Customer Reviews

Relative Danger

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The story starts in Singapore in 1948, but most of the action takes place in present day locales. Douglas Pearce is a Pottsville, Pennsylvania, native who loses his job at the local brewery just in time to embark on an Indiana Jones-like adventure, in search of the killer of his Uncle Russell, the black sheep of the Pearce family, who was murdered in 1948 Singapore.

He finds himself confounded in Casablanca, confined in Cairo, bogged down in Bahrain, and celebrated in Singapore. Benoit had me hooked from page one, and kept me riveted all the way through.

I picked this one up because I had recenty been to Singapore, and thought it might be interesting to read about the city in a novel. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing! Benoit has Singapore down pat. His descriptions made me want to visit the other places Doug visited, as well.

My husband loved this book, too. We both laughed out loud at some passages, and the solution to the mystery wasn't obvious until very close to the end. I'm looking forward to Mr. Benoit's next book!

"Relative Danger" is a mystery with a three chambered heart. First is Doug Pearce's hunt for answers about a long lost uncle who came to a bad end in a hotel room in 1948 Singapore. Doug is about the least likely sleuth one might ever encounter in the genre. He is an "innocent abroad" with a nice earthen hue. His only credentials are a blood relationship to the victim and (thanks to being laid off from a brewery job) enough free time to look into the case. His dependency on "the kindness of strangers" begins in chapter one with a mysterious benefactor financing his journey overseas. It continues person-to-person to the very end of the story with a timely arrival of Singapore authorities and media. This person-to-person connection makes the figures we meet along the way real, even recognizable.

All points in between Morocco and Singapore are connected in the second beating lobe of this story's heart by a hunt for a blood red diamond that chases through some of the most exotic and interesting places on Earth. The taste, smell and feel of each waypoint is so richly told that a it's hard to resist the urge to check the passport between chapters for freshly inked visa stamps.

The most delicious pulse of this story's heart comes from its third lobe, Aisha Al-Kady, a woman as exotic and sensual as the environment she fills. In Arabic, Aisha means life. In "Relative Danger", Aisha means life AND to have it more abundantly. She's so strongly drawn that dents in her halo are real, the beauty bone-deep, the sex exuberant, and the bullets deadly.

This isn't the kind of story intended to be heady or profound. No, what earns "Relative Danger" its chops is the way it's told. This is a story with compelling prose, a gut-feel reality, an unexpected twist ending, and a delightfully Southern pace. It is an Edgar Allan Poe Awards® 2005 Nominee for Best First Novel By An American Author. It is an impressive first outing for Charles Benoit. I look forward to more.

This is a good book. I was entertained. The author is smart and has an eloquent writing style. However, the characters lack depth, the three exotic countries the character travels to are covered only superficially, and the venues visited are the most popular tourist traps. It's as if the author traveled to Morocco, Egypt and Singapore for only about three days each, and then decided to write a fiction novel based on his limited experience. I studied in Egypt and live in Singapore now, so I was hoping for a little greater insight into these countries. I would also rate the book PG, because the action is mildly intense and no one dies. If you are looking for a gritty fiction thriller that takes place in an exotic locale and presents an Asian country with depth and insight drawn from years of in-country experience, check out The Opportunists by Yohann de Silva. Here's the link: The Opportunists: A Novel

Relative Danger by Charles Benoit starts in 1948 Singapore with the murder of Russell Pearce. In present day Pennsylvania Doug Pearce has always been fascinated with stories of his Uncle Russ the black sheep of the family. A letter from an old friend of his uncle's arrives with an offer he can't refuse. A chance to solve the murder of Russel Pearce and recover a legendary red diamond. Doug agrees to play detective for how bad could it be? Follow Doug as he jets from Morocco to Egypt to Singapore following a trail left years ago by his uncle and his uncle's killer.

Relative Danger envelopes you in it's story. I was sorry to find out "who done it' because the whole journey to arrive at the denouement was so well written that I didn't want it to end. Relative Danger is a lively read with a likeable hero, exotic locations, fascinating characters and non stop action. Put this all together and you have a can't put down must read mystery! I can't wait to read Charles Benoit's next book.

