The Swap-Antony Moore

The Swap
Antony Moore
Delta, Sep 2008, $11.00
ISBN: 9780385342346

In London Harvey Briscow knows the event that destroyed his life that turned him into a comic book shopkeeper. Two decades as a child attending school in Cornwall, he traded his Superman One comic book to an idiot Charles “Bleeder” Odd in exchange for a plastic pipe. That comic book is worth a fortune and he wants it back. Worse, where he is a failure, Bleeds is a bloody success

He goes to the twentieth class reunion praying Odd will show up, but has doubts his nemesis will and besides the comic book is probably long gone. Still this time he vows to take it back if Bleeder still has it. Thus Harvey breaks into Bleeder's house to steal the comic book; instead the corpse of Bleeder’s mother greets him in the cellar; her throat slashed. Soon after he flees the crime scene to return to London, Superman 1 shows up in the mail at his store. The police are interested in Harvey as a murder suspect as he had the means, the motive and the opportunity.

This is a fun dark thriller in which Harvey, Bleeder and Superman One are fully developed characters. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Harvey decides to steal back his swapped prize possession and never slows down although the climax does not soar as high as the rest of the fascinating plot. Harvey is a terrific individual who blames his chain smoking and alcoholic binges on THE SWAP and the diabolically brilliant Bleeder. Superman one is almost like a lover Harvey once had carelessly discarded and now regrets his error. Fans who appreciate a dark humorous thriller will enjoy the battle of wits between Harvey and Bleeder as Superman One completes their odd dysfunctional triangle.

Harriet Klausner