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Something You Are

Something You Are by Hanna Jameson, London Underground #1

Nic Caruana is paid to kill people. Once, he was destined for a white-collar job in a middle-class area. But like many kids, he made a fatal mistake. Now, he inhabits the bleak, dark city that runs like a seam beneath London. His latest job is to track down the daughter of an arms dealer, using any weapon necessary to get to the truth. But Nic has fallen in love with his dangerous employer's wife. When the missing girl turns up dead, this grief-stricken mother starts playing twisted games with Nic...and this time he has nothing in his amoury to protect himself. 

Hanna Jameson wrote Something You Are when she was only 17! 17! I actually didn't know this before I read the story and normally I would have had some major reservations when reading books written by young authors. However when you read Something You Are you wont be able to tell that Hanna Jameson wrote this at this young an age, it feels like a very grown up story and her writing style is that of an almost veteran author, so as far as this debut goes, its a rock solid start. What is even more impressive is that Hanna Jameson was shortlisted for The Crime Writers Association "John Creasey" (Best Debut) award! Unfortunately Hanna Jameson didn't won, but she does show that she mean business.

Something You Are opens with a scene of the past that centers around the main protagonist Nic Caruana, and from this point on Hanna Jameson managed to set the mood just straight and pretty dark, gritty underground feeling. It seems that the rays of sun just can penetrate the dark air that Hanna Jameson creates. Soon after this fast and violent introduction to Something You Are, you see Nice Caruana in the present time, he has grown up but hasn't lost any hairs of his "wild side". Nic now is a hitman, paid to clean up jobs and he is being called into action by Pat Dyer, an notorious arms dealer, who is in great need of Nic's services. Pat Dyer's 16-year-old daughter has gone missing. The introduction in the present day dark and bleak London was done in a perfect way and really gave Nic's character a very dangerous shroud, Nic lives together with a roommate who also doesn't shy away from pulling either his gun or his knife, though there relation remains to be guessed at best, only several communications with post-it notes, it is pretty interesting to say the least and I hope to see how this will unfold, will we see more of this other hitman? 

The promise of the story might seem a bit straightforward and you might think ow no not another crime investigation taking place in London, well if you think that, you're wrong. Yes several elements can be seen in other books as well but Hanna Jameson shows just how to lift her story above many others. The story of Something You Are really start to take a turn for the better as soon as Nic finds out that Pat Dyers daughter has been murdered, the grieving father and mother both want retribution and Nic's expertise makes him best suited for this. However with more distance between Nic and Pat but decreasing distance between Nic and Pat's wife, relations start to shift and change and Nic finds himself in a much more thicker web that he had heretofore had dared to guess. The best thing of it all is, is that Hanna Jameson really managed to write up this personal struggle between Nic and his clients, you can just see that Nic has a pretty hard time coming to terms with it all. Added to this is that the story doesn't only revolve around the daughter of Pat but there are numerous side tracks that show more the dark underground London that Hanna Jameson is introducing us to. These side tracks help to both give a nice pacing and much more dynamic to the world and Nic's contacts include drug dealers and other thugs a like. 

The ending of Something You Are gives some very interesting plot changes and further establishes Nic as a guy you just do not want to have working against you. But. Yes there is a but. Nic isn't all just mister tough-guy, he also has a bit of a softer side, which more comes to show by the relation with his parents and his sister. In the beginning when you read about Nic's sister it seems that he hates her, but it soon comes to show that he does care deeply for her well being and does his best to support her in any way he can. This further made Nic's character that much more fleshed out and much more complex and even more deadly because how far will you go for you loved ones?? 

Something You Are is a great first book in a darker than dark London. Normally you see the grim side in Urban Fantasy but Hanna Jameson neatly translated a very dark a grim setting into this exciting new crime series "London Underground". She introduces you to a deadly protagonist that plays the role as the antihero in a perfect manner. In Something You Are, Hanna Jameson sets down the baselines and ground rules of her playing field, one of which I will be eager to see explored in the second book in the series Girl Seven. This is a very strong debut and I reckon this is by far the last we have heard of this new voice in crime fiction.

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