A human killing machine
Crime is at least as old as Homo sapiens, as are laws to deal with it. Hammurabi’s Code and the 10 Commandments went into effect millennia ago. They naturally focused on men and women, yet largely ignored crimes against children. Children could well be culprits, but not victims.
Because of this, it was common practice to beat children, mutilate, rape, sacrifice them. They were turned into beggars, prostitutes, sex slaves. Alas, child trafficking is common in this day and age. Though this is played down by governments, it is no less as widespread as the drug trade.
The public is largely unaware of this because it’s so awful, the perpetrators both genders. In fact, examples are easily found in pornographic shops. Secret exhibitions are shown for a price. The bottom line is that paedophilia remains an active crime.
Novelists are aware of this, but as it is a touchy subject and it’s best avoided. In parts of the world it is acceptable. However, now and then it is made the plot of a work of fiction. Popular Yank author David Baldacci does it in The Guilty.
This reviewer regrets to say that he pussy foots around it for 300 of its 500 pages. The setting is the state of Mississippi which, he informs the reader, has 40,000 alligators and numerous poisonous snakes. His literary creation Will Robie is a carry-over from several earlier stories.
Robie is an assassin for a hush US government agency. All he does is kill enemies targeting national security abroad and at home. With his sniper’s rifle, Glock handguns, knife, arms and legs he is responsible for more corpses than he can count. His female assistant is Jessica Reel.
His father Dan is a retired judge arrested for murder, and Robie and Reel return to the town he left as a teenager to clear his name. He finds that his high school girlfriend is Dan’s second wife. Girls are being kidnapped and murdered, evidence pointing to the local casino.
Our hero is attacked — big mistake — his assailants treated with extreme prejudice. The casino is a front for paedophilia. If you like a human killing machine, Will Robie will appeal to you. He even puts a gator out of action. Needless to say, Dan is innocent. Not his spouse, though.