By Francq & Van Hamme
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781849181891
Cold Black Sea underscores the strength of the Largo Winch books as Largo returns for another instalment of intrigue, murder and manipulation set against the backdrop of big global business. The book opens by addressing the recent global economic crisis and its causes, and while I’m sure in many creators' hands this would kill the story dead before it had even begun, what we get is something that immediately pricks your attention and makes it something that's related directly to the reader.
Somebody has blackmailed Largo’s banker into giving them access to Largo’s accounts and the resulting transactions, coupled with a shocking murder at an informal gathering, place the W Group billionaire under some serious scrutiny by the authorities. Although it looks as if his lawyer may have side-stepped the initial problem, Largo takes the opportunity to slip away and visit Lucerne to get some answers. What he reveals is a plot to manipulate and possibly discredit him plus what looks like something sinister going on involving shipping.
Aided by Silky and Simon, Largo’s attempts at revealing more bring him to the attention of an official who feels wronged by him in the past, and, ultimately to the container ship Mataya.
Does it matter that the plot, once again, has Largo on the run trying to clear his name? Well, maybe, but the intelligent and sometimes complex approach of the storytelling deftly steers your expectations elsewhere and rewards your patience and commitment every time. Largo is a billionaire with a conscience, who doesn’t exploit and celebrate his wealth but who appreciates the source of his good fortune and those that rely upon it. He is portrayed as a sympathetic, thoughtful but hard-headed individual which keeps you rooting for him panel after panel, page after page. The fact that it’s so effortlessly illustrated in such fabulous detail only enhances the drama.
In an era of box-set binging, you wouldn’t be doing yourself a disservice to gorge on the entire Largo Winch run to date. There’s little else out there to touch it.
And if you liked that: You’ll like Van Hamme’s XIII
No comments yet.