Six stars
Asked to read this novel by Dr. Bruce Farmer, I gladly accepted the challenge. It is peppered with military maneuvers and has a decent thriller aspect to it, accentuated by a strong female protagonist. Told from a number of perspectives, Farmer lays out his point early and repeatedly. While a decent read, it did not grip me as much as I might have liked.
Haddy Abrams, has a fearless side that is only tempered by the demons that lurk inside her. A military sniper, Haddy is handed a mission that will test her mettle and put a target on her back by a ruthless killer half a world away. Known only as “X”, this killer sets his sights on Haddy, in hopes of exacting a retribution he feels is necessary for the murder of a contact in the Muslim world.
All the while in New York City, Detective Wolf James is pushed into a case he could not have expected. With ties to Ukraine, Detective James finds himself grappling with his own demons and a childhood he thought he could shelve. Haunted by his past and yet pushed to make a difference, Detective James finds himself on a mission to solve a case that many would think too difficult to crack.
In a story that spans the globe and uses a heightened sense of struggle, Haddy and Detective James will conquer their fears and face an enemy they could not have known existed, forced to move well out of their comfort zones. The story meanders and leaves the reader curious about how it will all come together, though things are definitely not as intense as they might be. Dr Bruce Farmer does well, though the spark that could have made this book explosive is surely missing.
I have high hopes of books offered to me for review, particularly because others have already deemed it well worth my time before it even crosses my radar. When I received this book, the dust jacket blurb lured me in and left me wanting to know more. Dr. Bruce Farmer does well to weave his story, using a fast-paced story and a decent narrative from the outset. While there are some great scenes and each seems to run parallel to offer a number of plot lines, I could not find myself properly connecting to the overall story or really find myself linking to anything. The characters are developed well and seem to have a backstory that may would enjoy, though I could not find myself really hungering to learn more. This could be my own fault, though as a reviewer, I am not to share my sentiments, rather than parrot what others have aid to fall in line.
Plot points seemed to work well for many, though I was less than enamoured with the various twists. Farmer does his best to tell the story and keeps the reader in the middle of things, though I remained on the outside, peering in and wondering if I might be missing something. While I thank Dr. Farmer for the reading experience, I will likely be in the minority and not laud it as stunning.
Kudos, Dr. Farmer, fo a valiant effort.
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