Official Review: The Cartel Crusher by Dan E. Hendrickson

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Mercelle
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Official Review: The Cartel Crusher by Dan E. Hendrickson

Post by Mercelle »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Cartel Crusher" by Dan E. Hendrickson.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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The Cartel Cruser by Dan E. Hendrickson is a crime, thriller, mystery novel set in Mexico and its environs. The story revolves around a young woman, Marnia Gonzalez, who is disturbed by the atrocities that ordinary citizens experience at the hands of the cartel and she vows to devote her life to destroy the monsters behind these organizations.

Although she comes from an upper-class family, her privileged upbringing doesn't stop her from chasing her dream of correcting society's ills (against her father's wishes). Her father, Mr. Gonzales is the president of Mexico and having his daughter join the military isn't a good look for his administration. After much persistence, Marnia enlists in the army, works hard, graduates top of her class, and at her new job at the anti-cartel task force, she fights crime with a vengeance, sparing no one and making many enemies along the way, earning her the nickname "The Catrel Crusher."

Overall, the author did an excellent job bringing this story to life with an exciting plot, vivid action scenes and terrifying murder and rape scenes. The suspense build-up had me flipping the pages, and each shocking revelation left me glued to the story. The twists and turns wound up beautifully to bring the book to a climatic end, motivating me to follow up on the rest of the series, as this is the second installment of The Last Enemy series.

Throughout the story, the author explores the themes of massive corruption, crime, elitism, and cross-border cartel dealings. All these seem to be the norm, and anyone who dares to step on the toes of the ruling class is in grave danger. Although the author narrates the story through the eyes of the elite and the members of the cartel, it would've been a welcome change to see how ordinary citizens are affected by the lawlessness that prevails in their society.

I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about reading the second book in a series without reading the first, but I can attest that this book reads as a stand-alone. The only downside is that for such a short book, it contains many characters and I often had trouble keeping up.

As much as I enjoyed this story, I must point out that I encountered a few typos, mostly being extra spacing between words and words with missing letters. Although they didn't detract from the storyline, they are easily fixable with a round of editing. I'll, therefore, award this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars and recommend it to adults who crave a good read from the C/T/M/H genre.

******
The Cartel Crusher
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Post by AliceofX »

Seems like an interesting story. There's always so much inherent drama when someone rejects the privilege that they were born with. You wrote a really good review.
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Post by crediblereading2 »

I love your 'to the point' review. This is really an inspirational story with an excellent protagonist such as the President's daughter. She finds the courage and perseverance to withstand the ills of the cartels in Mexico. I am sorry about the flaws that the book carries.
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Post by Cecilia_L »

This book is in one of my favorite genres, and your interesting review further piqued my interest. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Post by daydreaming reader »

The themes this book addresses is definitely interesting. Thank you for your review.
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Post by kandscreeley »

Sounds like you were pretty much glued to the book. I'm glad it addresses such important topics, but I think the graphic nature of the book would be too much for me. The editing sounds like it would be very easily fixable. Thanks for the introduction.
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Post by arabmoney1978 »

Very interesting book and indeed courageous....The story line gives a positive fighting spirit.....
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Post by AmySmiles »

Sounds like a perfect read especially with a little editing. Thanks for the review.
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Post by topdan30 »

The book addressed lovely themes. And the review is interesting to read as much as the book will be. Great review. I enjoyed it.
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Post by Alicia09 »

This story sounds like it does a good job of exposing the corruption of the Mexican Cartel in a fictional narrative. I do agree that it would have been interesting if the author included a description of how ordinary people were affected by the Cartel, but at the same time I still think this book sheds light on the horrors of the Cartel in general. I would love to read this because in this story, the "Cartel Crusher" is a female. Since the "Cartel Crusher" in this story is female, I think that this story can help inspire more women (especially Hispanic women) to get involved in politics. Thanks for the review!
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Post by gali »

A thriller revolving around the Mexican President's daughter's fight against cartels sounds good. "The Cartel Crusher" is a cool nickname! Exciting plot, vivid action scenes, and plenty of twists should make it a good read for fans of the genre. That it stands on its own is another bonus. A pity about the lack of editing, though. Thank you for the review!
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Post by Bukari »

I have an emotion that the cartel crusher perhaps has a lot of plots against her by her opponents. She needs a lot of tactics or counteracts to neutralize them.
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Post by stacie k »

Marnia sounds like a very strong female lead, uninhibited by her place in society and willing to do what it takes to right society’s ills. I admire her character. However, I feel that the graphic content would be too much for me.
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Post by Samanthajayne12 »

Great review! This sounds like a very intense and interesting story. I just finished reading something similar about cartels in Mexico and I loved it so I would look forward to read this one as well.
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Post by Lu_Cadore »

The review caught me saying that the book has a lot of "twists". Love this kind of script. Sad thing that the book lacks editing, but, if doesn't harm the story itself, it's fine for me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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