A novel so pedestrian, trite and unintentionally funny that it reads better as a satire on the genre than as genuine thriller. With that pedigree, therefore, I was expecting something a little more interesting than what Gardner gives us in “Crisis”. The second Luke Carlton thriller, Ultimatum, was also a Sunday Times top 10 bestseller, as was the third, Outbreak. Combining insider knowledge, up-to-the-minute hardware, fly on the wall insights with heart-in-mouth excitement, CRISIS boasts an irresistible, visceral frisson of authenticity: smart, fast-paced and furiously entertaining, here is a thriller for the 21st century. When asking readers to suspend their disbelief, the author shouldn’t then ask them to suspend even more disbelief, especially so early in the plot.

This effects the pace of the plot as well as character development and due to the underdeveloped characters and character relationships I didn't really feel connected to any of them throughout. For those of you who do not know, Frank was severely wounded in an Al Qaeda attack in Yemen in 2004 – his cameraman was killed, and he was left for dead with eleven bullets in him. With excellent characters, a modern and realistic outlook to our current world and solid plotting and pacing, I thought this was an exceptional spy/thriller style of story and I am eager to read the author’s next offering. Introducing Luke Carlton – ex-Special Boat Service commando and now under contract to MI6 for some of its most dangerous missions. Its just a pity that he does nothing interesting or fresh with the Garcia character to make him stand out from the crowd.Oh, and I HATED how the girlfriend had been written - whiney Sloane Ranger one minute; kick-arse, kidnap escaping martial expert the next. Author of 4 bestselling books ‘ Blood and Sand‘ describing his Middle East experiences and ‘ Far Horizons‘ describing unusual journeys to unusual places, Crisis, his debut spy thriller set in Colombia, and Ultimatum – his latest thriller. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I bought this book, but with the name of Frank Gardner attached I was probably expecting more. In co-operation with a rogue state, and using the attributes of his mini-submarines usually used for smuggling the drugs, he has concocted a plan that will wipe the smile off the faces of those gringos – literally! He is seconded to MI6 on a trial basis and, because he speaks fluent Spanish, is sent to Colombia to investigate when an MI6 officer is murdered while investigating one of the most notorious drugs gangs.

We don’t need to spend time with the man organising the Rememberance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph, or need to know so much about the welder working for the bad guys to help them build their bomb (another entirely unrealistic character). A fluent Arabist, with a degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies, he was previously the BBC's Middle East Correspondent based in Cairo, and before that in Dubai. With his extended stint in the military, it made sense he could handle himself in a rough situation and had plenty of organizational skills and a sharp mind. While we are obviously supposed to root for the success of the couple, halfway through she snogs a man who is such a cliche of arseholery (name of Hugo, Goldman Sachs banker, slick back hair etc etc) that she is clearly a dick.The only bit of the plot I didn’t find far fetched was the idea of smuggling a weapon of mass destruction into the UK. After many years as an SBS commando, Luke Carlton needed a change of pace and a short-term contract with SIS seemed like the perfect fit. When action hero-by-numbers Luke meets a soldier ex-colleague and they exchange the type of lame homoerotic repartee beloved of the military.

This is a feat that would challenge the skipper of a Trident submarine, yet these two bozos manage it with ease - without any navigation equipment more sophisticated than a compass. However, I can't help but wonder why his friends and (particularly) his editor didn't have a quiet word in Frank's ear before he contemplated publishing "Crisis". This is a literary territory rather overpopulated at the moment, with swaggering 21st century pseudo-Bonds crawling out of the woodwork everywhere. When SIS operative Jeremy Benton is murdered in Tumaco, Colombia, ex-SBS and ‘probationary’ agent Luke Carlton, who spent his childhood growing up in Colombia, is despatched to investigate.Instead we get Luke Carlton, and instead of complexity we are given what can best be described as bland competence. He has written for the Economist, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and Time Out and has been published in The Best of Sunday Times Travel Writing. Honestly, if she had said ‘Babes’ one more time in a way that no real woman outside of The Only Way Is Essex actually would I would have screamed. I haven't had that type of setting connection before when reading a novel, coming from New Zealand I haven't read many books which are set in New Zealand.