The Man On Hackpen Hill

A thriller with crop circle mystery added for good measure. This was an easy read but I found the ending too far fetched so felt unable to award more stars. There was a strong beginning to this novel but the ending seemed rushed and compacted. A good read, though.

THE MAN ON HACKPEN HILL is a fairly standard thriller/police procedural, with a few unusual elements that add interest to the story, but also stretch the novel beyond belief. The presence of crop circles and conspiracy theories was intriguing, but constant references to Porton Down and nerve agents got a little wearying after awhile. Also, the focus on slightly less "policey" topics like mental health was a helpful distinguishing feature for this novel but it meant that the actual police investigation lost its interest.

Despite some attempts to give the characters depth (the main detective is working through marriage counselling with his wife, for instance) they felt quite cliché for the most part. The female characters, in particular, lacked interest, sometimes to the point of sexism. The detective's sidekick was a woman who was made out at every turn to be intelligent and hardworking, yet when the detective gives her the chance to run a briefing (which is completely unimportant from a story perspective) he does so because he thinks it's important to give women a chance, not because she's obviously more than qualified to do something so basic as a briefing.

The overall plot felt simultaneously dull and over-the-top. Throughout the story I felt consistently confused about why certain things were happening (like when Bella decides to trust Jim, this random guy she's just met, rather than the police) but the big twist at the end only made things make less sense. The rationale behind the crop circles is simply unbelievable, and the big revelation of what's really going on moved the novel from police procedural into something else entirely. I love a good ending twist that pulls everything together, but this wasn't it.

There's more I could discuss, like how the consistent references to Covid-19 make this novel feel dated within months of its release, but I think my general impressions of this novel are clear. It's a decent novel for those who enjoy detective novels with a conspiracy-theory type twist, but for anyone looking for particularly interesting characters or an especially intelligent plot, it's best to look elsewhere.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4400357961?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I read this book through my Book Club. It is my kind of book..

This was a good thriller, although complex. Set in Wiltshire, DI Silas Hart is asked to investigate a crop circle which has appeared. Although not unusual in itself, this is a particular complicated design and it also has a dead body in the centre of it! Jim, a scientist at the Government Lab at Porton Down, and Bella, a young trainee journalist get involved. Each chapter is written from one of the character’s perspectives, so it makes for a quick read. It does get quite exciting as time runs out, especially for Jim and Bella, and it leads them to discover something about themselves which they could not have foreseen.

With the exception of one, our group really enjoyed this book although a few of them did think they should have realised what was going on a little earlier. They found the story around Porton Down believable and were interested in the characters and the storyline. One member found the central premise unbelievable and compared it unfavourably to Shutter Island. Overall our score was 7 out of 10.

Not too keen on the flashbacks at the beginning of the novel as they would cut through the middle of a chapter but once past that the plot was easy to follow and fast paced.
The end is very imaginative.
Overall I enjoyed this book.

I don't think I have ever read anything like this before - what a unusual plot! Full of twists and turns, this kept me guessing until the very end. A real page turner.

DI Silas Hart is in charge of the police investigation into a dead body which has been placed in the centre of a crop circle in rural Wiltshire. The design of the crop circle has not been seen before and the coded message that the mathematical design is concealing is proving elusive. Jim, a scientist at the nearby secret government facility, Porton Down has the answer but the higher echelons of the police force are determined that he is not going to reveal the truth. In desperation, he enlists the help of Bella, a trainee journalist working on her first story and together they embark on a dangerous journey to ensure the world finds out what is going on.

This is a good thriller which is both exciting and gripping. The characters are well developed and there is plenty of action and suspense. It is also an intelligent and complex storyline, with plenty of twists and turns. The ending is both unique and creative and I didn’t see it coming at all. Another point in the book’s favour is that it was still preying on my mind a couple of weeks after I had finished it.

The problem with the book for me was that I initially had high hopes as it started off really well (5 stars) but the ending felt convoluted and contrived (moved down to 3 stars). In short I was left feeling disappointed with the solution which, at the time, I thought was stretching plausibility beyond reasonable limits, although it was certainly unexpected. Having said that, with the benefit of hindsight I began to come round to the view that it was clever rather than contrived (back up to 4 stars). On balance I have stuck with the 4 star rating.

This is certainly a good thriller which I would recommend to people who enjoy that genre. Apparently this is the third book by this author featuring DI Silas Hart and I would be very interested to read the others, given my uncertainty about how to rate this one.