Starting with a deadly shoot out in the middle of NYC, this PI thriller starts with one hell of a bang. Within pages of tracking down the shooter and apprehending him, PI Fitz Malone finds himself involved in a conspiracy that threatens the very life of NYC’s mayor.

Speak of the Devil is an accomplished PI thriller, plotted with panache, each twist coming at a surprisingly fast pace, but managing to ground itself with an air of believability. There is a near filmic quality to the book that lends itself well to this kind of fuelled storytelling.

Fitz, as a character, is nothing new. It isn’t that he is uninteresting or that he has nothing to say well. It isn’t even that he’s badly written. It is simply that he comes off as very familiar. He has a lot in common with Matt Scudder and is possibly the type of guy Matt might have been if he didn’t have such a weakness for the booze. This is, of course, no bad thing, because Speak of the Devil is very well written, conjuring up images of NYC that stick in the mind, and managing to convey the complex and twisting plot without too much signposting to the reader. It’s a smart book by a smart writer.

One has to wonder, though, whether anyone can still stake out NYC as the setting for a thriller. We know the place – the myth and the reality – through countless books, movies and television shows. Even if we’ve never been to New York, we feel like the city is an old friend, a faithful companion. As such, there is a comfort factor to the setting that merely adds another problem to the book. We feel like we’ve been here before.

Hawke does everything he can to counteract this, of course. He gives us a thrilling prose and some confidently presented twists to his tale. He is careful when doling out Fritz’s character, teasing us with enough backstory to keep our interest and yet keeping him in the moment. He’s more than adept at presenting corruption within establishment. And more than anything, he keeps the action going full tilt. The opening sequence hits the ground running and leaves you exhausted by its conclusion. Other stand out sequences include an amazing explosion at a restaurant that leaves you feeling like the sound of the bomb tried to tear our your eardrums.

The big problem with the book is that none of it feels new. It’s an old school PI thriller that, while entertaining, doesn’t add much to the genre. The problem is that you feel like it should be doing something a little more, like Hawke is capable of adding a layer to this work that simply isn’t there. He is an excellent writer and can hold our attention admirably. There’s a lot of work being done here to illuminate the psychology not simply of the psychotic bad guy, but of the corrupt officials at the heart of this tale. But it simply isn't as fresh as you feel it should be. Its ground that’s been well trampled not just in location but in action and psychology. Mostly you find yourself thinking of Matt Scudder but any number of NYC PIs would do just as well.

All of that said, the psychology and characterisation really sell this book. The action packed plot moves along at the insinstence of Hawke's richly drawn cast. They are put into sharp focus against the moral dilemmas they face. One standout sequence of the book involves a group of nuns who, while understanding the plight of those men hunting the madman on the loose in NYC, are forced by their own moral code to impede on the progress of the good guys. There's a great deal of tension in these scenes that Hawke draws out well through dialogue and action.

Even if Speak of the Devil doesn't feel like its shaking up the genre too hard, It’s a well written, pacy and involving. Its comfort food of the very best kind, and we all need that every once in a while. And who knows, if Hawke lets us take another trip with Fitz in the near future he may just have developed enough confidence to really bowl us over and play with our expectations. As it stands, Speak of the Devil is, despite some of the concerns noted above, a damn fine read; a well plotted thriller with believable characters and standout action sequences that are simply crying out for one hell of a movie adaptation. A solid start to what has the potential to become a great series.