I love a good thriller but I often find that they end up falling into a fairly formulaic plot. This isn’t always a bad thing as this can be exactly what I’m looking for when I pick up the book and this clearly works for many. However, High Wire is a thriller that doesn’t fall into a generic plot, it’s one that interweaves multiple lives, resulting in one of the most intense and best thrillers I’ll read all year!
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I was kindly sent a copy of High Wire by Kam Majd by Social Deviants in return for an honest review. All views are my own.
High Wire is the first book by Kam Majd in the thriller genre. It tells Captain Kate Gallagher’s story after she finds herself piloting a plane that appears to suddenly lose control. When the world and the media turn against her, convinced it’s her own inabilities and possibly the fact she was only hired to be the “token woman pilot” she sets out to prove every wrong and find tangible evidence that something else happened to the controls that night and she, in fact, saved more lives than many others would have.
High Wire plot – 4.5/5
To say that High Wire starts off strongly would be an understatement. The first chapter throws you straight into the action and has you flipping the pages to find out what’s happening and what is eventually going to happen. It’s a great start to a book that then paces itself almost perfectly for the rest of the story.
You’re introduced to family members, introduced to the side story, given some further background to the characters and kept fully in the loop of everything you need to know about what caused the incident in the first place. Majd also manages to find time to slip in a slight twist. The twist wasn’t the best and isn’t going to blow your mind but it made sense and wasn’t completely wasted.
The writing isn’t going to blow anyone’s minds but it was also incredibly competent for the majority of the book. It did sometimes slip into the slightly cheesy which I wasn’t the biggest fan of and some of the dialogue was a tad cringe but it didn’t ever really break my immersion which is the important thing.
High Wire characters – 4.25/5
You can tell from the outset that Majd intends to build his characters; give them their own personalities, show broken and flawed relationships and give us reasons to like and dislike them. This continues throughout High Wire and causes you to really enjoy nearly all of the people involved despite the fact some of them are clearly intended to be the villain.
Captain Kate Gallagher, our main protagonist, is a frustrated individual who is a single mother after her partner died before her daughter was even born. She raises her daughter and supports her mother with her shop when she’s not flying, however, her job does keep her away a lot. This builds a strong relationship between herself and her daughter who is a strong and intelligent young child whom your heart will burst for by the end of the book.
As I said, even the villains are likeable only in that they have their reasons for being “the bad guy” and they also understand when they’re going too far and then this causes the story of them beginning to regret it and finding their moral compass.
High Wire final rating – 4.25
I must say High Wire may well be the best thriller I’ve read all year. It’s a high-intensity, fast-paced thriller filled with characters who you’ll absolutely love. There is some slightly cringy dialogue but in general, it’s a very mature, well-developed story and plot with a lot of action that wouldn’t look out of place in a high-end action movie. If you’re into planes, thrillers or mysteries, then I can guarantee you’ll enjoy this book!
Pick up a copy of High Wire from Amazon.
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