I have always been a great fan of William Boyd's writing but was a little wary of this novella which had been commissioned by Jaguar Land Rover.

Of course, I needn't have worried at all. Boyd is far too good a writer to compromise his reputation and talent with a tawdry commercial endorsement. The Land Rover certainly features prominently in this short novel, but never in an obtrusive manner. I doubt whether any reader who had previously been unaware that it was a commissioned work would guess the truth from reading it. Perhaps Jaguar Land Rover wasted their money (unless I am sinking, unawares, into a long term subliminal yearning to own a Land Rover, though any such urge is yet to manifest itself), but the story is very entertaining and diverting.

Basically Alec Dunbar, an aspiring actor with a string of minor roles to his name, finds himself called to an audition by mistake, but assuages his disappointment after a chance encounter leads to the opportunity to earn some quick money fulfilling what seems to be a simple courier job, delivering something to a church on the west coast of Scotland.

All of Boyd's marvellous descriptive skills are on show as he recounts Dunbar's journey up the motorway and then, later in the wilds of Mallaig. As the readers expects from the start, the task is nowhere near as straightforward as the gullible Dunbar believes, and he finds himself living on his wits in open country.

The whole scenario may seem rather implausible but Boyd's power as a writer succeeds in making the reader completely suspend their disbelief, and become immersed in the swiftly moving plot. Anyone concerned about the idea of commercially commissioned literature can be reassured that Boyd employs far more resources describing the scenery (and he really brings the locale to life) than he does on the Land Rover. ( )

Alec Dunbar is an actor. Called to a producer’s office one afternoon, he discovers the part was really for a woman, but on the way out he is offered £1,000 by a woman to drive a flask of what appears to be water far into Scotland to a church. It supposedly contains water from the River Jordan to be used at a ceremony. Having few funds, Dunbar accepts. His car in disrepair he accepts the offer of the woman’s Land Rover. (Weirdly, this novella was sponsored by Land Rover and given away for free download.) What makes the short read amusing is that Dunbar uses knowledge acquired by acting in films to help himself get out from under the bad guys who invariably want what’s in the flask.

It’s a painless way to spend an hour or so and the cost was right. ( )