A review by vraper
Capital Punishment by Robert Wilson

2.0

Robert Wilson writes intricate, dense crime plots that combine psychologically-interesting characters with intriguing political machinations. I love his work, and marvel at how he manages to keep such intricate plots together. Capital Punishment is an example of how dense plotting can go horribly wrong. The beginning of the book sets up a fascinating premise - the daughter of a Indian businessman with mob and Bollywood connections is kidnapped in London, and interrogated until she reveals her darkest secret. Then two East End gangsters decide to kill her captors and take the ransom money for themselves. All great fun. Then it goes horribly wrong in the latter half of the book. Countless POV characters appear out of nowhere, including some Islamic terrorists and a Pakistani General. I ended up clueless over who was chasing who, who they all were, and who was responsible for the original kidnapping. The East End gangsters are by-far the most interesting and human characters in the novel, far more than fascinating than protagonist Charles Boxer. Wilson can write wonderful protagonists ranging from Javier Falcon, the tortured Seville detective, to murderous Nazi collaborator Klaus Felson. Charles Boxer is your common 'professional contract killer with a conscience'. It's no surprise that he ends up being sidelined in favour of a lengthy chase sequence in involving the hapless spider-tattooed cockney gangster and his disgraced-nurse mate.