Title: Ring of Steel
Subtitle: International Terrorism
Author: Keith Salmon
Publisher: Toplink Publishing
Pages: 202
ISBN: 978-1950256907
Genre: Fiction / Thriller
Reviewed by: Jake Bishop
Pacific Book Review
While the bulls-eye of Keith Salmon’s novel, Ring of Steel, is as the subtitle proclaims, International Terrorism, the concentric circles surrounding it are immigration hoodwinking, revolutionary recruitment, intelligence-led policing, informant influencing, money laundering, computer hacking, geopolitical gamesmanship, marital infidelity, terminal illness, revenge, retribution, unfortunate fate, and just a wee bit of murder. One might think such a literary stew so chock full of disparate ingredients would be hard to digest. On the contrary, this contemporary tale is as tasty as it is filling—spiced with just the right amount of potential credibility.
Set in today’s United Kingdom, the main link in a chain of interesting characters is Adeola Adindu, a Christian from Nigeria who employs a fascinating technique to achieve asylum in Britain. He is soon befriended by a Muslim who introduces him to brotherhood of a sort in a group that turns out to be an Al Qaeda cell. As the well-educated Adeola is advancing up the clandestine corporate ladder, new players begin to emerge at a rapid pace. There’s the member of the Saudi Royal Family who takes Adeola under his wing to take advantage of the Nigerian’s financial training.
There’s a rising star in the police constabulary who initiates groundbreaking electronic surveillance techniques to catch more crooks but winds up hooking more than local criminals. There are heads of crime families. One attempts to expand his income by providing the terrorists entre to increased return on investment via a banker particularly skilled in high-flying economic skullduggery. His criminal counterpart is coerced into becoming a stoolie for the cops who promise immunity, escape, and enduring evasion of those who might rightly feel betrayed. Before you know it, the Communist Chinese have entered this expanding universe of good guys and evildoers, and all of a sudden the entire British stock market is about to be both shaken and stirred.
Salmon is a skilled writer adept at communicating copious detail. Whether it’s the mischievous machinations of money laundering, the tricks-of-the-trade of technology tampering, or the frighteningly final stages of inoperable cancer, his prose has the feel of absolute authenticity. In fact, you’re quite likely to be alarmed at how much of this criminal activity seems eminently feasible. Abrupt transitions, without the benefit of typical scene change techniques, sometimes create comprehension gaps. But the plot is so involving, one is more than willing to put up with these minor speed bumps to reach the narrative’s climax.
While all loose ends are neatly tied at the finish via pragmatic prose the author has established throughout, there’s a surprisingly surreal sequence that precedes it. More of this technique might have made the novel even more interesting. Still, if you enjoy a good tale well told, it will be well worth your time to wrap yourself in this Ring of Steel.
