Review: Dark and intense, but I couldn't stop reading!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 4, 2014
An intense and sometimes brutal thriller, NECESSARY EVIL OF NATHAN MILLER, by Demelza Carlton, is a much darker  story than I usually read, but it was so gripping that I simply couldn't put it down.The opening chapters were somewhat confusing because Caitlin, the narrator and main character, is herself confused, drifting in and out of consciousness following her rescue from terrorists who kidnapped and tortured her. Desperately traumatized, she cannot, at first, keep nightmares, memories, and reality separated. While this is disorienting, the narrative is done so well that the reader is pulled immediately into the middle of Caitlin's nightmare. (The middle in more ways than one, as this is the second book in a trilogy. It is a stand-alone novel, though, and except for an ending that strongly hints at the story continuing, it has a satisfying arc by itself.)I rated NECESSARY EVIL 5 stars because, though crime/spy thriller is not a genre I particularly enjoy, this novel is so well written that I got deeply caught up in the story in spite of myself. But be forewarned: Ms Carlton does not shrink away from the brutal truths of Caitlin's trauma, and the details of abuse are very disturbing, as they are meant to be. This is a highly effective, dramatic thriller that deals not just with evil, but with the guilt, anger, and bitterly destructive emotions and widening web of horror that evil acts engender. It is also about the anguish of loving and forgiving a man who cannot forgive himself.It's a testament to Ms Carlton's power as a writer that I'm actually anxious to read the third book in the series – shudders of horror, bloodthirsty redemption, and all!