Review by sanksras -- Devil Among Us by Jack Winnick
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sanksras
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Review by sanksras -- Devil Among Us by Jack Winnick
[Following is a volunteer review of "Devil Among Us" by Jack Winnick.]
The novel Devil among us by Jack Winnick is the second book in the Lara and Uri series. This international thriller can also be read as a standalone. The story starts off right away with what seems to be a Jewish family attending a Yom Kippur service at a synagogue. All of a sudden, the Brooklyn synagogue is blown up with shards of glass flying; leaving hundreds injured and killed. Upon closer examination, it is unveiled that this was a suicide bombing; conducted by Muslim extremists posing as Jews. Further investigation reveals that more of these Muslim fanatics are going to school in Texas, pretending to be Jews. Israeli Mossad agent Uri Levin and American FBI agent Lara Edmond must join forces to stop yet another terrorist plot.
Uri and Lara soon realize that things are not what they appear to be. They suspect that the suicide bombing might be part of a larger scheme. When they get to Texas, Uri and Lara are appalled to find out about another attack that aims to drive a wedge between the US and its ally Israel. The individuals orchestrating this plot are uniting Sunni and Shia Muslims from the Middle East to destroy the entire nation of Israel. As they try to connect all the dots, more questions emerge. How is this all connected to the synagogue bombing? Who is the mastermind behind all this? It is up to these two courageous personalities to unravel the plot before it is too late.
I was dazzled with the first book of this series, East Wind. So when I found out about there being a series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. One great aspect of the story is its ability to grip the reader instantly. Most books aren't very exciting until you get to the climax, but this novel kept me interested from the start. I love how this story provides information about history and culture. It was informative as well as pleasant.
I was disappointed with the character development of the book. There was a scene where Lara almost gets raped by one of the terrorists, and immediately after, she is making a joke about it with Uri. In fact, right after this whole fiasco, Lara and Uri sleep together in a hotel room. Most individuals would be paranoid and frightened after being sexually molested; they wouldn't want to sleep with someone. I believe that the author has done a poor job of describing Lara's emotions.
Another quite confusing thing was the relationship between the two protagonists. In the first book, one could see the chemistry between Lara and Uri evolving slowly but naturally. However, the relationship between the pair is a mess in the second book. It was as if they each had a split personality. At one section in the book, they would behave as if they were a loving couple, and at another section, they would completely ignore each other. This allowed it to have no flow to the book. To make matters worse, the different narratives in the book made it hard to understand. There was a battle scene in one chapter, and immediately the book would switch perspectives. This made everything hard to comprehend, leaving me to take a break from this book every 30 minutes.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars because of the lack of character development in the book. There were profanity and violent graphic scenes that make it inappropriate for younger readers. I do think that this story would have been more enjoyable if it was structured better. I recommend this book to an older audience that loves international thrillers. I will give the other books in the series a chance because I loved the first book of the series so much.
******
Devil Among Us
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The novel Devil among us by Jack Winnick is the second book in the Lara and Uri series. This international thriller can also be read as a standalone. The story starts off right away with what seems to be a Jewish family attending a Yom Kippur service at a synagogue. All of a sudden, the Brooklyn synagogue is blown up with shards of glass flying; leaving hundreds injured and killed. Upon closer examination, it is unveiled that this was a suicide bombing; conducted by Muslim extremists posing as Jews. Further investigation reveals that more of these Muslim fanatics are going to school in Texas, pretending to be Jews. Israeli Mossad agent Uri Levin and American FBI agent Lara Edmond must join forces to stop yet another terrorist plot.
Uri and Lara soon realize that things are not what they appear to be. They suspect that the suicide bombing might be part of a larger scheme. When they get to Texas, Uri and Lara are appalled to find out about another attack that aims to drive a wedge between the US and its ally Israel. The individuals orchestrating this plot are uniting Sunni and Shia Muslims from the Middle East to destroy the entire nation of Israel. As they try to connect all the dots, more questions emerge. How is this all connected to the synagogue bombing? Who is the mastermind behind all this? It is up to these two courageous personalities to unravel the plot before it is too late.
I was dazzled with the first book of this series, East Wind. So when I found out about there being a series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. One great aspect of the story is its ability to grip the reader instantly. Most books aren't very exciting until you get to the climax, but this novel kept me interested from the start. I love how this story provides information about history and culture. It was informative as well as pleasant.
I was disappointed with the character development of the book. There was a scene where Lara almost gets raped by one of the terrorists, and immediately after, she is making a joke about it with Uri. In fact, right after this whole fiasco, Lara and Uri sleep together in a hotel room. Most individuals would be paranoid and frightened after being sexually molested; they wouldn't want to sleep with someone. I believe that the author has done a poor job of describing Lara's emotions.
Another quite confusing thing was the relationship between the two protagonists. In the first book, one could see the chemistry between Lara and Uri evolving slowly but naturally. However, the relationship between the pair is a mess in the second book. It was as if they each had a split personality. At one section in the book, they would behave as if they were a loving couple, and at another section, they would completely ignore each other. This allowed it to have no flow to the book. To make matters worse, the different narratives in the book made it hard to understand. There was a battle scene in one chapter, and immediately the book would switch perspectives. This made everything hard to comprehend, leaving me to take a break from this book every 30 minutes.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars because of the lack of character development in the book. There were profanity and violent graphic scenes that make it inappropriate for younger readers. I do think that this story would have been more enjoyable if it was structured better. I recommend this book to an older audience that loves international thrillers. I will give the other books in the series a chance because I loved the first book of the series so much.
******
Devil Among Us
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Emergence by Shira Shiloah
