Feiler’s third wrestling novel shifts genre but remains an easy read that should hold your interest.

Ambush At The Palace is set in the same universe (a fictionalised late-70s Florida territory) as his previous books on Gorpp The Grappler, but puts less emphasis on the sci-fi element. Instead this is a crime thriller kicked off by a robbery of the man returning the night’s takings from a wrestling show.

The wrestling element is more of a backdrop this time, with Gorpp a cameo player, though with the interesting perspective that to the characters in this volume, whether he is really an alien is a mystery on the same level as to how much Native American heritage a headdress-wearing grappler really has.

The story develops smoothly and at a brisk pace, with the main criticism being that it occasionally goes into too much detail about pricing or times that feels like an unnecessary attempt to prove that the fine detail of points such as timelines are indeed internally consistent.

The ending of the book also felt a little rushed, though this was partially a matter of expectations as the final 15% or so of the book is actually a sample of an upcoming novel.

That aside, this will certainly appeal to those who enjoyed Feiler’s previous work. It doesn’t require any previous knowledge of the characters or setting, so could also be worth a look for those put off by the previous sci-fi elements.

[Disclaimer: The author provided a review copy.]

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