Review: Budapest/48 by Sean Black

Title: Budapest/48
Author: Sean Black
Publication Date: 15th March 2015
Pages: 63
Rating: 4/5
Purchase: Amazon

It sounds like easy money. Fly into Budapest. Handle the exchange in a straightforward kidnap for ransom case. Fly back home.

Total time involved: 48 hours.

But as private security operators Ryan Lock and Ty Johnson are about to find out, there is no such thing as easy money.

Budapest/48 is the new novella (short novel) from bestselling thriller writer Sean Black.

Sean Black is one of my favourite thriller writers, having created one of the best characters I've read about in the genre in Ryan Lock. I was very excited then to receive an unexpected email with a review copy inside of Budapest/48. Short stories in the Kindle age, as I've said before, tend to be nothing more than a glorified advert for an author's work, yet Budapest/48 is slightly longer than your average short story, and almost manages to pack the punch that a full-length novel from Sean Black does.

Ryan Lock and his partner Ty are given a job that sounds like easy money. Fly into Budapest, handle a kidnap exchange before flying back home. This all sounds too easy, and those who have met Lock and Ty before will know that nothing is ever that simple for them, as they are about to find out... Sean, as always doesn't waste any time, getting stuck into the story from the off. Meeting Lock and Ty is like being reacquainted with old friends, I love their friendship (and Lock's warning to Ty about Ryanair early on in the book). The story moves at a fast pace, and being short it was obviously a little rushed before being wrapped up neatly towards the end, but with the strong characterisation and writing that is always delivered from Sean.

As always it's difficult to talk about the plot of a short story, but given that I had this read in just one sitting and was left wanting more, hopefully that's a sign of how much I enjoyed it. It serves as both an introduction to Lock and Ty, but will also whet the appetite of Sean's eager fans who are patiently waiting for another full-length novel featuring Ryan Lock. Perfect for that train journey into work, or a quick and easy read before bed. And those new to Sean's books would certainly be well-advised to read them, all of them come highly recommended by me.

4/5