The Murder Exchange by Simon Kernick

Yes, it's another Kernick book. This time it's his second book written in 2003 and published by Corgi. The story tells of a man who runs a business of protecting people when they're on their way to collect some illicit goods or maybe a celeb on their way to an event. While this business is purely crime free there is of course the possibility that something could go very wrong. And it does.

Now Max Iversson has to avoid the law along with taking a big risk of kidnapping one of London's most notorious criminals.

What follows is a journey through the underworld chasing murderers, police beaters and kidnappers. And quite a journey it is.

Unlike Kernick's other novels this is written from only two points of view in 1st person format only. Another difference is the chapter naming. Whilst all his other books are numbered chapters, this one goes by number of days before the main event and afterwards. A possibility for this is that the story lasts more than just a couple of days unlike the other novels. However, there is no problem in this concept and it works well.

I only recognise Tina Boyd in this story, the other characters don't ring a bell although crooked cop Dennis Milne was mentioned in small parts However, this doesn't matter as such as we are introduced to the characters again in each different book.

Normally I would have read this in a couple of days but damn internet thing has kept me away from books so it took 5 days instead.

As usual Kernick has written with his foot (along with a pen) pressed down hard to create a gripping thriller giving us an insight into what really goes down in the picturesque city of London.

Overall rating: 4/5

Murder.com by Christopher Berry-Dee and Steven Morris

'Shows how death can be only a click away' says The Sunday Times. And the Times speaks the truth. Murder.com gives a list of incidents in which people have used the internet to find people to satisfy their depraved sexual needs, mostly being S&M or the wish to torture/be tortured amongst the classic Russian Bride scams and another involving the palistinean and Isralean feud.

These are the true stories of the nightmares you have on being stalked through the internet.

I'm sure many readers will remember the story of the man who trawled the internet to find someone he could kill and eat or maybe the story of the 11 year old who killed her 12 year old friend in Japan after she (the friend) called the 11 year old something related to a fat joke.

Some of the stories described in this book I thought were only possible in films. However, being an internet user of 11+ years I know my way around and how to be safe although admittedly I have come across some rather worrying sites (tubgirl anyone?).

The accounts are well-documented and worth a read if you want to know what lurks behind sites like Facebook and Google. It is a book that will make you think twice before clicking on a website headed "Fall in love with your Russian wife here!!" so remember: This is the dark side of the web. Be careful where you click.

A good and informative read but nothing to rave about.

Overall rating: 3/5