Official Review: Chasing the Devil's Breath

[Lest92]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Chasing the Devil's Breath" by George R. Hopkins.]

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Chasing the Devil’s Breath by George R. Hopkins is a suspense/thriller/mystery novel about private eye Tom Cavanaugh and his brother Father Jack Bennis’s mission to find and stop the manufacturers of the Devil’s Breath, a genetically manipulated drug that deprives its users of their free will and memory.

When Cavanaugh’s first assignment as a private investigator takes him from Staten Island to Mompox, an isolated Colombian town, he discovers that the missing man he is looking for might be involved in the production and trade of a dangerous drug central to villain El Apredido’s plot to topple the global economy and establish a new world order. Helping Cavanaugh is Father Bennis, who came to Mompox to find Maria Isabelle’s missing brother for her and put a stop to the production of Devil’s Breath. After confronting El Apredido, Bennis and Maria Isabelle escape an attempt on their lives, but an assassin shoots her before they could get out of Mompox. To keep her safe, Bennis leaves her unidentified in the hospital and evades El Apredido’s men in a Muisca cave in the jungle with his new ally, young Chico the dockside fruit seller. When Cavanaugh and his wife Fran come to Mompox to aid him, they find themselves in the middle of a drug war between opposing factions who have their own agendas for the Devil’s Breath.

I liked the adventure elements in Chasing the Devil’s Breath. We see the protagonists face danger from man and nature in each short chapter. Hopkins worked to include his research about ancient Central and South American cultures in the storyline, as well as interesting jungle survival skills, which Father Bennis acquired during his soldiering years. This no-frills suspense barrelled toward the conclusion at quite a clip from beginning to end, with chapters transitioning smoothly from New York to Mompox and vice versa. The inclusion of Muisca gold, drug lords, assassins, mafia connections and a scuffle with a jaguar reminded me of pulp-era suspense/adventure novels.

The spare writing made for choppy reading. Dialogue and characters were a tad wooden and similar to one another, and between subplots, life histories of minor characters and paragraphs of information, the focus of the story slackened. The settings were not as substantial as they could have been and that left the action happening in a vacuum. I noticed some spelling mistakes and confused words which closer editing would have caught before publication. The formatting of the book is professional, though, with a clear, readable format.

Because of the issues with the writing, especially the stiffness in the dialogue, the lack of lush scenery and spelling errors, I’ll rate Chasing the Devil’s Breath 2 out of 4 stars. I rated it 2 because the problems I mentioned above might not bother readers who focus more on the action than the frills. I can recommend this novel to those who appreciate fast-paced action and suspense in their fiction.

******
Chasing the Devil's Breath
View: on Bookshelves

Like Lest92's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Oward]

The covers design shows the outcome of real thinking

[Wire3005]

Amazing cover very creative

[Kipznick]

Nature depicts in the cover of the book. Its a nice creative cover.

[kandscreeley]

It sounds like it has a good plot. It's too bad that the writing was wooden and the dialogue stiff. Hopefully the author can make some changes and make this a really great book. Thanks for the review.

[Rosemary Okoko]

It's a shame the book was not well edited. The story sounds interesting and the author should do some work on this book to attract more readers. Nice review.

[Lest92]

Thanks for the feedback! I would actually reread this book if the author and editors tune it up a little.

[xxlolitaxx]

strange book... didnt like it

[Jaime Lync]

Great review. I know it is hard to write scenery from experience so I sometimes intentionally make use of a vacuum space as the scenery itself. It works for short stories but a novel - don't think so.

[Lest92]

Great review. I know it is hard to write scenery from experience so I sometimes intentionally make use of a vacuum space as the scenery itself. It works for short stories but a novel - don't think so.

I know what you mean - short stories work with a backdrop. I appreciate it when the author of a novel works hard to create a world for the story, not just a backdrop.

[Amagine]

The fact that the dialogue is stiff is what throws me off from the book. I agree that people who like suspense in their fiction would enjoy this book.

Great Review! ?

[Paull123]

With just the cover of this book, you will be tempted to read. Nice review

[LivreAmour217]

I really enjoyed reading your review. This book sounds like it might be really enjoyable if not for the editing issues and the lack of character development.