Review: IndieReader Review
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 20, 2013
Frank Bowen, unemployed and tired of his aimless life in England, decides to take a break and head to Asia.  This begins an adventure that lands Frank in the midst of an international conspiracy with him as the only surviving suspect.When Bowen arrives in Goa, India, determined to jumpstart his life, he meets Maria, an English-Dutch expatriate living in Hong Kong. She departs after their night together, leaving only a phone number and Bowen continues his journey, heading to Bangkok.  Following the advice of Theo, who has befriended him in Goa, and heads to Bangkok where, after being robbed, he picks up a seemingly innocent job in an international exercise that takes him to Hong Kong.  By the time Bowen figures out what is happening, he is a wanted man, caught in a web of intrigue that involves China, England and Hong Kong.The protagonist is credible as a man looking for a direction, and also as a somewhat unsuspecting traveller who gets drawn in slowly into a conspiracy before he realizes what is happening.  Though there are flashbacks to his Bowen's childhood that are striking and moving, their role in the plot seems undeveloped to its full potential. There are several descriptions for the agent that "cleans up" situations that are also well done, for example in the prologue when he prepares for his job ahead and thinks, "Thankfully the operation and the killing would soon begin."Overall, the premise to FALSE FLAG is plausible; though its intensity ebbs and wanes due to some inconsistency in the writing. Author Jay Tinsiano's overall plot moves along quickly, though somewhat sketchy at times as it offers some easy outs when characters are in a bind. The story also often moves along too hastily with many of the exotic settings lacking sensual detail, either with light, peripheral details: "The roads were all hills, occasionally offering fantastic panoramic views of the sea and other small islands. The houses were mostly protected by walls and gates.  It was certainly an exclusive area."Further editing could remove awkward wording and some information-heavy dialogue that sounds stilted and detracts from the overall flow of the story, for example when Maria meets Bowen: "My father is based there. He's English and words for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong who is pretty busy preparing for the 1997 handover to China. My mother is Dutch and I grew up in Amsterdam."Though descriptions are peripheral at times, FALSE FLAG offers some great moments in a simple and fast paced story.Reviewed by Maya Fleischmann for IndieReader.com