Review: An Exciting Read with High-Stakes Intrigue
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 3, 2013
G. H. Ward's novel, A BROKEN KEEPER, entangles the personal and financial struggles of Calvin Fritz Keeper, a twenty-something part-time college instructor in New Jersey, with national high-stakes corporate and political corruption and deadly international intrigue. The story is a suspenseful maze that grabs the reader and doesn't turn loose until the final page.  Keeper is a sort of contemporary everyman facing the burdens of student loan debts, almost complete unemployment, and the humiliating necessity of living with a demanding and decrepit old aunt. In his desperation to free himself from these circumstances, he unwittingly accepts an offer that takes him out of the country and throws him into a multifaceted clandestine plot involving high level politicians and unscrupulous criminals.This complex tale weaves in and out of some of the most important issues we face today, including human trafficking and undisclosed government activities. The villains are so real, the reader is likely to think, "I read about that so-and-so in the news." They are fascinating creeps. Some may want the central character to be larger, more heroic, but the point is that he is one of us. It is a well researched fiction with interesting "real life" details.This novel's exploration of current political issues within a suspenseful plot invokes memories of the tales of Graham Greene. It could be the spark that ignites the career of a fine writer.  As a first novel, it is not an absolutely perfect book, but it is close to it.  It's such an exciting and well crafted story, I'm compelled to give it a perfect five-star rating.  I highly recommend this novel.