby Murdoch. D-E-D Dead and Sensitive New Age Spy put Alby and his adventures right at the top of my "must-have'' book list.
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The third book featuring Alby, Dead and Kicking, is the strongest in the series so far and shows a novelist at the peak of his form. As the story begins, Alby has been suspended from his duties with the Directorate for Extra-territorial Defence (whose employees refer to themselves as "DED-heads''), so he takes a job as stills photographer on the set of an Australian movie being filmed in Vietnam. The film is a biopic about an Australian war hero, Major Peter Cartwright, who vanishes, presumed dead, after a fierce jungle battle.
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Once filming is wrapped up, Alby decides to spend a bit more time in Asia before heading back to Australia. He is on a break from his duties as a spy and/or photographer, but Alby never goes anywhere without a camera. While taking random pictures of a busy Saigon street, Alby captures an image that makes him a marked man.The photo seems to show the face of a man who has recently become very familiar to Alby -- none other than the supposedly deceased Major Peter Cartwright.
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Alby sets about trying to track down the man, but soon realises there are forces afoot that will stop at nothing -- including murder -- to stop him. Never one to back down from a confrontation, Alby continues his search, which leads him from Vietnam to Thailand, Hong Kong, a corrupt casino in Macau, the halls of political power in Canberra, and finally a climactic showdown near Darwin.
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On the way he calls on the help of old friends, locks horns with unscrupulous foes, and has far too close an encounter with a pool stocked with hundreds of a lethal hybrid fish, the Barrana, which combines the delicious flavour of a barramundi with the voracious appetite, aggression and fast-growing abilities of a piranha. And just to break up the tension, Alby manages to find time to squeeze in a romantic liaison or two.
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McGeachin has a real flair for action-adventure writing. His pacing is excellent, his ever-changing scene locations are richly detailed, and his plotting is intricate without being cumbersome. Throw in his inimitable sense of humour and you have a sensational combination. But the writer's true strength is in his characterisation. The people he creates, from the main characters right down to the bit-players, are magnificently described and fleshed out with a rare deft touch. Alby is the sort of man that women want to be with, and men want to be. He is charming, witty and as sharp with his brain as he is with his brawn.
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Dead and Kicking also sees the welcome return of former Australian soldier Jack Smart (previously known as Jack Stark) and his business and life partner VT, who first showed up in Fat, Fifty and F***ed. We are also introduced to the foul-mouthed celebrity chef and Alby's one-time lover, Jezebel Quick. The verbal interchanges between these two characters are priceless, although Jezebel's colourful language would definitely be worthy of an R-rating.
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And not content with satisfying the reader's appetite for a ripping adventure yarn, McGeachin also takes great delight in tantalising the physical tastebuds with an array of culinary dishes that will get the digestive juices working overtime.
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There is only one thing wrong with McGeachin's latest release -- once you finish the last page, you know there will be a painfully long wait until his next book is released. And rest assured, this reviewer will fight tooth and nail to be first in line at the bookshop.