The Unexpected

Don't try to read yourself to sleep with a Weyman Jones thriller! "The Unexpected" more than fulfills the promise of its title, with plot twists and turns,well-drawn characters,and masterly narrative skills that live up to the high achievement of the author's earlier works, "The Doublooners" and "Broken Glass."In my judgment, Jones dialogue is right up there with the best of Elmore Leonard, along with descriptive skills that heighten suspense and leave you breathless. And then, in "The Unexpected," there's Gesu, a woman so evil, seductive and beautiful that she could talk all but the most resolute into joining her in a career of crime.

In Key West, Florida, card dealer Arthur explains the plan to three criminals on how they, Gisu a female participant who has played at the tables, a fourth felon Ally Oop who has not arrived, and he will rob the casino boat he works at. Arthur goes into elaborate detail step by step. Whereas Samson asks overall penetrating queries, his partner Sam listens very studiously while third person Stretch asks simple questions involving his role. Arthur also says that their Islamic sponsor has plans to use the boat with their robbery as a distraction by planting dirty bombs that will erupt during the Conch Republic gala in which the President might attend. THE UNEXPECTED is a superb thriller as Arthur's explanation on how to rob the casino boat and its decoy make for a tense tale. When the actual caper occurs, the audience will compare how well the execution does against the plan as everyone anticipates THE UNEXPECTED, especially Sam, to occur. Fans of action-packed high seas thrillers will appreciate Weyman Jones' strong novel wondering until the climax whether the robbery - hijack diversion and the prime terrorist assault will succeed.