Criminal Paradise

by: Steven M. Thomas

Published by: Ballantine Books

Reviewed by Kim Reis

Rob Rivers is looking forward to retiring from his life of crime. His partner, Switch, is also being pushed to retire by his pregnant girlfriend. Then, when they break into a strongbox from a restaurant heist, they find a photograph of a beautiful young Vietnamese girl looking very frightened. Rob is determined to find out who she is and try to save her. In doing this, Rob, Switch, and an old friend, troublemaker Reggie, get caught up in a world of sex slavery and come up against the sadistic psychopath holding the girl.

Rob is a mostly likable guy, tooling around in his prized Cadillac DeVille and planning his heists carefully so that nobody gets hurt. His background makes his determination to help this unknown girl believable.

However, when most of the men in the book have sex with the girl they are trying to rescue, I’m a bit less inclined to root for our hero. The dark and graphically described slave auction seemed a bit gratuitous, and the unexpected help in the final showdown pushes credibility.

Thomas’ voice kept me reading though–despite the subject matter–and I would probably give him another opportunity to impress me.

Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer’s words.