Jinn by Matthew B.J. Delaney
01/05/2004 . Source: Tomas L. Martin 
pub: Pan MacMillan. 625 page paperback. Price: ? 6.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-330-41855-6). Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.panmacmillan.com
It's hard to pin Matthew B.J. Delaney's first novel into any particular genre or style. Is 'Jinn' a crime thriller about two detectives hunting a merciless killer, a supernatural fantasy of demons and reincarnation or a World War Two horror?
Wherever, this debut is placed by its marketers and it should do well, as it manages to bridge the gaps between each of these vastly different subjects and produce a novel that thrills, scares and intrigues in equal measure.
'Jinn' begins with a US attack on a Japanese held island in the Pacific during WWII. The soldiers survive a visceral beachhead assault and pursue the Japanese forces inland. They gradually become aware that something else is on the island as members of their squad are brutally murdered by something...inhuman.
Things are just reaching climax when the action cuts to a few days later, when the sole surviving member of the squad is rescued by a hospital ship and sent back to safety. Just as he realises the thing has boarded the ship, too, enemy bombers sink the craft. In 2007, the hospital ship is recovered by archaeologists and the beast kills three deep-sea divers re-floating the old vessel.
The story continues in a near-future Boston, where homicide detectives Brogan and Jefferson are called onto a series of incredibly brutal murders in which the victims have been slashed by what look like a three-clawed creature. More and more deaths are reported and it becomes ever more apparent that this isn't the work of a normal killer or even a human one. Gradually, the ancient truth to the creature is discovered and Jefferson and Brogan become embroiled in something far more important than they realise.
The most impressive thing about 'Jinn' is its pacing. The story builds and builds up to incredible levels of suspense and horror but just as the action (and violence, of which there's a lot) reaches its crescendo, Delaney taps it back down and starts over again. The mid-novel pause to recount an unnatural event in the detectives' past breaks the plotline in an unexpected and laudable way. The final acts that stem from this revelation both exhilarate and keep you guessing, right to the end.
The writing is assured and extremely readable, to the point of being unputdownable. One of the best things I can highlight about 'Jinn' is that each plot twist was a pleasant surprise. Towards the end of the book, as I searched for something major to criticise, I thought I could guess what the final twist would be. Although my guess wasn't far off, the actual result turned my expectations around and left me smiling. That major criticism never appeared.
It is ultimately Delaney's mixing of genres that elevates this effort above others. The mix of familiar elements of crime, war and thriller with more unorthodox horror or fantasy parts keep each other fresh and alive. It's definitely a book that will be read in large numbers on trains and in airport waiting lounges but like Koontz or King, there's a level of sophistication in this book compared to your standard pot-boiler. A place in the best-sellers list for this author in the future would not come as a surprise.
Tomas L. Martin |
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