Don’t be too concerned if you’ve never heard of Escober. It’s the pen name for the Dutch writing pair of Esther and Berry Verhoef, which has been producing best-sellers in its home country of the Netherlands for several years. Now Underland Press of Portland, Ore., feels its high time the rest of the world knew about Escober.
CHAOS, the first of four books scheduled for first-time publication in English, is a moody, dark story of disorientation and desperation. It is impressively structured, with believable characters, foreboding locations and equal amounts of action and introspection. And with the exception of one glaring plot device, it an otherwise convincing and effective thriller.
British solider Alex Fisher’s life came completely undone when he returned from his tour in Bosnia. Haunted by blackouts, nightmares and fits of violent rage, Fisher has lost his wife, his military commission and his short-lived job in security. Now he lives out his days in an alcoholic haze in Mexico.
So when his only friend, a fellow Brit who owns a nearby bar and café, asks him about the attractive, dark-haired girl he picked up the other night, Fisher is disturbed, but not altogether surprised that he can hardly remember a thing about the affair. But later that day, a pair of tough Mexican policemen corner Fisher and try to arrest him for rape.
Fisher ends up killing the policemen and immediately flees for an island off the coast. But on the ferry, he discovers the woman whom he met in the bar the night before. Her name is Angela, and she soon admits that she has been observing him for some time, and set him up for the seduction and arrest. Why? Because, she says, she needs his help. Fisher is doubtful at first, but his powerful attraction to her and his desire to be involved in another person’s life convinces him to follow her from Mexico into Spain.
Angela eventually tells Fisher about Carl, her boyfriend who is also a wealthy drug dealer. But Carl tends to sample way too much of the cocaine he sells, and it has made him abusive and dangerous. Angela wants to leave her life with Carl, and reveals her plot for a drug transaction that can make both her and Fisher rich. But as the moment of the transaction approaches, Fisher leans more about why Angela chose him, and it unleashes a whole new series of disturbing questions about his life and his identity.
It’s at this point that Escober resorts to the plot device that, we learn, the entire story hinges upon. Without spoiling it for those interested, suffice to say that it is something that is likely to make seasoned thriller readers cringe and yell “cop-out!” But Escober’s sustained mood is what continues to carry us forward after the machinations are revealed. So even if you find it all difficult to accept, you’ll probably still want to know how it’s all going to end up.
Bottom line, this English debut from Escober is recommended more for its stylistic skills than the credibility of its plot. But even with that, its virtues are enough to prime us for the next work from this Dutch duo. —Alan Cranis
