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I felt the author making a strong statement from this book. From where he drew the inspiration, only he will know. Even though it is a debut novel, and I would do some light revisions for grammar and spelling, by reading this novel I felt as if I was watching an action movie. Every aspect of the novel was detailed to perfection-in my taste-and well thought of. Every character had his or her own purpose in a very long chain of events that eventually rippled in, at least, all of America and part of Europe. Graham did a great job of thinking through details like the pacing habit of a security guard, to the agenda of Latin American drug lords. It felt real, and it hooked me from the first sentence.
When I read this, my feelings were of slight hopelessness. One character in particular was especially interested in serving for her country, trying to “catch the bad guys” and prevent evil. Reading about the actions unfolding, and the big picture, made me get in her shoes, and feel like a small ant in the vast universe. Also, some decisions that had to be made since the start had me realizing that, for many government officials, the ends truly justify the means. Sadly, the end product can be just as terrible-even more so-than the injustices happening before.
This debut novel felt like the work of a more experienced writer, and I enjoyed it. Many kudos to David Graham. All the characters were dynamic, and seemed so real, I considered if some of it was based on true accounts. The development of their feelings, thoughts and actions came naturally; they did not feel rushed or hasty at all. Long story short, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thrilling read.
Choose your enemies carefully
This is written on the book cover, and it’s a very accurate description of the main theme. Many characters, agencies and even drug cartels are in a power struggle against a seemingly obvious enemy, but when they scratched the surface, the hidden agenda was far greater than anyone’s imagination. I was stuck in an action movie, with a twist: we were seeing the events unfold from the vantage point of the police force, some attackers, and the drug superpowers. That was particularly enjoyable, because you only got snippets of information from a specific source, thus keeping the tension and expectation. Some parts of the plot were predictable but, in my opinion, it was needed. You could say that, by making some bits predictable, the actual surprises were huge.
My Rating
I rate this book with a total of 4 out of 4 stars, because I identified with Agent Mesi’s determination, could feel the remorse in those that felt it (no spoilers!), and truly welcomed Larsen’s inner battles. The only suggestion I would make is to do light revisions on grammar and spelling. I think I caught a few mistakes but, other than that, it was a perfect debut for Graham.
Now, if you please, go get a copy of Incitement and share my excitement from page one.
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