Vicious Circle

By Wilbur Smith

Internationally bestselling author Wilbur Smith returns with Vicious Circle--a heart-racing story of family secrets, greed, and revenge.

Hector Cross left behind a career of high risks and warfare when he married his beloved Hazel Bannock. But after his new life is tragically upended, he recognizes the ruthless hand of an old enemy behind the attack.

Determined to fight back, Hector draws together a team of his most loyal friends and fellow warriors to hunt down those who pursue him and his loved ones. For he and Hazel have a child, a precious daughter, whom he will go to the ends of the earth to protect.

Soon, however, Hector learns that the threat comes not just from his old enemies, but also Hazel's. Brutal figures from her family's past—thought long gone—are returning, with an agenda so sinister that Hector realizes he is facing a new type of adversary. One whose deadly methods and dark secrets will lead Hector to a series of crimes so shocking that he has no choice but to settle the score.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Oct 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781250037626

Wilbur Smith

Described by Stephen King as “the best historical novelist,” WILBUR SMITH made his debut in 1964 with When the Lion Feeds and has since sold more than 125 million copies of his books worldwide and been translated into twenty-six different languages. Born in Central Africa in 1933, he now lives in London.

Reviews for Vicious Circle

[joelcl2011 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I usually like his books and there is always one or two scenarios that gross you out. This book was full of sadistic gross descriptions of torture and depravity that probably a perverted mental case would enjoy. I was turned off by this book.

[nyxnekhbet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Huge fan of Wilbur Smith's Egyptian series so thought I would give this a try. A good, fast-paced read - always excellent writing and vivid imagery. One thing I particularly appreciate is his attention to even the smallest of details - he really researches every aspect of his books, the characters have fleshed out back stories and personalities. My only complaint about "Vicious Circle" was the ending because I felt like some things were left unresolved but perhaps there's another volume coming to take care of that. Overall I would recommend this for adventure seekers!

[pdcread · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Hector is a wealthy ex SAS major who now operates as a mercenary. When following his his wife Hazel home her car is forced off the road and she is shot in the head. She dies a few days later, but only after her daughter is born by Caesarian section. Hazel is part of the family that owns lots of oil fields and she is a beneficiary of the Trust fund.

Her death prompt Hector to find the murderer, and he find trails that go cold, until a lawyer form the trust fund shows him a set of notes that she him who is the man behind this and a number of other killings. Hector goes after this man, to seek revenge.

I liked some of th action parts of this, though they were predictable. The pace is fast as well for these. There was a lot I didn't particularly like, the note s that the lawyer provides show how much of a psychopath the murderer is, and there are a lot of unnecessary sordid and frankly nasty details about this man, and his fellow psychopath that he hooked up with in prison.

[rufusraider · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Vicious Circle is another great novel by Wilbur Smith. This is a Hector Cross novel that is set in England, the Middle East, and always with Smith's novels, Africa. The stories he tells about Africa are always good.This is a sequel novel involving Hector Cross and his wife, Hazel Bannock. The previous novel involved Hazel's daughter being killed in a revenge killing as part of a blood feud. This story involves the other heirs of her previous husband. The story starts with Mr. Bannock previous wife and her son who he adopted as his own son. This son is the villain of the story. The trust Bannock had set up to take care of his heirs is what leads to the conflict in the story.The story is disturbing with the depravity exhibited by Carl Bannock, the adopted son. He served a number of years in prison over some rapes that he performed. After prison, he was after retribution on his family.I don't want to reveal too much of the story line, because it could easily ruin the story. The story line is spun so well you are deeply interested in the story. It is a fast paced story that is very hard to put down.

[smits_52 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

i love Wilbur Smith. Vicious Circle is another great adventure story filled with action, suspense and larger then life characters. Vicious Circle continues the story of Hector Cross who we met in "Those in Peril". To me, this novel was even more over the top then previous. It was rather gross in graphic detail and the bad guys are really gruesome. Smith rights with such clarity that you get totally engrossed in the action. This is the case for Vicious Circle.But I don't think he needs all those horrific scenes to keep his audience. I still, however, love when he writes about wild Africa. That is my favorite Wilbur Smith.

[adpaton · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Wilbur Smith is a terrible writer but he's an engrossing story teller and what his stories lack in quality they more than make up for in pacy action. Vicious Circle is the second book featuring Hector Cross, whom we first met in Those in Peril, is an action hero in the Bulldog Derummond mould.In fact, the feel of the story is very Edwardian, harking back to a time when sexism, racism and snobbishness was rife, and real men never cried. The difference is the graphic violence and explicit sex, both of which this book has in spades and certainly to an unnecessary degree. Hector's beloved wife is murdered, but the child she is carrying is saved - it soon becomes apparent the killers are also targetting the infant and Hector is determined to exact a bloody revenge. His first supposition is the killers are Somalis out to avenge the pirate massacre featured in the first book but after several unlikely adventures, Hector learns the truth is bound up with his wife's past and her first marriage. Gang rape, incestuous rape, prison rape, child rape, paedophilia, murder, and being eaten alive by hogs are just some of the topics lingered on which make this book unsuitable for a family audience. The standard of writing is reasonable except for glitches like Smith's refusal to use a contraction which is really grating, and some ideosyncratic phraseology which also irritates. However, although anyone with any pretentions to literary snobbism [or possibly just to literacy] will enjoy dumping on Mr Smith's latest opus from a dizzy height, I must confess I lapped it up eagerly even when the contents were unashamed gorno. Unlimited money, unlimited evil and unlimited bloodlust make for a heady combination and I was unable to resist taking private jets around the world with Hector Cross and his posse. And if you are concerned about what your highbrow friends might think, do as I did and replace the cover with something more ponderous.