Following on from The Siege, Ultimatum is another cover to cover thriller about domestic terrorism.

This time an ex-cop is slipped into the terrorist cell and the novel is intermingled with his first person narration which I found a great touch in bringing depth to the book.

Gripping story, excellent execution. ( )

The story takes place on a single day, in a London that remains in a post-9/11 state of alert. The authorities respond quickly to two separate bombings for which an unknown group calling itself the Islamic Command takes responsibility. Having demonstrated their willingness to destroy, the terrorists issue an ultimatum. The British government must agree to their demands to pull out of all Muslim lands by 8:00 that evening or a much larger bombing attack will occur.

Enter Tina Boyd, a recurring Kernick character who was recently reinstated at the Met for a second time, though in the downgraded role of Detective Constable. She is the one person imprisoned William James Garrett, known as Fox, is willing to speak to. He claims that he knows who really committed the bombings.

Ultimatum splinters into multiple directions and threatens to spin out of control, only coming to a tidy conclusion thanks to the skilled storytelling of Simon Kernick. He excels in building momentum and showcasing a perfect sense of timing in a story of a country at the breaking point and at the mercy of criminals. I think If you like a crime thriller with lots of action you will enjoy Ultimatum.
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Absolutely brilliant story which kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. ( )

Simon Kernick’s Ultimatum is already an international bestseller and it’s now being published in the U.S. This is one of the fastest-paced thrillers I’ve ever read. You’ll need to take a deep breath before you start reading because you probably won’t come up for air until it’s done. This is a political conspiracy thriller, a novel about terrorism and it all takes place within 12 hours. Also, although Ultimatum is shown on Kernick’s web site as his sixth novel featuring Tina Boyd, I haven’t read the others (something I must remedy) and had no problem reading it as a stand-alone. Hang onto your seat – here we go…read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=7705. ( )

Kernick's breakneck pace and sheer readability has one turning the pages so fast that one often doesn't notice the deficiencies that have crept into his writing - his characters are two dimensional and irritating, and he sacrifices depth to plot, credibility to pace. This is not the same writer who made such an impact with his first book The Business of Dying, in which we met the complex and troubled but wonderfully human Dennis Milne.

Ultimatum continues from where the previous book, Siege, left off: it is by no means a sequel and can be read as a stand-alone, although it references the terrorist attack on a London hotel in which 70 died and Detective Tina Boyd got into trouble for killing a man to protect the innocent.

Tina had been demoted but is still a loose cannon, stuffing up more often then we would prefer: when an IED explodes at a crowded restaurant, Tina lets the bomber get away but salvation comes in the form of The Fox, the terrorist who led the hotel siege. He wants to see her, alleging he can cast light on the current attack. His [rice for information is to be released from prison or at least moved, and her sentence lightened.

A new character is Jones, an undercover operative who has infiltrated a suspected terror ring and proved himself by killing: in addition to Albanian thugs, Jones also comes up against right wing military types who ;loathe the direction their country has taken, and are determined to provoke such an outcry against immigrants and Muslims, the Britain changes her policy.

The best way to achieve this is by creating a terror attack of such magnitude it will be impossible to ignore, and blaming it on Islamic fundamentalists. While Jones pursues this lead. Boyd is reunited with her former boss Detective Inspector Mike Bolt, and tasked with getting information from the Fox.

It all comes together in a very satisfying way but, as is often the case with Kernick, there are large lose ends which might form the basis of a sequel, making this a trilogy, or will be references in subsequent novels before eventually being tackled - as was the case with the child sex ring in [previous books. ( )