2 out of 4 stars
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The Cartel Crusher by Dan E. Hendrickson
Marnia Gonzalez, daughter of a late Mexican president, has suffered tragedy from the infamous Cartels that plague Mexico. Inspired by a brilliant captain that once saved her life, she defies the standards of a male-dominated, corrupt system and raises above the rest to crush the notorious power figures that infest her country.
Book two of The Last Enemy series follows Marnia's rapid ascent through the military to join the Anti-Cartel Task Force, to tackle the daunting task of destroying the criminal underground. Join her as she unweaves a network of paedophile rings, faces betrayal and loss, to become The Cartel Crusher.
The book opens with a prologue of the events from Book one The Good Fight, which brings us, the reader, smoothly in touch with the character's background and running storyline of the trilogy. You wouldn't be completely out of touch with the plot of this book if you haven't read the prequel, yet it does spice things up for the audience well enough for the beginning, and I would recommend checking it out if you become a fan of the books.
This is a crime novel that falls more under the category of a drama than thriller, as it didn't provide for many thrills. I think the ideal audience is for someone looking for a light read to pass the time. I found the story to be rather slow-paced and as an avid fan of the more hardcore crime genre, the story didn't appeal to me. If you are looking for something that will really get your blood pumping, give this one a pass.
I found the book to be very well written and the plot was well executed. It was a let down to see bad editing, as it lets the author down, as it would appear that he has talent. I continued reading as the plot was interesting enough to hold me to the story more than out of great passion.
I really jumped at this book as the original blurb sold me to the main character, Marnia. I was expecting to experience another kickass female, fighting tooth and nail against a seemingly undefeatable monster, which metaphorically would be the criminal underworld. This flopped, a lot, as Marnia is rather boring. She is portrayed as a golden girl; beautiful and excelling in an environment where the odds would be stacked against her, which aroused my feminist interest, but that was about it.
There wasn't enough antithesis with the crime world to allow for character development. Normally within this genre, there should be challenges; morally, mentally and physically and that was completely absent from this book. Marnia seems to just float through the story, being constantly described as perfect, which is fine, it just doesn't make for a good crime novel. In a culture where we are getting a steady increase in strong, fiery female role models, this character's flame wouldn't be spotted.
The author's choice in the location of Mexico sets the standard high when setting a crime novel, again I had the expectation for vile, ruthless antagonists committing the deplorable; as part of my crime checklist. Unfortunately, I couldn't tick it and that made me sad. The "bad guys" do a lot of chatting and planning. There is the obligatory body count and mild violence, nothing graphic, so here's a sad face.
It left a lot lacking for the bloodthirsty.The novel does introduce some very attractive characters and a love story, but there was no sexual chemistry and action, The whole thing was very soft and coy. Having not checked off many ticks on my crime novel checklist, I rate this 2 out of 4 stars.
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The Cartel Crusher
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