Madhouse Family Reviews: Book review : The First Rule of Ten

Saturday, 1 February 2014

Book review : The First Rule of Ten - Gay Hendricks & Tinker Lindsay

*** Don't miss my giveaway to win a copy of the book ! ***

I love crime fiction but when you read a lot of detective novels, the investigators all start resembling each other. You get various types - the over-enthuastic and careless rookie cop who puts himself and his team in mortal danger; the depressed, burnt-out cop who has lost his marriage due to the pressures of the job and has only his work and a growing drink problem to fill his days; the bitter vengeful cop who is hellbent on getting revenge on the one who got away and/or hurt his family; the corrupt cop who has become part of the criminal gangs he is supposed to be eradicating ...

Well, suffice to say, Tenzing Norbu, or Ten as he is generally known, is a welcome breath of fresh air. He is totally unique and atypical and, even after finishing the first novel in the series, I know that I have a lot more to learn about him. Personifying his complex American/Tibetan origins, Tenzing grew up in a monastery in Tibet and started out as a monk, before joining the boys in blue at the LAPD and finally quitting the force to branch out as a private investigator. We discover Ten at this turning point in his life.

Tenzing may have left the monastery behind but he has retained his skills of meditation, martial arts and believing in karma, all of which seem to help him out on a day-to-day basis. He's not perfect though - he's actually quite hopeless when it comes to dating and his clumsiness with his new girlfriend adds an enjoyable undercurrent to his professional work.

Ten's guiding principle - "Don't ignore intuitive tickles lest they reappear as sledgehammers" - leads him into the midst of a complex case involving a strange religious sect, a series of untimely deaths and some dodgy-looking insurance contracts that all seem to be inextricably linked. Ten must try to unravel the mystery, while trying to untangle his equally complicated feelings for the new woman in his life, and that's before he even stops to wonder where his next pay cheque will be coming from.

It's quite a gentle detective story, that relies on suspense and proper story-telling rather than violence and bloodshed, in-keeping with Tenzing's monastic background and his choice of role-model in Sherlock Holmes. Now that the groundwork has been laid out, presenting the complex character of Tenzing and explaining his motives, I'm hoping that the future episodes will be slightly more fast-paced. I'm keen to see what awaits him as he seems to be a magnet for trouble !

star rating : 4.5/5