Mike Phillips (1) (1941–)

When the daughter of a prominent Tory MP goes missing in mysterious circumstances, an old college friend asks journalist Sam Dean to help locate her. She's believed to have gone off with a black boyfriend and it's thought that Sam, being black himself, might be able to merge tactfully into their milieu. Of course, there turns out to be much more to it than that, and Sam soon finds himself plunged into a complicated story of kidnappings and drug deals.

Phillips says he had Balzac in mind when show more he started writing about Sam Dean, thinking about the complex interconnectedness of different social layers in Thatcher-era Britain, and that certainly comes across in this first book, where we go across the social scale from prostitutes and young ex-convicts right up to the fringes of the Cabinet, exploring the envy, greed, racism and self-interest that cements that social fabric. Phillips seems to be almost as cynical about human nature as Balzac was, too, but he is also tied into the conventions of noir, where at least some involuntary goodness has to shine through by the time we get to the end.

An exciting, well-written thriller, with a reasonable mix of entertainment and social criticism. show less

For some reason I got into my head that this was a mystery, whereas it is more of a thriller.
Gus decides that he is going to steal a priceless gold African mask known as the Dancing face. It's not entirely clear what he is planning on doing with it, but it seems to be a political statement about returning to its origins an item that was originally stolen from the tribe to whom it was the face of a god. All so far so good. Then the money gets involved and there's a lot of trading and show more negotiation and the heavies get involved. It's both action packed and gives plenty of time for the theoretical debate about the thorny subjects of stolen artworks and race.
This was first published in 1997, so there are no mobile phones in here. But it didn't feel dated, the ideas are still relevant and the protagonists are well drawn. It is also a page turner, I read the second half in one sitting, and the time flew by. This is re-released as part of Penguin's series of black writers, but it deserves no condescension, this is certainly worth a look on it's own merits. I'd read more by this author. show less