What’s interesting about thrillers is the ability of the writer to disappear and just let his own style and mind speak for him, while the plot is told by itself. That’s what David Snowdon is able to do.

With his second book, "The mind of a genius", the author gets straight to the point: a raw story told without too many vane words, just the essential to get the reader to know what’s happening and to realise perfectly who every character is. The book is about a hidden formula that could change the world. A well-kept secret.

Jason Clay, an MI4 agent, is the first protagonist of the story, the central character, particularly of the first part of the book; he gets involved in an investigation to find the secret formula that was invented by the famous British scientist, Malcolm Prince. The only weak element in Clay’s strategy to accomplish his mission is Laura, the beautiful wife of the scientist whom the agent has to seduce in order to get the formula. Around their story, other organisations, like the CIA, are looking for the secret information. This means that strange and obscure men, businessmen, and rich, "high-profile" criminals play around the formula in their attempt of getting their hands on it before Clay. Who’s going to win in the struggle to get the powerful new invention, involving Europe, America and Asia?

The story develops as a travel through the world: everything starts in London, to move to Copenhagen, then Hong Kong and Sidney with a continuous progression of false documents, need for money and inspectors chasing down traces.

Clay appears to be the right man for the job: a natural charmer, nothing should be easier for him than seducing a beautiful woman to get a secret from her.

At the end of the book, after a satisfying ending, which is not too obvious, you feel you know every single character, aware of their dressing style, their tastes, the way they behave and talk. Harsh descriptions that give a perfect sense of each person in the plot.

In this second book, Snowdon confirms his talent as a writer and a storyteller, particular in the crime fiction genre. His first book "Too young to die" has a similar flavour, yet in his second work, Snowdon seems to be more aware of how to deal with descriptions and how to make readers know more about a character.