Wicked Game

In British author Johnson’s uneven first novel, cop Robert Finlay is targeted by bombers Declan Costello and Selahattin Yildrim, who have killed two men in India and two policemen in the U.K. A former SAS soldier now with the Royal Protection team in London, Finlay is proving difficult to terminate, which gives him time to figure out who is after him and why. The reason might have something to do with such events as the decades-old siege of the Iranian embassy in London. Meanwhile, he has to keep his wife and daughter safe. With assistance from MI5 operative Monaghan, his former commanding officer, and his police friend Sgt. Kevin Jones, Finlay sets out to neutralize his enemies before the plot lumbers to a contrived climax at Finlay’s house. Johnson, a former soldier and police officer, knows this world firsthand, but Finlay is a one-dimensional, all-too-lucky, and saintly hero. Johnson is best at the few exciting action scenes, and describing when the cops and criminals puzzle out what their rivals are thinking. (Oct.)