Starmaker

Starmaker is a dark and compelling thriller that blends classic noir elements with contemporary narrative. The story is both hardboiled and fresh, shadowy and urban while also cosmopolitan, simultaneously capturing the nuanced textures of the highlife and the lowlife. Mr. Bauckham has managed here to modernize the essence of a Hammett or a Chandler, bringing the reader into a 21st century underbelly rife with classic drama, suspenseful uncertainty, and deep investigations into the criminal mind. Starmaker is written in a crisp, flowing style, presenting the characters and settings in vivid dimensionality and thus creating an almost filmic quality. The reader is left feeling as if he or she is actually there with detectives Forillo and Hodges as they hunt for the killer, stalking through the same city landscapes and seeing the same sights as the character themselves. It is clear that Mr. Bauckham is well versed and extremely well read in the thriller genre; he effortlessly draws up images and turns of phrase like a seasoned detective writer easily expressing complex ideas and scenarios. Starmaker already feels like a classic, a piece both grounded in the tradition of the genre, but also cutting edge. For fans of the thriller, I highly recommend this book.