Review: Oil and Corruption
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 12, 2014
Oil and Corruption, by Gareth Flood is a tale based on greed, murder, deceit, and bribery with a love story thrown in for good measure.  Even though the story is a work of fiction, I got a good view of how the few powerful players in the oil business run the world through secret organizations and corruption.  The action spans such countries as France, Russia, and Spain, proving that the love of money being the root of all evil definitely applies.The oil business is powerful as well as dangerous.  Just ask Jonathan Marshall, one of many consultants in a huge international oil company.  His last assignment makes him uncomfortable and he is right to be cautious since the spreadsheet that he is analyzing is only a portion of a sinister plot between countries that has been in the making for 15 years.  When he finally finishes his task and hands it over to his superior, people start to die and it is not long before Jonathan realizes that as a “loose end”, he is next.  People are trying to kill him and he flees from country to country trying to stay alive as he dodges snipers, explosives, and other horrible assassins employed to terminate him.In the middle of the action Jonathan runs into Julie, a French employee of his company.  She appears to be his only help for now, but he is afraid to trust her.  He trusts no one since he just barely managed to cheat death on more than one occasion.  Julie does help him in more ways than one and in the process the two fall in love.  When the time comes for them to part ways, Jonathan wonders if he will manage to stay alive and if he will ever see her again.Join Jonathan as he gets to the bottom of the conspiracy with the help of a Jew who is over seven feet tall; an Arab with a huge bird on his arm and a sword hanging off his waist; and a gypsy that loves to kill anything that moves.  Surprisingly the group, who do not particularly care for each other, form a bond and successfully complete their mission.  The question is who will be left standing when all is finished and most importantly will the information provided by Jonathan be enough to stop all the devious players in this international oil plot.I loved this book.  It has enough humor and excitement to keep you going until the last page.  I highly recommend it as a good, clean, and fun read.  Don’t miss it!