Retribution
by Michael Grant
Review by Sean Doorly

In the last decade it's seemed that every action movie could be traced back to "Die Hard." ("Under Siege" is "Die Hard" on a boat; "Executive Decision" is "Die Hard" on a plane....)

Now it seems the publishing industry has gotten into the act again. ("Die Hard" was originally a novel by Roderick Thorpe.) In the last few months there have been two thriller novels set in an office building. The first was Joseph Garber's Vertical Run, and now there is Retribution by Michael Grant.

Mike Devlin is a Lieutenant in an elite SWAT team in the NYPD. But thanks to his big mouth, Devlin is thrown out of the team and assigned to "cop Siberia" -- traffic duty.

Luckily, Devlin is offered a job as Security Director for Taggert Industries. But no sooner does he prop his feet up on his new desk, than he finds out there is a death threat against Jason Taggert, his new boss. Devlin goes about fortifying the office building, protecting the life of Taggert, and finding the lunatic who is out to kill him.

The author, Michael Grant, is a twenty-year veteran of the NYPD and a former security director. This experience has definitely helped him get the details that make a good action story compelling. He knows about bullets, bombs, and computer security.

Mike Devlin, the hero, doesn't know everything, but he knows whom to hire and how to plan a defense. Grant divides his own knowledge among all of the characters. The preparations for making the building "killer proof" are fascinating. Devlin's team installs video cameras, motion detectors, and handprint analyzers throughout the building.

Retribution is one of those quick-read, can't-put-it-down, read-it-in-a-weekend books. This is Grant's first foray into the thriller genre; before this he wrote police dramas.

I'm sure "Retribution" will not be Michael Grant's last thriller, and I'm hoping he tries something set outside an office building next time.