This book has it all. Doug is a wonderful naïve-but-not protagonist, fabulous sense of place, great characters, wonderful dialogue that at time had me laughing aloud, and an ending that definitely makes you want to go along with Doug on his next adventure. A contender for my annual top 10 list, I loved this book!

If ever than was an anti-James Bond, it's Doug Pearce. He's just lost his job at the Pottsville, Pennsylvania brewery, he's spending his days watching TV and hanging out at the mall, and the one goal he's achieved since graduating from high school has been that he's now a bum. So when he receives an intriguing letter from a woman in Canada offering to give him information about his uncle - a man mentioned in Doug's family only as an example of how not to be - Doug has all the time and interest to see her. What he learns is that his Uncle Russell not only was murdered but possibly was a jewel thief as well. Edna Bowers then makes him an offer he can't refuse; she'll pay for him to travel to Casablanca and around the world to discover who killed Russell and maybe find the jewel as well.

Once in Casablanca Doug finds himself living out the life of his dreams. Aided by a beautiful woman who may be a liar (Doug's willing to overlook this), he's thrown in jail for transporting drugs, attacked by muggers, and one of his sources gets murdered. Doug may not be particularly intelligent, skillful, or experienced, but he's having more adventure than he ever had in Pottsville. Doug also realizes that he's caring less about finding out who killed his uncle than he is in having the time of his life.

This is a wonderful twist on the spy/caper novel, with the hero not really knowing what he's doing but willing to try anything. Doug is an extremely original and down-to-earth character whose fighting skill comes from weekends spent drinking and fighting and who's quite aware that he's in over his head. The plot moves quickly through Morocco, Egypt, and Singapore, and ultimately Doug proves himself to be much sharper than anyone, including himself, originally believes. Benoit has created a vastly entertaining novel full of wry humor, wit, and action.

Doug is a wonderful, naive-but-not, protagonist. It may not be the strongest mystery written, but there is fabulous sense of place, great characters, dialogue that had me laughing at times, and an ending that made me anxious for Doug's next adventure and Beniot's next book.

RELATIVE DANGER by Charles Benoit is truly of the best modern day adventure novels that I have read in a long time! Charles Benoit knows what he writes about and he takes you there without hesitation. All I can say is that to miss this Benoit classic is a crime. But fear not, when Benoit leaves you wanting more, you can get more great adventures in OUT OF ORDER and NOBLE LIES. Get addicted, NOW! with Benoit. You will not regret it!

This author was new for me, I had never seen one of his books or heard of him until last week when I found it in a specialty mystery bookstore. I love books that take place in exotic locales so it won me over enough to take a copy home. There are exotic locales but that is about all I found interesting. The first half of the book is rather engaging, fun, humorous and adventurous, that first half showed promise. The third quarter soon becomes boring, repetitious of the protagonist's many comedy of errors events, and by the last quarter these Laurel and Hardy-like bumbling scenarios become rather stupid. I agree with one other reviewer in the sense that the second half of the book almost seemed penned by a different author. Or, the author had a great idea and didn't know where to take it. The ending was rather a pleasant turn of events but the reader almost expects this sort of ending to happen anyway, leaving it in a way rather predictable even though you might not have the exact ending in your head as you journey along. This was not a terrible book, but it is certainly not of an accomplished, seasoned writer.

Just fired from his job at a brewery, Doug Pearce travels to Casablanca, Cairo, and Singapore to solve the mystery of his uncle's murder and the whereabouts of a stolen red diamond. While the book starts like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, placing an ordinary man into extraordinary circumstances, it didn't really thrill me, even with the roof-top chases and exotic women. If the book was supposed to be a mystery, the resolution, while clever, doesn't lead you to believe that Doug is smart enough to figure it out. Benoit's writing is superb in many other areas though. His convincing portrayal of the Middle East, hilarious comic timing, and supporting cast of odd characters really give this adventure a distinctive flavor. For a debut novel, it's not bad, but it ultimately falls short.