The Jonah

In fact it is the actual composition of the book rather than the storyline itself that has led me to this conclusion. The first of the book is all plot background and story setting. We see detective Jim Kelso transferred into the drugs squad after a run of bad luck incidences in the serious crime squad and we then see his subsequent posting to the small coastal town to investigate a possible drug trafficking incident. This part of the book is pure thriller, competently written and thoroughly enjoyable as is the plot development when customs and excise officer Ellie Shepherd is assigned to the same case. The blossoming romance between the two main characters, whilst being obvious and not unexpected is never the less well written and a great addition to the story line.

What happens then is a series of flashbacks to Kelso's past showing his run of bad luck experiences and strange goings to those who threaten him. Whilst again they are well written I don't really like this well-worn Herbert tactic of interspersing the live action with the flashbacks. The flashbacks tend to be quite short and as such you don't really get into them before being transported back to the present time.

Likewise at the conclusion to the book, in order to set the scene with the huge storm hitting the coast, Herbert writes several short snippets of scene description as various new characters fall foul of the bad weather. Again because they are short you don't connect with the characters and although they passages are relatively exciting you don't really care what happens.

The final twist in the tale is good although it is only at this very last gasp you actually get any pure horror writings.

All in all and fun and enjoyable book but by no means a classic.


More thriller than horror   August 23, 2004
dogbarkssome (England)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Even more than The Spear, The Jonah is a book packaged as a horror novel, yet reads for much of its length like a straightforward thriller. The supernatural element concerns the lead character Kelso, with the fact that he is a Jonah (i.e.: a walking bad luck magnet for those around him) being due to the malevolent influence of the ghost of his stillborn twin.

For the bulk of the novel however this aspect is kept very much in the background, with only a few flashbacks to previous tragedies in Kelso's past peppered amongst the regular chapters. Instead the first 200 pages concentrate on policeman Kelso going undercover in a fishing town trying to uncover a drug ring. This section is readable but fairly standard thriller territory, with no new ideas or twists. The initially frost pairing with a female agent that leads to a romance is obvious and predictable, and the identity of the local drug lord is never really in doubt.

It's only really in the last 50 pages that The Jonah picks up, with some great action scenes courtesy of some freak weather conditions, (though this does seem a little like a convenient deus ex machina to save the hero from otherwise certain doom). The final full-fledged appearance of Kelso's malevolent twin is fittingly macabre though, and there's a nice sting in the tale ending.

Some of Herbert's novels, even when enjoyable, can seem a little formulaic, and to his credit The Jonah doesn't feel like a retread of any of his previous books, but for my own personal tastes I could have done with a little more supernatural horror, and a little less mainstream police investigation.


Pirates, drugs and a ghoul!   May 21, 2002
craig.cabell@virgin.net (London)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I loved The Jonah. Set in a sleepy village, one gets the vibe of that old Hammer movie The Reptile.
This is a departure for Herbert, but an excellent one. If you want out-and-out horror this isn't for you, however, if you like your horror thought-provoking and intelligent, this along with Sepulchre and Others, is what you're looking for.
The Jonah is a subtle novel that builds up to the usual Herbert finale, and what with pirates, drugs and a ghoul, you certainly get your money's worth from this book.


A bit of a let down after such books as 'The rats'   September 1, 2001
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Being a James Herbert's fan, I felt deceived by the Jonah. Although it has a good all round story -a cop purchased by his bad luck while investigating drug smuggling in a small coastal town- the plot takes its time to built up to come to an abrupt end. I read it on my way back home from holiday. It was a good way to pass the hours but nothing more.