Video: The Bourne Identity

What does every good espionage thriller need? An intriguing premise, a convoluted plot, sinister villains, bursts of action and a cracking car chase somewhere around the middle. A feisty love interest is helpful -- to scream helplessly and kick ass in equal measure -- plus a good guy who is either a super-spy or an accidental hero.

You get all this in the streamlined Matt Damon-starring adaptation of Robert Ludlum's blockbuster novel.

He plays a man who, suffering amnesia and peppered with bullet holes, is rescued by the crew of a fishing boat. Discovering he has a secret identity and amazing shooting and fighting skills, he roams Europe -- pursued by heavies -- in search of the truth. Slick, fast and with none of the computer-generated silliness of the recent Bond movie, The Bourne Identity is a good old-fashioned action-adventure.

David Knights

Book: The Bone Vault

The success of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs spawned several imitators and the best was Linda Fairstein.

The heroine is a feisty sex-crimes investigator rather than a feisty forensic pathologist, but the formula is the same. This fifth novel has Alexandra Cooper probing the death of a researcher during preparations for a massive New York museum exhibition.

The girl has been found dead inside an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus only weeks after reporting a sex assault near her workplace.

Alex and her cop colleagues have to penetrate the secretive world of museum staff to find the killer. The Bone Vault is a slick and satisfying mystery that keeps Fairstein on a par with the likes of Reichs.

David Knights

Book: The Blind Man of Seville

Inspector Javier Falcon is introduced in Robert Wilson's latest hardback, set in the beautiful city of Seville during Holy Week. A leading restaurateur is found dead in his apartment, bound and gagged, before a flickering TV screen.

With each new victim the killer shows he knows their darkest secrets.

Then the killer turns his attention to Falcon's own family and he finds himself slipping into a breakdown as he confronts his past.

A sudden but satisfactory ending to a book that is not for the faint-hearted due to graphic scenes of sex and violence.

A good story but not particularly easy to follow due to the many Spanish names, places and phrases.

Pam Spencer