3 out of 4 stars
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The Lost Identity Casualties, written by Kim Ekemar, is the first in the Callaghan Septology series. The story surrounds Matthias Callaghan III, who exacts revenge upon every person involved in an incident in which he was mutilated. This book is divided into two parts; part one explains what exactly happened to Matthias and how he recovered, while part two details Matthias’s revenge plot against those who wronged him.
This book is well-thought out and brilliantly executed. The story has plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the very last chapter, and although it seems as though many events in the story are unrelated, Ekemar ties up the loose ends nicely. The story has several important characters, and each one is multi-dimensional and has at least one important role that drives the story forward. Each character’s role is woven into the plot flawlessly, making for an expertly crafted character-driven story.
The plot itself is intricate and, at times, somewhat complicated. The flow of the story can be somewhat confusing, but the details come to a neat end. What makes some parts of the story confusing are the various time jumps. For example, in the first part of the book the story is being told in real time, but then it jumps to the past to give the backstory of a character. Although Ekemar attempts to ease this confusion with time stamps before each section, it still interrupts the flow of the narrative.
Ekemar delves into several major world issues in this book, such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, and face transplants. Dealing with all of these different issues in one book makes the overall story somewhat heavy. In addition, there are two parts in the book where Ekemar details the specifics surrounding face transplants, and although these sections are woven neatly into the story through dialogue and narration, it feels unnecessary to go into so much medical detail.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The story was compelling and well-written, and it kept my interest throughout. I found myself constantly wondering what was going to happen next and how all the pieces of the puzzle would fit together. However, it was a bit heavy for me with all the issues being explored at once, and the time jumps and extensive exposition ruined the flow for me a bit. Overall, this book is worth a read for the mystery and thriller fan.
******
The Lost Identity Casualties
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