Book review: The Wrong Man by Jason Dean

Revenge is a dish best served cold... and in the case of former US Marine James Bishop, that means icy cold.

He’s been sent down for murders he didn’t commit and when – not if – he breaks out of jail, he’ll find out which thugs framed him and track them down, whoever and wherever they are.

The Wrong Man is the high-octane debut novel from Jason Dean, a born-and-bred Cockney lad who dreamed of writing the kind of American thrillers that he has always loved reading.

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So move over Lee Child, there’s a new ‘kid’ on the block and his authentic voice, powerhouse plotlines and dizzying action sequences are going to give you a run for your money!

In what promises to be an impressive new series, The Wrong Man packs an electrifying punch with enough twists and turns to fill a snakes and ladders board and a tension-charged atmosphere that keeps the midnight oil burning.

Bishop has been in jail for three years now, plenty of time to mull over the shattering events that led to his wrongful conviction.

He was the leader of an elite team hired to protect millionaire Randall Brennan and his 17-year-old daughter Natalie. Brennan, a successful international arms negotiator, and his family had been receiving death threats, serious enough for them to call in New York’s top protection firm.

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During an attack on Brennan’s Long Island mansion, Bishop was drugged and regained consciousness to find seven bodies strewn throughout the house, including Brennan and his daughter and five members of Bishop’s team.

Matching fingerprints and a mountain of incriminating evidence, including a bulging offshore account found on Brennan’s home computer, were guaranteed to send him down for murder.

Bishop is convinced there was a traitor in his squad and he is desperate to discover who it was. His next parole hearing isn’t for another 27 years so he’s thinking, planning and waiting for the perfect moment to make his prison break...

His time will come and his enemies should be afraid, very afraid.

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Dean conjures up a classy thriller here; well written and plotted, the story moves along at a cracking pace with the help of short, punchy chapters and explosions of pulsating action and drama.

An element of romance adds spice to what promises to be a meaty new thriller series with a well-seasoned superhero in charge.

We’ll meet James Bishop again next spring when his second adventure, Backtrack, hits the shelves.

(Headline, paperback, £6.99)