Review: Captivating
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 3, 2012
At the Gates of Walalla by Justen Forge is a beautifully written thriller about Kurt Sorensen, a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Texas who finds himself starting over in his Canadian hometown after his life is forever altered by the murders of his wife and 2 sons.  Kurt quickly finds out that the crimes of the Mexican drug cartels reach further than just the southern border of the U.S.  This story is a thriller with the added feature of focusing on an issue that the U.S. is currently facing.Many books of this genre use plain, unembellished language, but Mr. Forge takes the time in his writing to clearly describe the setting while keeping the action going.  While I have never been to Canada, I felt like I could visualize the bleakness of the winters there.  The characters are well developed and there are twists and turns that I never saw coming.  I don't normally root for vigilantes, but I couldn't help pulling for Kurt to win the war against drugs and corrupt government.  The author obviously researched the facts before he added them to this work of fiction.  This is an entertaining and thought provoking book.