I've made a heap of movies and TV shows so I think I know what pace is all about. When I started writing I translated this pace and vigor to my thrillers. The opening sentence has to really grab you - like inhaling camphor. The first page has GOT to hook you. And the rest of the piece must be JUST as good. The ending must be unforeseen and heart-stopping, leading the reader on to read the sequel!
My favourite books have always been the classic Russian novels that I read as a University student at Trinity College. Dosteyevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Gogol etc. When I knew I had read them all I cried. But now I read them again. The closest I have come in modern day fiction has been Martin Cruz Smith, Fred Forsyth and le Carre. In some ways I think modern fiction is like modern art. We are asked to buy a canvas that took the artist five days to paint, where Bellini and Picasso took months.