Pinnacle of Deceit

Pinnacle of Deceit marks the arrival of a strong new contender in the thriller-writer stakes. In his debut, Montreal-born Eric Rill shows a real knack for adrenalized action that will have you flipping the pages at a furious rate, beginning with the attention-grabbing prologue. A murder in an Arizona orphanage in 1958 introduces the central characters whose lives will remain intertwined until a seemingly inevitable and violent confrontation over four decades later. In the interim, the protagonists have become highly successful and powerful in their chosen pursuits. Harmon Baker is president of the United States, Ricardo Sanchez a greedy and brutal drug lord, and Anthony Marshall the founder and head of Marshall Pinnacle Hotels, an international chain of luxury hotels that indulge every whim of their elite customers. That's where the "Pinnacle" of the book's title comes in, and Marshall provides the deceit as well. Once his double dealings are discovered by his wife Caroline and his prot g Justin Pratt, the web of corruption he has spun begins to unravel, with lethal consequences. The centres of action move at lightning speed among New York, Washington, Montreal, London, South Africa, and Mexico, with nary a pause for breath. Of course, these characters are so rich they don't need to bother collecting frequent flyer miles.

Rill's previous gig was as president of a global hotel group, so his experienced insights into the way a luxury hotel operates are a fascinating extra here. He gets a mite carried away in his descriptions of the high-class meals and wines consumed and art works collected, but he deserves credit for including a Norah Jones reference, surely written before the singer became such a huge success. The author won't win the highest of marks as a literary stylist, but those who love riveting suspense and a twist in the tale will find Pinnacle of Deceit a Rill-y good read. --Kerry Doole